Time Management and chickens

[Latestarter]

Sweet! Gotta love it when a plan comes together, right?

 

[pennyJo1960]

Hi, I have a rather complicated question which didn't seem to fit well in any particular forum so I hope this one is OK. First, I don't have chickens but I've wanted them for years. I have an access of fenced in property and an additional fence in area that would be perfect,I think, when they don't get to free range. I do not have a coop yet. I do have 3 small dogs and 3 cats who have the run of the yard. I also have a husband who is not interested in the upkeep but will make me breakfast in bed! My question has to do with my job. My schedule is very different since I work in two different client's houses and the hours differ as well. Here is my schedule unless I have an errand to run then I might be a half hour to an hour later. Asleep, these times are when I leave and get home. Sun 7p- 9a, Mon 6p-3a, Tues 7p-9a, Wed 6p-3a, Thur - off, Fri 12a-8a, Sat 6p-3a. My question is this. Do I have any time to properly care for 3-4 chickens? And one more, will my adult chickens be safe from my animals? Thank you. I hope I did this right.

no reason you cannot have them if your get your coop up secure it before you get them if your wanting 3 or 4 amazon is now offering coops that do not too bad and they have runs all made of hardware cloth.. it is wonderful your giving such concerns about weather you should or not Welcome to Backyard Chickens

 

[PirateGirl]

Chickens can take up as much or as little time as you want. On an average work day I can spend as little as 10 minutes on my chickens. If I were to modify my setup it could be less. Chickens like to go in and out at sun up and sun down. If you are not home at those times to open and lock the coop, you can enlist the help of a friend or family member or invest in an automatic coop door. I fill their food and water. That's it. A few minutes. When I have a day off and my schedule permits I clean the coop and do any other maintenance that may be needed. If I used different food and water containers I wouldn't even have to do that daily, but I like to check on them. Eggs can be collected once every 24 hours, usually late afternoon or evening. You can make it work if you want.

 

[17 chickens]

The thing with auto doors is sometimes you have that chicken that likes to take her time getting in the house, She likes to sit out in the nice fresh air gazing at the stars and falls asleep....

 

[Cindy in PA]

The thing with auto doors is sometimes you have that chicken that likes to take her time getting in the house, She likes to sit out in the nice fresh air gazing at the stars and falls asleep....

Only had about 3 times that chickens were caught outside. The problem was the clock had gained time (problem was corrected by company) & it closed too early. Mine is set to close at sunset, by time. My chickens are in at least 1/2 hour before sunset. Most doors also have a second call feature & when the chicken is caught outside on the first close, you can bet they are standing at the door to be sure not to miss the second opening/closing. Even if a chicken does get caught outside, saving 3 of 4 chickens is still worth it! I check it every night anyway when I am home. It is a lifesaver when I am away for 3-4 days. Previously they were open the whole time I was away.

 

[lohrn4]

Thank you for all your advice! It sounds like if I plan everything well, I should be able to have a modest amount of hens. I think I kept thinking that the days I get home at 3 was a little too early to wish them a good morning so I'd have to go to sleep for a bit then get up and feed them then go back to sleep. But I see the most important part is making my run predator proof. Thank you.

I'm not an expert, as I don't have my own chickens yet, I'm still in the planning stage, but my parents have always had chickens and I've read a lot on BYC while planning my chicken management.

I think the more time you spend away from your chickens the more important a predator proof coop and run is, because you won't be there to keep an eye out for them. If your run is predator proof you can leave the pop door open all the time. If you don't want the expense of a really tough run, while your husband doesn't want to deal with the "upkeep" if he would be willing to open the pop door on mornings you're not there and close it on evenings when you're not there, it seems like you're home plenty of time to take care of feeding, watering, and cleaning. If he doesn't want to do that you can get an automatic pop door, as it seems like you'll be there often enough on the off-chance there's a malfunction and you have to open or close it manually. You can get feeders and waterers that you only have to fill once a week, and if you set up your coop and run with deep litter you very rarely have to clean anything out... and even without I think you can get away with only scooping poop once or twice a week otherwise.

There is lots of good information here on BYC, searching the forums has answered almost any question I have thought of so far. Welcome to the community!

 

[PirateGirl]

I open the coop every day when I get home no matter what time. It could be well after dark with a flashlight. I make sure they are all safe inside. I talk before I open the door in the dark so they don't freak out. They usually blink a few times, ruffle their feathers and then I let them go back to sleep.

 

[Latestarter]

I fed inside the coop. I did so because my coop was "other animal" proof. If you feed outside, there is lots of spillage that attracts other animals. Some not so bad, (song birds and such) some you do NOT want around (rats/mice - which in turn attract snakes). If you provide them a bulk feeder you would fill it as needed. There are lots of examples here on the site, same for waterers. So your daily checks to say hello, collect eggs, count heads, check food/water levels, etc can really be done when most convenient for you. If you have to miss a few days, they should be just fine.

When you get home at 3am, no biggie, go to bed and sleep till you wake up. Then go let the chickens out into their run. As folks ahead of this posted, you can also install an automatic pop door that opens and closes by itself according to what you wish/set. Some have sunlight sensors so you can program it to open and close based on the amount of sunlight. Most also have set timers where you set what time to open and close. Many have a second open and close period at night so any birds who missed getting inside have a 2nd chance to go into the coop for the night. This is really more an issue for free range birds. If your run is constructed securely (think Fort Knox), then if a bird does get stuck outside overnight, it still shouldn't be an issue. If your run is that secure, you could even leave the pop door open 24/7.

Good luck with your adventure into chickens!

 

[nminusyplusm]

Between having a coop and run completely secured with 1/2" hardware cloth, a 5 gallon horizontal nipple waterer, a 5 gallon feeder with access from a 3" pvc pipe that significantly cuts down on billing out and using deep litter, there are no rodents or wild birds that get in my enclosure and very little wasted food. What ever bits do get billed out under the feeder get composted where they fall.

 

[aart]

I'd have to go to sleep for a bit then get up and feed them then go back to sleep

Nah, have feeder and waterer that holds enough to last them 24 hours and just top off once a day, timing on that should fit your schedule.