UPDATED 17Jul2020 + video below: My youngest son, Jacob Maxwell, is 20 years old now, and he kept our flock of backyard laying hens for many years before he moved away for veterinary studies. Click below to see how he raised day-old Leghorn chicks to maturity in 2014, back when he was in charge of things like this on our Manitoulin Island homestead.  Backyard homestead chickens are great fun and practical, as you’ll see.