BEGINNING FARMER SUCCESS

April 2015 Volume 1, Issue 13

In This Issue:

So you want backyard

chickens? (Pg 1-2)

Plasticulture and Irrigation

Information (Pg 3)

Spring Vineyard Pruning

(Pg 3)

Upcoming Events (Pg 3)

Need a Chicken Coop?

(Pg 4)

Photo : Natalie Schiazzi

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Photo Credit: Edwin Remsburg

Backyard layer flocks are becoming popular. Articles

and news stories about urban, suburban, and rural poultry

are frequent. Towns and cities are changing their ordinances

to accommodate this trend. Backyard chickens are a good

hobby and a great addition to other farming activities.

If you are interested in keeping chickens in your back-

yard, here are some frequently asked questions that you

need to research and understand to prepare yourself.

Can I legally keep chickens? Check your local ordinances which includes county, municipality, and housing develop-

ment. (Article continues on page 2)

It’s Spring — So You Want Backyard

Chickens

Dale Johnson—Farm Management Specialist

Jeffery Semler—Extension Educator By:

It’s Spring — So You Want Backyard Chickens (cont. from pg 1)

Where do you get them? Some people

buy full grown hens that are already pro-ducing eggs or have just started producing

eggs. Others want to raise hens from chicks which they purchase from a hatch-

ery or the local feed store.

What breed of

chickens should I get? There are

many interesting and colorful breeds

but if you are looking for maxi-

mum egg produc-tion, then you will

want a Rhode Is-

land cross (brown eggs) variety. Leg-

horns (white eggs) are the most pro-

lific and economi-cal variety but leg-

horns tend to be high strung and

more difficult to handle.

Where do I keep my hens? A few hens

can be kept in a small structure in the backyard that provides shelter from ex-

treme weather and space for exercise. Portable coops or “chicken tractors” are

popular. They should have nesting boxes

and a place for the hens to roost. They should be easy to clean out.

What do I feed them? Special feeds are formulated for chicks and adults. You can

feed them limited amounts of garden and table refuse. If a portable coop is used,

they can be rotated across the backyard and they will eat some of the groundcover

but you should not allow them to denude large areas. To avoid this, rotate them

back to a “sacrifice area” that will be de-nuded but allows the rest of the yard to re-

generate. They should always have access to water.

When will they start laying eggs? It

varies between 4-6 months after hatching depending on the breed.

What about eggs? Fresh eggs are a ben-efit of keeping layers. They are collected

daily and soiled eggs should be washed un-der hot water and dried immediately as the

shells are permeable to bacteria. Eggs should be kept in the refrigerator and

cooked thoroughly to kill bacteria. Keep in mind that those eggs are not free. Housing

and feed can be expensive so the cost of backyard eggs is often higher than the cost

of eggs purchased at the grocery store.

How many eggs will I get? Good layer

breed will produce one egg a day (100%)

at peak periods. Most breeds lay at about 60%-80%.

What about roosters? Unless you specifi-cally want to breed chickens, you may

want to avoid roosters. Roosters are some-times rough on hens, can be aggressive to-

ward people, and crow noisily.

Eggs without Rooster?! Of course! It is

basic biology. Females produce eggs. Males produce sperm. Hens will lay eggs without

roosters but the eggs are infertile.

What do I do with the manure? Excess

manure can be collected and composted to put on ornamental plants.

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Want to know more?

Check out these resources:

http://extension.umd.edu/newfarmer/beginning-

farmer-topics/poultry

http://extension.umd.edu/poultry/small-flock-

production/small-flock-production-0

http://extension.umd.edu/publications/PDFs/

MEP300.pdf

Extension.umd.edu/newfarmer

Upcoming Events

April 2 - Starting a Second Career in

Local Food- Montgomery Co Ext

April 6 - Lower Shore Leasing Work-

shop- Somerset Co Ext

April 7 - Common Labor Issues with

CSAs - Webinar

April 8 - Farming in the City: Land,

Laws and Community - Clifton Man-

sion

April 10 - High Tunnel Raising at

UMD's Terp Farm

April 15 - Farming Concrete: The

Science and Practice of Growing in

Urban Soils - Clifton Mansion

April 16 - Baltimore Urban Farm

Tour - Baltimore City

April 18 - Vegetable Grafting - Agri-

cultural History Farm Park

April 22 - Farming Liability and

YOU - Harford Co Ext

April 25 - Growing Your Own Mush-

rooms - Baltimore Co Ext

April 28 - Introduction to Soils Short

Course - Wor-Wic Community Col-

lege

More events can be found on our website under “events”

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Pruning Your Vines

Plasticulture & Irrigation

Prepping for Spring

Planting season is just around the corner. Be sure to check

out our instructional videos on Youtube. University of Mary-

land Extension Educator, Ben Beale, shares information

about plastic mulch and demonstrations in applying plastic

mulch to raised soil beds in the video below.

Spring is here and so is the time to prune your vines!

University of Maryland Extension shares information and

demonstrates on how to prune your vines in the video

below.

Hannah Shear

hshear@umd.edu

301.600.3580

“This project was supported by the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Devel-opment Program of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA, Grant #2012-49400-19552. To find more resources and programs for be-ginning farmers and ranchers please visit www.Start2Farm.gov, a compo-nent of the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program.”

The University of Maryland Extension programs are open to any person and will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual

orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, political affiliation, and gender identity

or expression.

Click here to receive this newsletter every month

To submit information for the monthly newsletter, please contact the Beginning Farmer Success Project Coordi-

nator, Hannah Shear at hshear@umd.edu

Need a Chicken Coop?

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Below you will find one of the many options for a chicken coop. The approximate

building costs and facility needs can be seen as well as a picture of the finished prod-

uct. For more ideas on chicken housing check out the additional resources listed on

page 2 of this newsletter.