[Jesse Bocksnick] Hi I am Jesse Bocksnick with the Sebastian County Extension office and today I am going to talk to you a little about how to start and prepare for your own backyard poultry flock.

[Video showing someone on the phone in an office] Before starting your backyard flock always check your local zoning regulations to see if poultry production is prohibited. [Picture of two chickens] Then once you have made sure there are no restrictions you must decide if you are going to produce eggs or meat. [Picture of a basket of eggs] For this podcast we are going to focus on egg production.

[Picture of two young girls taking chicks out of a brooder box] When preparing for chicks you will need to have a brooder box ready. [Slide - Picture of chicks in a cage with a lamp. Brooder Boxes: Dry and protected, Heat lamps, Start 95 degrees, Decrease temperature weekly by 5 degrees until 70 degrees] This does not have to be expensive or elaborate. [Slide - This will have to be a dry protected shelter that can be temperature controlled. You will need infrared or heat lamps for the chicks. For one day old chicks the temperature should be ninety to ninety five degrees and should be decreased by 5 degrees weekly until around 70 degrees.

[Slide - Picture of chicks in a boxed in area with a lamps spread out.] Check the chicks for routinely for signs of overheating or being cold. If they are getting to hot they will be spaced out and [Video showing chicks crowded together around a water bottle.] if they are getting to cold they will be all crowded together on top of each other. You will need to start with the heat lamps about eighteen inches above the floor and raise them 2 inches per week with a maximum of twenty four inches or two feet off the ground. Also remember to have a good litter covering such as peanut hulls, rice hulls, or ground corn cobs NOT newspaper or plastic. For more detailed information on this call your county extension agent.

[Jesse Bocksnick]  One key misconception that most people have when starting their own small flock is that they are going to have free eggs. [Slide - Costs: Housing, Feed, Time] Most people forget that they are going to have housing cost, feed cost, and most importantly their time. That being said there are also some positives to having your own small poultry flock. [Slide - Benefits: Home-grown eggs, Educational, Fertilizer, Braggin' rights] And that is the fact that you will have a home grown product, its educational, you will have fertilizer for your garden, and you will also have bragging rights over your friends when they talk about farm fresh eggs.

[Pictures of a backyard poultry houses and pens] Backyard poultry housing does not have to be elaborate or fancy but it does have to be substantial enough to protect your back yard flock.

[Video showing the inside of a poultry house - 3 square feet per chicken] When starting work on your layer house remember that a good rule of thumb is that for every chicken there should be about 3 square feet of floor space so for example a flock of twenty five will have about 75 square feet of floor space.

[Picture showing the inside of a poultry house with laying nests] The structure should also be able to protect not only the birds but the feeders and laying nest from the environment as well as hold a roost area. Your house should have at least one laying nest for every four birds in your flock. [Video showing the inside of a poultry house with someone spreading litter]  You should also put in four inches of fresh litter before each flock or after cleaning out old litter. A good source of litter here in Arkansas is pine shavings or rice hulls. Don’t use hardwood shavings because they have been known to mold and cause infections.

[Picture showing a fenced in yard with chickens] Don’t forget to provide a source of fresh air to your chicken house. One way to do this is to allow your birds to go outside. This not only provides fresh air but helps contribute to that rural atmosphere. [Picture showing a fenced in area with chickens and two dogs on the outside of the fence]  I would recommend fencing in these small flocks for their own protection from predators [Picture of a raccoon] or even cars in urban areas. [Picture of a judge] A fence also helps keep your neighbors happy.

[Pictures showing a poultry house with a fenced in areas and a hawk] When putting in these fences remember to not only prepare for ground predators digging in but also those that can climb over or fly in from above.

[Pictures of a diseased chicken, three youth standing in their backyard with their flock, and a youth wearing a ribbon holding a chicken] Raising a backyard poultry flock can be a very rewarding experience but it also brings with it the responsibility of livestock ownership.

[Picture of a flock of chickens] I hope everyone has fun with their own backyard farms.

[Jesse Bocksnick] For more information about backyard poultry flocks and housing please contact your local extension office. [Questions? Contact your Extension Office U of A University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture jbocksnick@uaex.edu]