Like any pet , a great deal of chickens requires ongoing care . Because crybaby are able-bodied to meet their own physical and social need , care for chickens usually demand less of your fourth dimension than other domesticated pets do , but you ’re also responsible for maintaining an environs where chicken can meet all their needs for a felicitous , goodly life .
If you ’re newfangled to chicken - holding , here are some of the chicken chores you could count on being part of your routine . For the less frequent chores , mark your calendar or coiffure an alert on your smartphone , so that you call back what needs to be done .
Daily Chicken Chores
Provide Meals
Checkfeed level and extend fresh waterfirst matter in the forenoon and again before fall . Chickens should always have approach to food ( continuous feed year - circle or structured mealtimes plus free ranging in the summer ) and uncontaminating H2O . volaille should also be able-bodied to access gritstone as require .
Gather Eggs
Collecting the eggs several metre a day , versus once a day or once every other day , keeps eggs clean , avoids breakage and encourages pondering hen to get off the nest . It ’s much easier to put away a handful of white testicle ( whether you lap them or not ) than it is to meet two days deserving of testicle that need to be scrubbed free of chicken poo . occasional egg checks save clip in the long run .
Tidy Up
move out the dirtiest bedding every day and add cleanbeddingif it ’s needed . Removing the nightlong poo from below the roost will keep the coop smelling poulet - fresh , and it will discourage flies from breeding in the henhouse .
Weekly Chicken Chores
Inspect The Flock
Give the girl ( and boys ) a goodonce - overfor any signs of illness , injury or infestation .
Change Bedding
Remove all the bedding you ’ve been tidying up over the course of action of the calendar week , and substitute it with clean bedding . Changing bedding weekly facilitate keep the chicken coop free of parasitic gadfly and other invasive critters . It also remove moisture from the coop that allows bacterium to boom and that promotes dangerous frostbite in the winter months .
Rake The Run
If your run is fixed ( versus Mobile River ) , keep the footrace tidy by raking out chicken waste material and any crocked / unsporting solid ground textile , like straw . Buildup of wet and wimp waste creates an surroundings where disease thrives . From enteral worms and international sponge to respiratory infection andbumblefoot , chickens are at risk on a filthy discharge floor . Keep it clean .
Monthly Chicken Chores
Assess the Seasons
Like gardening , keeping crybaby emphasizes the nuanced differences between each month of the year . When the pest population is high and the grass grows too fast , chickens can eat less feed . When the summer becomes hot and dry , few and/or different pests are available , and the Gunter Grass slows , more provender is required . Every month of the year demands tweaks in casual and hebdomadal chicken care . Only you’re able to find out these vary need in your flock base on your mood .
Twice-Annual Chicken Chores
Scrub the Coop
Clean the coopwith soap , weewee and a scrub brush every six month . I prefer to use plain erstwhile dish max . Soap will kill pests but not the grass . Once the coop is completely dry , dot its nook and crannies with solid food grade diatomaceous earth ( DE ) to aid stop dirt ball from travel in .
Fill The Bath
Freshen up thedust bathwith peat moss , forest ash tree and sand . Peat moss absorbs oils from the skin , Natalie Wood ash tree coats the peel with a barrier that deters parasites , and sand helps to weigh it all down .
Allow Garden Access
Spring and diminish garden cleanup exposes the flock to a boost in dietetical protein and to edible greens . Chickens also help turn soil and organic matter . Chickens are ravening eaters and unequalled garden worker .
Annual Chicken Chores
Make Repairs
Keep the coop in crest - top shape to discourage marauder and infestation and to keep chickens white and dry .
Rachel Hurd Anger
Rachel Hurd Anger
