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To follow up on my previous article on keeping chickens in your backyard it’s probably likely that some of you will want to go one step further and hatch and raise your own chicks from your existing stock. Breeding chickens couldn’t be easier and it’s a worthwhile and rewarding project to get your kids involved in too.

If your far enough from your nearest neighbours or lucky enough to have very understanding ones that don’t mind being woken at the crack of down by an over zealous cockerel announcing the dawn of a new day then you are already half way towards getting your hens to breed.

Firstly, you need make sure you have happy healthy hens in good breeding condition by following the guidelines in my earlier article. A plentiful supply of good food and the appropriate nesting facilities in the form of a well-constructed chicken coop.

Firstly, hens kept on their own without a cockerel present will not produce viable, fertile eggs. I know this is stating the obvious but you would be surprised how many people completely miss this critical point!
The introduction of the cockerel to your flock will ensure the eggs are fertile and likely to produce chicks after incubation. It will take no time at all for the cock and hen to do what comes naturally! Bear in mind that when a cockerel is present in the coop you can still collect the eggs and use them for consumption as long as they are collected fresh and haven’t been allowed to remain under the brooding hen for any length of time.
Don’t make the mistake of boiling an egg that has been half incubated! There is nothing more off putting than cracking one open to find a half formed chick inside, in fact you will probably never eat an egg again!

You should ideally remove the cockerel after a few days with the hens as he can become aggressive if he’s had enough of their company. Let him roam the yard or the garden but keep him out of the coop where your hens are going to brood.
Having said that, I have on many occasions left the cock with the hens without any problems but there is a risk attached.

When you decide to let the hen brood just stop collecting the eggs and allow her to start the incubation. It will take 21 days from the time the last egg is laid for the chicks to appear during which time you will have to do nothing other than feed your hens as normal and try to disturb the brooding hen as little as possible. The more peace and quiet she gets the more comfortable and secure she will feel and will be less likely to rise from the nest.

When you do see the chicks appear you can feed them with specially prepared chick crumb. This is small enough in size for the chicks to eat and has all the necessary nutrients for the early stages of development.
Keep a close eye on your chicks in the first few days and protect them from the usual hazards such as predators and watch for signs of the other hens pecking at them.
You may need to separate them if this becomes a problem but never separate them from the mother hen, as this would require artificial heating etc.

Other than that you need do nothing besides enjoy the whole experience but keep these few tips in mind:

· Feed your brooding hens good quality food and make sure they have a plentiful supply of it.
· Keep disturbance to a minimum when your hens are brooding
· Watch for signs that the cockerel is troubling any brooding hens if he has been allowed to remain in the coop
· Dispose of any unhatched eggs carefully at the end of the incubation period, rotten eggs are extremely unpleasant!
· If you plan to keep the chicks and breed from them at a later stage, do make sure to use a different cockerel to prevent problems with inbreeding.

Keeping and breeding you own hens is a rewarding experience and the perfect way to complement the organic garden.

The author has been successfully keeping farm and exotic fowl for almost twenty years and is also an enthusiastic keeper and breeder of aviary finches. For more information on keeping chickens and building your own chicken coop just follow these links http://tinyurl.com/raisingchickens and http://tinyurl.com/buildachickencoop. Related reading on growing your own organic food can be found here http://tinyurl.com/growingorganicfood

If you ever thought about raising chickens or even building your own chicken coup for that matter, maybe it is time you actually did something about it. When you compare the price difference of building your own hen houses versus buying, you will be amazed at the amount of money you can save constructing them yourself. And it will not take as long or be as hard as you may have ever imagined. It is possible to get it done in a weekend or two.

Before cutting your first 2-by-4 or nailing two boards together, it is a good idea to come up with a plan. Chickens need a clean dry nesting area along with some room to roam. They will forage for a portion of their own food if you will let them, and this will keep your chickens happy and your feed expenses down. When you are making design decisions, you should be thinking about ways to accommodate the needs of your flock. In this case, you want the chicken coup to have an indoor area where their nests can remain clean and dry. You also want an outdoor area where they can free range for a portion of the food.

Both of these areas will be attached to form a single chicken coup. There will be a “house” section and a backyard area. Each section will be framed with 2x2s or 2x4s. The inside area will be constructed as an “A” frame building and the backyard will have 2x2s or 2x4s forming a large box without walls or a ceiling. The only other decision that needs to be made at this point is in regard to its location. The areas where the hen houses are placed must drain well. If the drainage is poor, it could end up being a health problem for the birds.

The main materials needed are lumbar, mostly 2-by-4s, chicken wire, nails and staples. The 2-by-4s will make the frame where the siding or plywood can be nailed. They will also be used to frame the outside area where the chicken wire will be attached with staples. It is important to buy chicken wire that has no larger than 2-inch spaces. If the openings are too large, predators and wild birds can squeeze through and come in contact with the chickens, either harming them or spreading disease. You also want to treat the wood and wire so that they will not rot or rust over time. Rotting wood can also attract insect infestations.

The outside part of these poultry houses will have an earthen floor. In other words, you will not make a floor from the wood or the wire. This will allow the birds to free range in that area. You will also need to make a hinged opening that will allow you to get completely inside of the poultry housing. This way you will be able to collect the eggs easily, remove any chickens when necessary, and clean out the droppings.

Another thing you may want to consider is whether you want to make your hen houses stationary, in other words in a permanent location, or if you want the added benefit of making them portable. You can make your poultry housing using the same basic steps whether they are permanent or movable, you just cannot make a portable chicken coup so heavy that you cannot move it when necessary.

Portable hen houses have a distinct advantage over stationary structures. Chickens can pretty much destroy a small area of ground from scratching and pecking for food. Having a permanent chicken hutch means that once they have ruined their outdoor area, it will stay ruined. With a portable hutch, on the other hand, once your flock has eaten most of the grasses in one area, you can simply move it to another area that has lots of fresh succulent plants. This gives the original area time to recuperate. By the time you move your portable chicken coup back to the original area it can be like new again.

Larry Sigurdsson has raised many breeds of chicken for both meat and eggs. He also maintains a fun and educational web site at hen-houses.org where you can receive free information about building hen houses.