How to care for chickens

There are a lot of reasons to raise chickens.  Some people raise chickens so they may eat them, some people raise chickens for the eggs, and still others raise chickens because they can be a fun pet. Whatever your reason may be, you should know the basics of how to care for chickens. This guide will tell you about the basics of chicken care from feeding the chickens, what type of environment the chickens best thrive in, how to protect them, and several other necessities.

Read on to learn how to care for chickens.

Bedding

The designated area that you decide to keep you chickens is known as the chicken coop.  The chicken coop should be covered with some type of bedding. 

Wood chips, rice hull, and peat moss are the best materials to use. Straw or sawdust can also be used as bedding materials.  For any bedding material you use, make sure it is not chemically treated. Any kind of paper should never be used for the sake of the chicks.  They’ll end up slipping on the paper.

Diet

Naturally, chickens will use their scratching to find bugs and vegetation in the spring.  Although the chickens can find food on their own, it is a good idea to provide other food for their nutritional needs.  An all-purpose poultry pellet is a good thing to feed your chickens.  Hen scratch is not a good thing for chickens to be eating constantly.  It is like candy to the chickens. 

Instead, the pellet is a good substitute. Produce should be added as well for more nutrients.  A hen requires calcium to prevent egg binding.  To produce calcium in a hen’s diet, oyster shells and apply cider vinegar are good ideas. 

Water

When your chicks first arrive, keep the water at room temperature and sweeten it with sugar; about one-fourth cup per gallon. After the first hour of the first day, keep fresh water in the chicken coop for the chickens. 

Heat

One day before the chicks arrive, have the heat lamps on at about 90 degrees.  The bulb of your thermometer should be about 2 – 3 inches off the floor.  After each week the chicks are there, drop the temperature 5 degrees until it reaches 70 degrees.  After it reaches this temperature, the birds should need little to no extra heat.

Roosters

Don’t think that roosters only crow at dawn like the movies show.  Roosters crow all throughout the day and in the middle of the night. A rooster’s crow is not the biggest problem you can have when raising chickens.  If you have multiple roosters, they will be a problem with the hens.  It is good to know that chickens rarely stray from their coops.  If you notice that there are some chickens away from their homes, it will, most likely, be because of the roosters. They can be territorial and will try to prove their dominance by fighting over a hen. This is not safe for the hens. A good rule is to have fifteen hens per rooster.

Predators

There are several animals that like to prey on the chickens.  Because of this, make sure you keep your coop tight and secure against these predators.  It is not a good idea to keep the chickens in their coop all day. They will need room and freedom, so it is important to keep protected the area in which the chickens can roam.  Nighttime is when chickens at their most vulnerable, so plan accordingly.  Also, lice and mites are a danger to the chickens as well, so steps will need to be taken to prevent those as well.

Sleeping

Chickens will not sleep on the ground.  They sleep on, what is called, a roosting bar.  These are simple to make, as they can be as simple as a two by four board.

Laying Eggs

Of course, when you think of chickens, the thought of eggs will not be too far behind.  Hens will need straw-lined boxes to lay their eggs.  If you put in something that resembles an egg in the designated boxes, the hens will get the idea and will start laying eggs there.  If these boxes are not provided, hens will lay eggs behind objects or in corners.  If you don’t grab the eggs soon after they are laid, those eggs will be sat on.

With this simple, easy guide on how to care for chickens, you should be able to get started right away.  Although caring for these chickens takes work like any other animal, the result is something to look forward to.  Raising chickens shouldn’t only be a chore; it should be fun as well.  Remember that chickens have their own way of playing, and you’ll see it once you realize that the chicken isn’t just following you without reason!