A few simple pointers on keeping, feeding, and housing chickens successfully.
What is better than a freshly gathered basket of beautiful eggs?
It is just as hard to compare anything to a home raised, chicken served with veggies from your own garden!
Sighting and Building the Chicken Coop
- Look for a clear area in which to build the chicken pen and coop. If there are large shade trees, try and work these into the design rather than cutting them down. A person may need to trim overhanging branches that could break fencing or in any other way endanger his livestock.
- The chicken pen doesn’t have to be tall enough for a person to stand up in; one should be able to stand to full height in the coop though; this will make it easier to collect eggs and clean the litter.
- When building the perches, preferably they should be at an angled incline; this allows the most dominant bird to perch higher, preventing feather plucking and a myriad of other disasters, as well as preventing droppings from landing on the other birds.
Keeping Predators Away From Chickens
Making a chicken pen completely predator proof is nearly impossible, but there are numerous ways to help one out.
- Start by sinking fencing into the ground several inches; this will keep many creatures from burrowing under the edges.
- Another good idea is to use the smallest holed wire available. Remember; rodents and snakes are very flexible and can get into even the tiniest holes.
- Covering the coop is also recommended as attacks can come from land as well as the air. Hawks love chicken; they’re a hearty meal easily taken so the predator doesn’t have to expend much energy in catching them. A simple mesh or wire top will keep hawks at bay; make sure the edges are secured as a hawk will scramble through small openings, get stuck and probably kill the rest of your hens before you even know it is in there.
- To further protect an investment from larger predators, a person may decide to install an electric fence at the bottom and midway up the pen. This should keep dogs, foxes, coyotes, wolves, and even cats from tearing through the wire.
Feeding and Watering Your Chickens
There are a few ways to give chickens access to fresh water;
- One of the easiest, cleanest ways is to buy an attachment that goes directly on the faucet. It works much like a hamster's water bottle; the chickens can drink as much as they want, never wasting a single drop.
- The use of a bucket or special water dish made for chickens will also suffice.
- For the best egg production make sure the hens have plenty of calcium; one of the most affordable ways to do this is by adding ground up oyster shells to their diets. Try giving the chickens their shells in a separate feed dish- this way they can eat what they need whenever they need it.
- An all purpose hen feed mix usually provides everything chickens need.
Dealing with Chicken Pests
Even the healthiest flock will sometimes encounter fleas, mites, and lice. Prevention is all important in keeping animals protected.
- Before adding new birds to an existing flock; make sure to check them thoroughly for these pests and other illnesses. Quarantining said birds before introduction will help make this job much easier, as well as keeping medical costs down to a minimal.
- One can use a pesticide geared towards poultry if needed, though many prefer to use a more natural method.
- Diatomaceous Earth is a natural way to control such pests; simply dust the birds and enclosures with it and in time the lice, fleas, and mites should die.
- Providing access to clean dust is another method of preventing parasites from taking hold. Chickens will spend much of their day dusting and rolling around quite happily the dirt.
The copyright of the article Livestock Easy Chicken Care in Domestic Birds is owned by Jocelyn Wyatt. Permission to republish Livestock Easy Chicken Care in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
