Happy May Day!!!!!
Thinking about starting your own backyard chicken coop and raising chickens, but feeling overwhelmed by all the supplies and information you need to get started? Don't worry, I've got you covered! In this episode, I'll cover the essential supplies you'll need, so you can be confident and prepared as you embark on this exciting new adventure. 
 
First, you will want to have a place for them to stay.  You can make a chicken coop out of recycled material and it doesn’t  have to cost money or be fancy.  You know what an advocate I am of making something look nice without spending alot of money!  You will want to make sure predators can’t get into the coop, it has good ventilation, and they are protected from the elements.  If you don’t have a place for the chickens to free range, you will alos want to make a chicken run so they can be outside.
 
Second, you will want to have a layer of bedding on the floor for the chickens so their poop can dry out faster and it will be easier to remove.  You could use pine shavings, leaves, or even straw.  They do also make products that reduce odor, but I can’t recommend any as I haven’t tried any of them.  It might be worth it in the winter especially when they don’t spend much time outside and the coop stinks quickly!
 
Next, get a chicken feeder and hang it off the ground from the rafters if possible.  This will help from having the chickens scratch their feed all over the ground and they won’t waste as much.  I suggest getting a large feeder and fill to the top and you have to feed alot less often.  You will also want to buy feed specifically for egg layers, or if they are meat chickens, get the feed specifically for meat birds.  We buy our chicken feed from a local feed mill, but you can also mix your own feed which is even better for the chickens.  Our chickens eat alot less feed in the summer because we open the coop door in the morning and they eat all day and clean up the bugs in the yard all day and then they go back to the coop at evening time.  It is the end of April today and we had more snow-it was incredibly beautiful here for a NOVEMBER day, but like I have said several times in the past month-hopefully this is all the snow we get because our chickens would sure like to be out more as well and they don’t like to walk in the snow, so they will stay in the coop instead of coming out.
 
The Fourth thing that is super important is a chicken waterer.  They always need to have access to water, but in the summer and hot weather, you want to be extra careful to make sure of it.  We have a few waterers, but our large watering container you fill up, put a cover on and flip over and we keep that up on small wooden box to help keep all the dirt out because with all their scratching, they do get dirty quick, so you will want to give them fresh water every day.  In the winter, you may want a heated waterer if you have temperatures that get below freezing just to make sure your chickens have water.  We do like to add a few tablespoons of  apple cider vinegar to their water for added immune support, but we don’t do that every day.
 
The fifth item you will want if you have laying hens and  want to find your eggs are nesting boxes.  You only need 1 nesting box for every 4-5 chickens and you can easily make those out of common materials most likely around your home.  Pinterest has many great ideas for DIY nesting boxes!
 
Dust baths are something else you will want to have so the chickens can naturally prevent external parasites.  This is another item you can find great DIY dust bathing ideas on pinterest and can be very inexpensive if you dont have dry soil for them around your yard.  They just need enough area to spread their wings and ficker dust all over their body.



I am so confident that you will find out that raising chickens is simple and easier than you may have thought and I am so excited to hear from you if you decide to get them and get started!