In her community and online, Shelby Diebold, owner of Viney Grove Goats and Purina ambassador, has become the person people come to with their animal questions. She’s shared her lessons and wins on social media, showing that if you love animals and stay curious, you can figure out anything. 
 
But she didn’t start out as a backyard flock expert. Having built her confidence with goats, she says adding chickens to her farm felt like a natural next step. But first, she needed to do her research, something she still does today. 

"I Google things, look at articles and videos,” she says. “I love watching TikToks — I love seeing what other people do. Any step you're in, you research everything!" 

Her inbox reflects how open she’s been about her chicken keeping journey. "My DMs are filled with questions of all sorts," she says. "I'm always answering questions about what people should get if they're starting out.” 

A Head Start 

Whether it’s a long dream finally coming true, or an impulse purchase, deciding to raise chickens opens the door to even more questions. Sometimes, it can be hard to know where to start or what questions to ask first. Shelby started with the basics. 

“I looked into what breeds that I wanted,” Shelby says, noting that Buff Orpingtons and Barred Rocks are great for beginners. They’re hardy, family-friendly, have calm personalities and get along well with other breeds. If you’re looking for coop harmony, Shelby says that in her experience, Silkies can get bullied by more aggressive breeds.  

When her first hatchlings came through the mail, she felt ready to take the steps needed to make the transition as smooth as possible. “I made sure to give them electrolytes and probiotics in their water," she says, to give her chicks a little extra support after the journey.  

When it came to their feed, she decided to start her first chicks on Purina^® Start & Grow^® and has never looked back.  

In fact, Shelby recommends Purina feed to all fellow animal people, but especially for new chick owners overwhelmed by the feed aisle, because it is so straightforward. Making it even easier, Purina recently introduced the Farm to Flock^® 1-2-3 feed system, which grows with your chicks and delivers whole-food goodness in every bite.  
 
For brand new chicks, Purina^® Farm to Flock^® 20% Starter Food will provide everything they need for weeks 0 through 4. When they’re big enough, they can transition to Purina^® Farm to Flock^® 18% Grower Food. Finally, around week 18, Purina^® Farm to Flock^® 18% Layer Hen Food offers everything they need for strong shells and nutritious eggs. 

Keeping It Simple 

For anyone at the beginning of their journey, feeling overwhelmed by choices, Shelby has a message that's equal parts reassuring and practical. 

"You've got to make mistakes to learn from them," she says. "Whatever decision that you make will be the right decision. If you care enough to even Google anything about them, you’re on the right path. Keep it simple, don't overthink it." 

Here’s what Shelby’s picked up from both research and good old experience:  

• Choose a coop that's easy to clean and easy to access for feeding. Shelby swears by features like a slide-out floor for easy clean-ups, wheels for moving around your yard and a place for clipping in your waterer.  

• Yes, clip in your waterer! Suspending your waterer helps it stay clean, as chickens tend to dig dirt into anything on the ground. 

• To ensure your coop is predator-proof, get a coop with a closed bottom so that predators can’t dig under it. If you have dogs that aren't chicken-friendly, use chicken wire to separate them. 

• Watch your chicks' formations in the brooder box closely. If they're spread out, they might be too hot. If they're huddled tightly together, they might be too cold. Plus, you need both a warm side and a cool side in the brooder for maximum comfort.  

• In the winter and cooler weather, make sure to add more bedding and use a heated waterer if possible. In freezing temps, try to collect eggs sooner as they can crack quickly due to the freeze. 

• In the summer and warmer weather, offer plenty of cool, fresh water for your chickens who’ll be a bit thirstier than usual. 

The bar isn't as high as it feels from the outside. "If you do the simple things, you'll be set up for success," she says. 

The Little Joys 

Chickens did not change Shelby’s life radically — they enriched it, adding eggs to her pantry, and better yet, vibrancy to her days. 

"As I'm walking out to the barn, I open up their coop and let them free range," she says of her mornings. Shelby and her husband sit outside with their coffee, watching the chickens run around the farm — mingling with the cows and goats, doing their little rituals. "If a hen lays an egg, she'll come out of the coop and announce it!" she laughs. 

By evening, she locks them back up. Simple as that. And yet, it doesn't take long before you start noticing the little things.  

"If you spend a lot of time with your chickens, they all have little cute personalities," Shelby says. "It's interesting to see how their dynamic in the chicken world is." And the sounds they make? "If you give them a little treat, they have a high-pitched pip — it's like they're saying, ‘thank you.’" 

To follow Shelby’s flock and see more of Viney Grove Goats, find her on TikTok and Instagram.