You may do all that reading, of course, and you really must get educated to be successful. However, you can also get going right away. I recommend this because it is just too much fun to miss out!
If you want to have around hens to be pets and lay eggs, it is very easy! This is a common thing in urban areas.
If you want meat chickens or those for show, it is a different story, and I am not including the details here.
For pets and egg laying, you will need:
A house.
An enclosed yard.
A roost
A nest box
Feed
A feeder
A waterer
Chickens
The house can be something fancy you purchase, something you get someone to build, something you build yourself, something you find for free on Craigslist to fix up, or something you convert something else into. The people on this website have lots of good ideas for how to build a chicken house. I am offering a service in my area of helping people make something that works but is inexpensive. They can phone me and talk it over, and we can come build if they want our help. I have suggestions for finding inexpensive materials, converting armoires or other furniture into a house, what to do with an old dog house to make it nice for chickens, etc.
The yard is needed unless you want to just let the hens fun in your back yard all day and go in at night. Hens love to go out and look for bugs, have a dirt bath, or just have space to walk around in. I love to watch them!
The roost is what they sit on at night inside the house.
Feed is available at farm stores. Or, you can look on line for a local manufacturer.
Feeders can be purchased or built. On line there are plans available. Some plans are free. Some are complex and some very simple!
For water, my favorite for my hens is one that is called Avian Aqua Miser. It is available on line. My roosters and hens love it, and it is easy to install and use. I found it to be well worth the expense!
Chickens can be purchased at farm stores, places on line, or via Craigs list. Some are offered (shipped) from the Backyard chicken website!
I suggest you get some young ones. You can get babies and raise them in an incubator or get some pullets that are just at the age when they can live outdoors. I just loved my first set of pullets that I purchased last spring. They were and still are just so adorable, gentle, and surprisingly in touch with one another with such sweet and obvious love! .You might get some around around 5-6 weeks old depending on the weather where you live. They can't tolerate cold until their feathers come in. Or, just purchase some young fully grown egg layers.
There are many breeds that lay an egg a day and are gentle and hardy. Look at Craigs list in your area as a place to start to see what is there.
Go to the farm store and talk things over. Most areas have them. Check on line or the phone book for where to find a farm supply store. The people there tend to enjoy talking chicken with customers!
Have fun! I started last year and I am obsessed, I cannot imagine life without my chickies!! This website is a great resource, you can find anything on here. You are going to have so much fun !
