A Day in the Life?

[LitchCoChick]

Good morning Good Chicken People,

I am brand new to chicken-keeping and to be honest, new to becoming a sunrise morning person. I've been sleep-training myself for the past few months to wake with the sun (and be happy about it!).

While I am anticipating the arrival of (6) four wk old chickies, readying the coop and all the supplies, I find myself trying to figure out how it all works every day!

I would be ever so grateful to learn about your individual schedules from sun-up to sun-down when it comes to how you manage your day taking care of your flock if anyone feels so inclined to share!

 

[Ridgerunner]

In the morning I open the pop door so they can get outside and give them feed and clean water. In late afternoon I collect eggs and top off the feed and water as I need to. Just after dark I go down there to close the pop door. That's a normal day as far as regular care.

Some people use automatic pop doors and have feeders and waterers set up so they really don't have to go down there but once every few days. I like checking on mine regularly to see that everything is OK. Sometimes for me it's not OK.

I don't have lap chickens. They are not pets that I cuddle. If you want them sitting in your lap or flying up on your shoulder you'll have to do a lot more. I personally don't want them close enough that they can peck my eyes.

I like to watch them during the day. Especially if you have a rooster with the flock or a broody hen raising chicks and they have some room, chicken TV can be better than anything on cable, satellite, or antenna. Take time to watch them even if it's just a small flock of all hens with little space. They are still amazing.

I scrape my droppings board when I need to and put that poop in my compost pile. With my number of chickens and my set-up that may be once a week or occasionally when my numbers are pretty low and the weather is dry I may be able to go as long as 6 weeks. Some people clean daily. I clean bedding and poop out of my coop once every three or four years, not because I need to but because I want that stuff on my garden. I put it on the garden in the fall and till it in, by planting time it's broken down enough. Few people deep clean that seldom, most do it a lot more often, some even weekly. We all have our own schedules.

I never clean my run. With over 3,000 square feet I don't have to. Some people clean up poop from their run daily and bedding on a regular basis.

There are times I'm down there more often. When a broody hen is hatching I check on her to see that everything is going OK. I raise mine for meat so I have days that I butcher. I band mine on the legs so I can tell them apart and I check them for mites or lice. That's a special occasion. When I'm trying to figure out which pullet is laying which egg so I can determine which pullets to keep and which not to I'm down there quite a bit. When I have stuff from the garden to feed them I'm down there. When the temperature is below freezing I check to make sure they have water.

We all have different set-ups and conditions. We have different goals, climates, and flock make-ups. We are each unique. While my basic care is just the three trips a day I'm actually down there a lot more most days. I don't know anything about your goals or set-up. You'll have to find your own way and see what works for you. If you just go with basic care you don't have to do that much, but I think most of us do more than that.

 

[3KillerBs]

I work irregular hours and more days than I want to right now so my routine depends on whether it's a workday or an off day.

Workdays, I go out to open the pop door after I'm dressed but before I put my work shoes on. Depending on the time of year it might be light or it might still be dark. When I get home I collect eggs. Either while prepping dinner or after dinner, depending on what I'm making and what time it is, I take the vegetable trimmings and any other chicken-friendly scraps and toss them over the fence. If I work in my garden I throw the weeds over the fence too. After the chickens have gone in for the night I close the pop door.

Off days, I go out to open the pop door not long after it gets light or, if I'm sleeping in, my husband opens the door when he leaves for work. I check for eggs throughout the day and regularly provide cooking scraps and weeds from the garden. These are the days that I fill the feeder and waterer, both of which are large enough to not need daily attention, and that I add more bedding to the coop if needed (see article here).

Sometimes, workday or off day, when the weather is nice and I'm in the mood, I'll sit in the run "chillin' with my peeps" -- enjoying the outdoors and the chicken TV. My ladies are not cuddle pets but they like to follow me around.

Every 2-4 weeks I work with the litter in the run, raking it away from the electric net, filling up "ankle-breaker" holes, and picking out bones, paper plates, etc. and/or I rake up more pine straw to add.

Every month or 6 weeks, after a rain when the ground is soft, I move the electric fence to give the birds access to fresh ground.

Every 6-12 weeks, as mentioned in the article linked above, I clean the coop and change the bedding.

