How to Care for Your Flock of Chickens

Chickens are a joy on the homestead.  Their clucking, scratching, and funny antics bring so much joy and peace to the farm yard. They are also relatively easy to take care of and they serve a very important purpose on the homestead, supplying food! If you are new to chickens or just want some extra tips on how to care for your flock of chickens, you have come to the right place! We will walk you though at a high level how to take care of your flock and help them thrive.

Chickens are perhaps my favorite animal on the homestead. Shhh, don’t tell the others!  They are just so easy to take care of and such a joy to watch!  They also have some big personalities which tickles me. We currently have a combination of Red Sexlink, Ameracauna, French Moran, Jersey Giant, and Speckled Susex chickens, all hens. Each of these girls are at a different stage in their laying adventure, and all have varying personalities and temperaments. One thing they all have in common though is the needs they have to be cared for effectively. There are a few things that all chickens need to feel safe, happy, and healthy which will lead to higher yield in egg production and overall happier chickens.

Safe Shelter

Chickens are yard bound and need to have a safe place to escape to when predators are around as they are not able to fly away quickly.  It is important to ensure their sleeping quarters are well fortified from foxes, raccoons, and any other little critters that want to have a late night snack. 

When choosing your coop you need to keep in mind the number of chickens you have and ensure adequate roosting areas.  Chickens love to be up as high as possible when sleeping as this helps them feel safer and gets them out of the way of creeping predators that may try to break in. 

We made the mistake early on of not making sure our coop was adequately fortified and we lost seven of our chickens that we had raised from chicks.  Our dog decided she needed a snack and these little girls were a fun adventure for a German Shepherd. Lesson learned the hard way! After picking up dead chickens from the field I made sure that every nook and cranny was blocked off from potential predators, including our dog. 

When considering shelter, you also want to make sure you have adequate air flow through the coop.  The fumes that your little birdies will let off when they use the bathroom can be quite stinky and dangerous if airflow is not adequate. Again when putting in a window, you need to make sure that nothing can access it to get in. 

Food

Just like all living creatures, food is an essential part of a happy healthy life.  We give our girls a combination of layer crumbles and cracked corn daily as well as healthy treats like fruits and veggies.  If you are looking for some ideas of what these treats can consist of, check out our post on treats your chickens will love!

You can also give chickens access to calcium supplements and grit to aid in egg shell strength and digestion. These should be given as free choice and not mixed in with their every day feed. They will use as they individually need it. 

Water

Fresh clean water daily will help to keep your flock feeling great! Make sure to keep in mind the size of your chickens when choosing a delivery method.  Smaller baby chicks could fall in and drowned in large bowls, so stick to chicken waterers.  Our girls are all big and use a large bowl just fine.  

Water should be changed out daily as the chickens scratching and using the bowl will make it extremely dirty. To keep disease at bay, make sure you keep it clean.

Space

In order to stay happy and healthy, chickens need space.  Space to run and scratch, nest, and roost. A lot of people use a mobile run to allow their chickens to free range safely. These are easy to make and move around the yard throughout the day. Mobile runs not only keep your chickens safe, but save your yard from becoming a compact dirt floor. This is an option that my husband and I have considered, but for the time being we have a large dirt floor building that has adequate ventilation and lots of room for them to take dirt baths in the shade.

Attached to the barn, we have a run where they can get out in the sunshine and enjoy the fresh air. On average you should plan for about four square feet of coop and run space for each chicken.  If chickens do not have adequate spacing, it can promote canabalism in the flock and your girls will start to look ragged and beat up. So give them the space to be safe!

Pest Control

Chickens are prone to lice and mites like many other bird, so you want to keep their space clean to prevent an infestation. There are organic coop sprays out there that will help to keep these types of critters at bay, or you can grow plants like marigolds, lavender, sage, and rosemary. These are also great treats for your chickens as well! You can also spray the coop down once every two weeks with an apple cider vinegar/ water mixture to keep mites and lice away!

Chickens are Life

We hope that this post has been helpful in your journey for caring for you flock. Chickens are such a great addition to any homestead and we know you will love them! You may also want to check out our post on what to do with an abundance of eggs! Once your girls start laying, the eggs will compound quickly!

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