Chicken care doesn’t have to be hard. Read on to learn how to take care of chickens to keep your hens happy, healthy, and safe here.
You’ve recently picked up a flock of chickens. The problem is, you’re not sure how to take care of chickens. The good news is, it won’t be hard to learn what to do.
While cleaning out the coop can be nasty, chickens are one of the lowest maintenance pets you can have. Even more low maintenance than your dog. All you have to do is keep their water and bedding clean, sanitize the coop a few times a year, and don’t forget to collect their eggs.
Sound a bit complicated? Don’t worry, we’re going to go through all this with you in this handy chicken guide.
Check Their Water
Between the bedding and poop, the water in your chicken coop can get pretty nasty. No animal likes drinking gross water so make sure you go out periodically to check it.
If the water dish itself looks a little slimy you’ll have to clean it. You can do this with dish liquid and water.
Sanitize it with chlorine or oxygen bleach if you feel the need. Don’t forget to rinse it well afterward.
Collect the Eggs
Collecting their eggs is quite important. If you neglect this daily task you’ll end up with cracked eggs all over the coop. It’s also not good for the chickens because they could become broody.
When this happens, they’ll think that they’re supposed to hatch the eggs. They’ll sit on them all day and refuse to eat or drink.
Clean and Replace the Bedding
At least once a month or so, you’ll need to clean and replace the chicken’s bedding. Depending on the size of the coop, this is just a matter of shoveling out all the droppings and laying down some fresh bedding.
While you’re cleaning out the chicken’s bedding, it’s a good idea to go ahead and freshen up the nest boxes as well. Reach in and pull out any wet bedding and replace it.
Clean and Sanitize the Coop
Once a year you’ll have to remove everything and spray down the chicken coop with a mixture of bleach and water. Once everything is good and sanitized, you can sprinkle a little bit of food-grade diatomaceous earth throughout the coop.
It will keep mites and other pests off your fowls and if the chickens eat the DE it’s fine. the food-grade stuff won’t hurt them.
Observe the Chickens
You bought them a coop from My Chicken Coop, you keep it clean, take their eggs, and check their water. What more could they want? The answer is interaction.
Go out and check on them every once in a while. Make sure they’re healthy. If they’re active and happily clucking along then you’re doing something right.
How to Take Care of Chickens the Right Way
Chickens can be one of the easiest pets to take care of if you do it right. All they need is a little attention, clean water, a sanitized coop, and poop-free bedding. Use the tips that you’ve read here on how to take care of chickens to keep yours happy and healthy.
All chickens deserve to live in good conditions but this isn’t always the case. Browse the rest of our site to learn how you can help these unfortunate hens and other neglected animals.
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