That is the current routine, which will change once the new coop is finished. The "Chicken Palace" is an Open Air coop/run combination so there won't be any pop door to open. But I will be getting chicks to add to the flock so there will be more daily chores tending to them.

 

[LitchCoChick]

In the morning I open the pop door so they can get outside and give them feed and clean water. In late afternoon I collect eggs and top off the feed and water as I need to. Just after dark I go down there to close the pop door. That's a normal day as far as regular care.

Some people use automatic pop doors and have feeders and waterers set up so they really don't have to go down there but once every few days. I like checking on mine regularly to see that everything is OK. Sometimes for me it's not OK.

I don't have lap chickens. They are not pets that I cuddle. If you want them sitting in your lap or flying up on your shoulder you'll have to do a lot more. I personally don't want them close enough that they can peck my eyes.

I like to watch them during the day. Especially if you have a rooster with the flock or a broody hen raising chicks and they have some room, chicken TV can be better than anything on cable, satellite, or antenna. Take time to watch them even if it's just a small flock of all hens with little space. They are still amazing.

I scrape my droppings board when I need to and put that poop in my compost pile. With my number of chickens and my set-up that may be once a week or occasionally when my numbers are pretty low and the weather is dry I may be able to go as long as 6 weeks. Some people clean daily. I clean bedding and poop out of my coop once every three or four years, not because I need to but because I want that stuff on my garden. I put it on the garden in the fall and till it in, by planting time it's broken down enough. Few people deep clean that seldom, most do it a lot more often, some even weekly. We all have our own schedules.

I never clean my run. With over 3,000 square feet I don't have to. Some people clean up poop from their run daily and bedding on a regular basis.

There are times I'm down there more often. When a broody hen is hatching I check on her to see that everything is going OK. I raise mine for meat so I have days that I butcher. I band mine on the legs so I can tell them apart and I check them for mites or lice. That's a special occasion. When I'm trying to figure out which pullet is laying which egg so I can determine which pullets to keep and which not to I'm down there quite a bit. When I have stuff from the garden to feed them I'm down there. When the temperature is below freezing I check to make sure they have water.

We all have different set-ups and conditions. We have different goals, climates, and flock make-ups. We are each unique. While my basic care is just the three trips a day I'm actually down there a lot more most days. I don't know anything about your goals or set-up. You'll have to find your own way and see what works for you. If you just go with basic care you don't have to do that much, but I think most of us do more than that.

Thanks for taking the time and care to reply! I appreciate it.

 

[LitchCoChick]

I work irregular hours and more days than I want to right now so my routine depends on whether it's a workday or an off day.

Workdays, I go out to open the pop door after I'm dressed but before I put my work shoes on. Depending on the time of year it might be light or it might still be dark. When I get home I collect eggs. Either while prepping dinner or after dinner, depending on what I'm making and what time it is, I take the vegetable trimmings and any other chicken-friendly scraps and toss them over the fence. If I work in my garden I throw the weeds over the fence too. After the chickens have gone in for the night I close the pop door.

Off days, I go out to open the pop door not long after it gets light or, if I'm sleeping in, my husband opens the door when he leaves for work. I check for eggs throughout the day and regularly provide cooking scraps and weeds from the garden. These are the days that I fill the feeder and waterer, both of which are large enough to not need daily attention, and that I add more bedding to the coop if needed (see article here).

Sometimes, workday or off day, when the weather is nice and I'm in the mood, I'll sit in the run "chillin' with my peeps" -- enjoying the outdoors and the chicken TV. My ladies are not cuddle pets but they like to follow me around.

Every 2-4 weeks I work with the litter in the run, raking it away from the electric net, filling up "ankle-breaker" holes, and picking out bones, paper plates, etc. and/or I rake up more pine straw to add.

Every month or 6 weeks, after a rain when the ground is soft, I move the electric fence to give the birds access to fresh ground.

Every 6-12 weeks, as mentioned in the article linked above, I clean the coop and change the bedding.

That is the current routine, which will change once the new coop is finished. The "Chicken Palace" is an Open Air coop/run combination so there won't be any pop door to open. But I will be getting chicks to add to the flock so there will be more daily chores tending to them.

So very helpful- thank you so much for taking the time @3KillerBs!