I love my chickens — and ducks and quail! They bring me joy every day, and I’ve even convinced several friends to start their own backyard flocks. However, I’ll always be the first person to admit there are some notable downsides to owning chickens. It’s certainly not all butterflies and rainbows!
While chickens are endlessly entertaining and a source of fresh eggs, there are several things you’ll want to consider if you’re thinking about starting a backyard flock. From care requirements to pests, there are several downsides that come along with owning birds, and it’s better to know them in advance so they’re not an unwelcome surprise down the road.
With that in mind, here are 10 things you’ll want to think about before getting chickens.
Not every town/city allows backyard chickens
Before you set your heart on having a yard full of fluffy chickens, it’s important to check if your city or town allows you to have them at all. Many local governments have laws regulating backyard chickens — there may be a limitation on how many you can own, certain zoning restrictions (ie. you need a certain amount of land), and/or rooster bans. Even my town, which is fairly rural, has guidelines on how many chickens and roosters you can keep on your property.
You might think, “How will they know I’m keeping chickens?” Unfortunately, many people who keep birds illegally end up getting reported by their neighbors — I’ve seen it time and time again. Every year, there are tons of Facebook posts from people who are forced to rehome their flocks because they were reported to the city.
Bottom line? Save yourself some potential heartbreak and make sure your new flock abides by the rules where you live.
It can be expensive to get started
Your first year keeping chickens is generally the most expensive. You’re going to need to build or buy a chicken coop, and even if you’re frugal, you can expect to pay several hundred dollars. The cheapest way to get started is by building your own coop with recycled or scrap materials, but it’s important not to cut corners — if your coop isn’t secure, predators will find the weak spots.
That’s not the only expense, either. You’ll also have the cost of the birds themselves, brooding supplies, and food for your growing chickens. It can add up quickly.
Chickens need daily care
Many people will tell you that chickens are low-maintenance, and while that is true in some regards, they still need daily care. You need to give them food and fresh water, monitor their health, collect eggs, and ensure their coop is safe and secure.
This can become a sticking point if you like to go on vacation often. You can often get away with leaving your birds alone for two or three days, but any longer than that and you’ll need to have someone check on them. If you’re lucky, you may have a friend, relative, or neighbor who will help out, but otherwise, that means paying for a farm sitter every time you go away.
Your chickens won’t always lay eggs
Many people want to raise chickens for “free eggs,” but as I mentioned above, it can be quite pricey to start a backyard flock. Additionally, chickens don’t start laying eggs until they’re around 6 months old, and there are a lot of reasons that they may stop laying throughout the year.
Here are a few common reasons for a drop in egg production:
- There’s not enough hours of sunlight in the winter months.
- Your birds are stressed or sick.
- Your birds are molting (a term for growing new feathers).
- Your birds are broody (sitting on eggs).
- The temperature is too hot in the summer.
- Your chickens are old.
So if you have a small flock, there will likely be days when you don’t collect any eggs at all.
They can be quite noisy — even without roosters
There’s a myth that only roosters make a ruckus in the yard, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Hens can be just as loud and obnoxious as their male counterparts! I have several hens that screech for 15+ minutes every time they lay an egg — sometimes it’s so annoying that I have to go down to the coop and shush them.
Keep this in mind if you have neighbors close by. You can choose chicken breeds that are known for being quiet, but there’s no guarantee your birds will have the exact temperament you want.
Backyard chickens will always attract pests
One of our family friends got chickens a few years ago, and he proudly proclaimed that he wasn’t worried about pests because they “don’t have rats” where he lives. I laughed.
Contrary to his steadfast belief, rats live anywhere and everywhere that they can find food — the city, the country, the suburbs — so if you bring home chickens, chances are rats and mice will show up soon after. All these pests love chicken food, and they’ll go out of their way to get into your chicken coop and run to score a free meal.
Now, if you do a good job predator-proofing, you can certainly prevent these rodents from making a home in your yard. If it’s too hard to get food, they’ll generally move on. But don’t be lulled into a false sense of security just because you’ve never seen a rat or mouse around.
Predators will eventually find your birds
On a similar note, it’s not a matter of if predators will find your chickens, but when. It might take them a week, a month, or a year, but predators will eventually realize there’s an easy meal ticket in your yard. Once they do, they’ll come back again and again.
Your main predators will depend on where you live — in New England, we deal with raccoons, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, and hawks. However, other parts of the country have issues with weasels, bears, snakes, and even stray dogs.
For this reason, I highly recommend thoroughly predator-proofing your coop from day one! All it takes is one tenacious predator to wipe out your whole flock — a heartbreaking occurrence that happens to too many new chicken owners.
‘Chicken Math’ is very real
If you’ve never been warned about “chicken math,” it boils down to this: You’ll always end up with more chickens than you initially wanted. Six chickens quickly turns into eight, which turns into 10, which turns into 25.
Why? You’ll discover new breeds that are too cute to resist. Your kids will want to hatch eggs in the incubator. Your neighbor will ask if you want a few hens that they’re getting rid of. The possibilities are endless, and it happens to all of us. Just something to keep in mind when you’re promising your spouse that it will “only be six chickens.”
Free-range chickens can be quite destructive
Many people don’t realize how destructive chickens can be! They spend all day scratching for bugs in the dirt, and they will quickly destroy grass, garden beds, and any other area of your lawn that you hold dear. Not to mention that they’ll poop all over everything — your porch, deck, lawn chairs, picnic table, kids toys. Everything.
Basically, you probably don’t want to have free-range chickens if you want your yard to stay in good condition. They’ll do just fine in an enclosed run, but you do need to ensure they have enough space to maintain their health and happiness.
You may eventually need to put a bird down
There may very well come a time when you’re going to need to put down one of your chickens. They’re fairly fragile creatures, and they can (and do) get sick or seriously injured. It’s simply not humane to allow a bird to suffer if it’s beyond saving, and in these instances, euthanizing the chicken is your best option.
If your gut reaction is, “No, I could never do that,” I urge you to think about what you’d do in these scenarios. Avian vets are quite rare, and bringing your chicken to a traditional animal hospital is usually an expensive and futile experience. I’ve had friends do it, and they ended up paying $800 for the vet to say, “There’s nothing we can do.”
So if you don’t think you could cull a bird yourself, it’s a good idea to have a backup plan for this worst-case scenario — a friend or neighbor who would be willing to help. It’s one of the worst parts of owning chickens, but it’s important to think about before the need arises.
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