A day in the life of a chicken!?

[daddybe]

So I'm baffled. I've bought the books, read the forum and still can't put my head around what it's going to be like when I finally get some chickens.
Perhaps someone could shine a light?
I'm going to build a coop, have a run connected to it and also have a big yard that I plan on letting them free range on. But how much guidance will they need in order to operate with this setup?
I'm confused about the door to the coop, the one with the little steps for them to walk down to the run. Do I have to open that up every morning or get an auto door opener. So this means that chickens have to be locked up at night? really? will they walk into the coop on their own when the sun goes down. If so why shut the door?
Same question if they are free ranging, will they go back to the coop to get water and rest and then sleep there at night? Can't they sleep in the yard pending being eaten by something?
I'm not sure how it all works if I go away for the weekend, or a week vacation!
Can't they survive if I give them enough food and water in one of those fancy feeder / watering devices? And that door comes to mind again, can I just leave it open while away? How about the eggs that are left for the weekend, or the week? Will I come back to a flock of chicks or rotten eggs or worse?
I'm sure this is all part of the fun, to figure it all out but I'm looking for some advanced warning of what I can expect... Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[GitaBooks]

I think chickens are different for everyone who keeps them!

Its a wonderful experience, granted, stressful at times.
You just have to flow with it sometimes. When the chickens ignore you, when they come running for treats, when they are sick, or when a new baby hatches. There are ups and downs, boring times, cold times, really hot weather when you just want to stay inside. Then there are times when you win shows with them, or create a new color or cross-breed, or just sit and watch them with the sunset. Its just incredible.

After a few weeks the chickens should learn how the pen works and can be released to free-range. Mine all come back at night, around the time the sunsets and sometimes slightly afterwards. However, they are all in at dark unless something is wrong or one is broody. They may need encouragement the first few times, with some treats of scrambled eggs or bread, but they learn pretty well.

My chickens have a full sized room that they sleep in (I have a lot of them) so they have a large door that slides open and a door for people to walk in and out of. I open both in the mornings and shut them both in the evening. I feed them in the morning and count them in the evening, collect eggs, and make sure they are all healthy.
Locking them up at night keeps them safer from predators, but if the run is safe you really don't have to do this. They could even sleep outside if they wanted, as I've heard some chickens like to do.

People can learn to take care of your chickens, or at least check on them, while you are gone on vacation. You never know what could happen while you are gone; A chicken could get tangled in something, the food could get spilled, a branch could fall on the coop. Its best to have a trusted neighbor check on the chickens once or twice a day and feed them and give them new water. They can also collect eggs.
Eggs can rot in a short amount of time in warm weather, but in a lot of places in the world people don't even use fridges to keep their eggs in, they just keep them in a cool area and they stay good. A mother chicken, after all, takes a week or so to collect a whole clutch before setting, and they stay good this whole time.

Chickens do things unexpected at times, you can't be prepared for everything, but reading as much as you can and talking to people who keep poultry will help you know what to expect (to some extent

).

Best of luck! Feel free to ask any questions you have!

 

[PapaChaz]

So I'm baffled. I've bought the books, read the forum and still can't put my head around what it's going to be like when I finally get some chickens.
Perhaps someone could shine a light?
I'm going to build a coop, have a run connected to it and also have a big yard that I plan on letting them free range on. But how much guidance will they need in order to operate with this setup?
I'm confused about the door to the coop, the one with the little steps for them to walk down to the run. Do I have to open that up every morning or get an auto door opener. So this means that chickens have to be locked up at night? really? will they walk into the coop on their own when the sun goes down. If so why shut the door?
Same question if they are free ranging, will they go back to the coop to get water and rest and then sleep there at night? Can't they sleep in the yard pending being eaten by something?
I'm not sure how it all works if I go away for the weekend, or a week vacation!
Can't they survive if I give them enough food and water in one of those fancy feeder / watering devices? And that door comes to mind again, can I just leave it open while away? How about the eggs that are left for the weekend, or the week? Will I come back to a flock of chicks or rotten eggs or worse?
I'm sure this is all part of the fun, to figure it all out but I'm looking for some advanced warning of what I can expect... Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks!

a day in the life of a chicken:
wake up with the sun.......poop a little
stretch the legs and wings, get down off the roost ....... poop a little
go get some water, get a bite of food then poop......
go outside and poop
scratch around in the dirt, straw, grass, etc and poop........
realize one of the other chickens found something while scratching, run over and try to take it away......and then poop
hope the human brings out some treats, run over excitedly to get my share, or take something away from the other chicken who got there first .....and then poop
realize the urge has suddenly hit me, go find the nest and lay an egg.....then go back out and poop
the rest of day light hours will be all of the above repeated over and over except the egg laying until just before dark when they go back in, climb in the nest, argue over who sits by the window, finally get settled in for the night to sleep.........did I mention they poop in their sleep too?

seriously though, even though that's pretty accurate, HA, they'll do fine. When you first get them, esp if it's cool when you get them, leave them in the coop. Even if it's not cool, leave them in the coop for the first few days. Lock em up and don't let em out for a couple days........They will then know that's 'home' and will return there to get food and water, and at night for roosting. if it's hot, ventilation and even a fan if necessary, but leave em in the coop!

As for the door questions, it will depend on your run setup and security. If it's completely open, and you leave the doors up, then you're inviting predators to come eat for free at night. If you build a secure run that nothing can get in, you can safely leave your doors open. Eggs won't go bad over the weekend if left in the nest. If you're going to be gone for more than just a few days, have someone come by and get them. Even if it's 'if you'll come by and check on the chickens while I"m gone you can have whatever eggs you collect while you're here'......it's cheap peace of mind.

I have a secure run, I don't let mine out to free range, but they have MORE than enough room in the run to comfortably do everything I listed above. we went on vacation for 6 days a few weeks ago, and my pop doors stayed open the whole time. Mine aren't laying yet, so the egg thing wasn't an issue. My feeder holds a 50 pound bag at a time, and the watering system is 30 gallons. made sure both were full when we left and it was all good. We're going on another 5 day trip next month, they'll be laying then but we'll have either one of the daughters or a neighbor come by and collect the eggs.

It may take them a few days to get used to the roost, or the ramps going in and out, or using the nest boxes. One thing they'll learn quick is where to get feed and water, so even if they're out free ranging, if there's not enough they can find, they'll go back and get it where they know it is.

It's not hard, yes, like anything else that's 'new' there are learning curves, but I've found most people realize a few weeks in, they were worried about a lot of things they really didn't have to worry about at all!

Good luck, and have FUN!

 

[daddybe]

I just pooped too!
Thanks for the advise, feeling better now, you know, after pooping!

 

[thomasboyle]

Chickens instinctively know that bad things happen at night, and they want to be inside when the sun goes down. My ducks on the other hand aren't so smart, and I have to go round them up each evening to herd them into the coop. Welcome to the happy world of chickens!