Running out of eggs during coronavirus? Here’s how to raise chickens at home

The COVID-19 crisis has prompted aspiring chicken keepers to start that backyard flock now.

Planning and preparing for poultry will help make your dreams of your very own fresh eggs come true during the coronavirus pandemic and beyond.

Chickens need to be secure, protected and sheltered from the elements. They also need to be kept clean, fed and watered.

Here’s how to do this.

Chickens are prey. Raccoons, hawks, coyotes and other predators will be watching your yard for a chance to steal from your flock.

Think of your chicken coop as a fully enclosed cube.

Fencing needs to extend below the surface to foil digging critters, such as foxes. The top needs to be covered with netting to keep out hawks and owls. The sides need to be secure, either as solid walls or fencing.

Ready-made coops are available at local feed stores. Or you can convert an existing outbuilding or children’s play structure. The Internet has lots of suggestions and plans.

To keep chickens clean, line the coop with litter to absorb droppings. Straw, wood shavings or other absorbent material works. Remove and replace soiled litter as needed.

Compostable litter combined with chicken manure equals rich fertilizer.

How can you keep chickens well fed and watered? Commercially prepared feeds provide complete nutrition.

Chickens have no teeth, so they need grit for their crop. That’s an organ that grinds the food as part of chicken digestion. See? You learned something already.

Keep the feed secure in metal or sturdy plastic containers. Chicken feed can attract rats. It can spoil if it gets wet, making chickens sick.

Freshen the water daily. Chickens won’t drink if it’s dirty.

How to raise chickens legally

Keeping chickens is legal in all municipalities in San Luis Obispo County and in unincorporated areas.

Raising the birds is generally governed by local zoning and land-use laws and ordinances. Chickens are regulated in a variety of ways, usually under livestock.

Requirements vary from place to place, so check out what governs your property.

Atascadero, Morro Bay, Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo all have municipal codes affecting backyard chickens, while Los Osos, Cayucos and Cambria are covered by the county’s coastal land-use ordinance.

Planned communities may have additional covenants, conditions and restrictions.

Egg breeds

Traditional breeds are best for backyard flocks. They are hardier and better foragers.

If eggs are your goal, get chicken breeds such as leghorn. American and English dual-purpose breeds such as Jersey giants and Orpingtons are good layers.

You also should learn about heritage and standard breeds.

Breeds recognized by the American Poultry Association and the American Bantam Association qualify for shows. You and your children may want to get involved in exhibition poultry.

Local feed stores aren’t selling chicks right now. Poultry shows have been closed for the past year, due to an outbreak of virulent Newcastle disease, a contagious poultry disease.

The outbreak, however, is confined to areas of Los Angeles and Riverside counties.

Chickens in San Luis Obispo County are safe, but shows were canceled to avoid bringing chickens from one area in contact with others. Sound familiar?

Kaitlyn Fleming at Tractor Supply Co. on Tank Farm Road in San Luis Obispo keeps a list of sources for chicks.

When I started, I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a chicken breed. Now, silkies, Sumatras, a Dorking, a speckled Sussex and even a Peruvian basket hen run around my yard. I wrote about them in my book “The Backyard Field Guide to Chickens,” which covers more than 80 breeds.

You should take time every day to collect eggs. You may find yourself irresistibly drawn to spending time with your girls and their engaging personalities.

More tips for raising backyard chickens

• Do some research. Get a book such as “How to Raise Chickens,” available at Tractor Supply Co. in San Luis Obispo and online stores. Consider subscribing to Backyard Poultry magazine at backyardpoultry.iamcountryside.com.
• Avoid roosters. If you start with chicks, you may end up with one or more roosters. Talk with your breeder about whether they will take a rooster back or other solutions.
• Baby chicks need special care until they are fully feathered and can fend for themselves.
• Pullets, another name for young hens, start laying eggs when they are about 4 months old.