Daily Routine

[2AcreFarmer]

@lazy gardener

 

[Den in Penn]

That dog lot should be big enough it give them twelve square feet per bird, more so with two of them being bantams. Most runs that size will be just bare dirt from just the tramping of feet alone. If you put something in the run for them to pick through, like some hay or leaves, they shouldn't be too bored.

 

[2AcreFarmer]

That dog lot should be big enough it give them twelve square feet per bird, more so with two of them being bantams.   Most runs that size will be just bare dirt from just the tramping of feet alone.  If you put something in the run for them to pick through, like some hay or leaves,  they shouldn't be too bored.

@Den in Penn

I was told there wasn't any need to add hay or leaves because the run is covered with a tarp on an a-frame. So it is completely waterproof

 

[TXchickmum]

When sunlight first appears, I fill the waterers with fresh water. -retrieve the feed from the metal storage cans in the coop and fill the feeders. -mix up some mash and pour it into their little troughs. -open up the doors to the run so the flock can venture out. I then scoop up the coop, rake the shavings, and retrieve any early eggs.

About 9:30 AM, I work for a while outdoors and let the chickens out on the lawn and garden for 30 minutes to an hour. (I scoop up the run during this time). -get the chickens back to the coop and scoop up any waste from the lawn (which goes into the compost bins).

Between 1:30 PM and 3:00 PM, I take the chickens some fresh greens and turn them out onto the lawn for another 30 minutes to an hour. They usually sun and dustbathe during this time. (I scoop the run, again, followed by the lawn).

About 4:30 PM, my daughter gets home from school and lets the chickens out. She loves to hang outdoors with them for a while.

About an hour before sundown, I go out to clean the run for the evening. -let the girls have good foraging time on the lawn before roosting. The feeders are placed in large metal cans w/lids inside the coop. The outdoor waterers are emptied and turned upside down. -run is raked and thoroughly emptied of any spilled feed and chicken waste. I then fill the waterers that stay inside the coop. -bring in any eggs from the day.

At sundown, the chickens go to roost and I close up the coop.

 

[lularat]

My 6 girls are confined to their run. The run is approximately 8 x 30. It's L shaped and the coop sits at the corner. They are still locked in their coop at night. I get them out about 6:30 every morning. Around 11:00, I scoop poop out of the run and coop, fill the feeders & water, and collect eggs. I have a chair in the run and sit with the girls a while. Three of my girls love to sit on my lap, and sometimes all three are on it at once. Later on in the afternoon, I usually scoop poop in the run again. Right after it turns dark, I lock the coop door. I use a lot of sand in my run and also have a bale of hay in there now. They have a large shelter on their coop and I also have a large tarp on part of the run so they will have a dry area.

 

[Den in Penn]

The hay is for the chickens to scratch through, giving them something to do. Bare dry dirt without any bedding works fine in a run. But a bare barren enviorment does nothing to give them stimulation.

 

[lularat]

The hay is for the chickens to scratch through, giving them something to do. Bare dry dirt without any bedding works fine in a run. But a bare barren enviorment does nothing to give them stimulation.

Yes, and how they love to scratch in it. I put the bale in and let them scatter it.

 

[Beekissed]

Yeah then I shouldn't let them out. Is a 10x10 dog lot enough though? They've eaten all the grass out and it's just bare dirt. Won't they get bored?

Yes, they will. And the soil will be overloaded with fecal matter and stink and attract flies in the summer months, even with a covered run.

@Den in Penn

I was told there wasn't any need to add hay or leaves because the run is covered with a tarp on an a-frame. So it is completely waterproof

Depends on if you are giving them a jail or a habitat. Chickens do better if they have healthy soils underfoot that can drain and maintain a healthy microbial life. Your chickens will fare better if you add some deep litter to that run in the form of leaves, pine needles, wood shavings or bark, things to climb on or roost upon and designated areas for dusting filled with good dusting materials.

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My birds free range all year, all the time, so no run and the pop door is always open so I don't have to add opening and closing that to the chore list. In the winter I have a fermented feed bucket in the house, so I scoop out feed to carry to the coop, check the heated water bowl for freshness and water level~that gets refreshed/filled every 3 days or so, along with the dog's heated water bucket, lightly turn the deep litter under the roosts only, gather the eggs from the day before, watch the flock a little bit and return to the house. If I need to refresh my fermented feed bucket, I'll scoop dry feed from the feed can and carry that back to the house with me. That's the extent of my winter chores.

Summer chores are check the communal water pan for dog and chickens to see if it needs refreshed~refreshed every 3rd day or so, as per usual, when I feed the dog and cat. Later on in the evening I'll gather eggs, feed the chickens some fermented feed out of the bucket that now resides in the coop, turn the litter under the roosts if need be...usually doesn't need it every day in the summer months, sit and commune with animals and just think awhile...watch the flock.

About every three months I'll make a night run to the coop to check chickens for parasites and general body condition~treat if necessary.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

That's really neat. I'm still learning. A guy dropped some chickens off at my moms work and no one wanted them so my mom brought them home to me and I kept them locked up all the time. It was a bantam hen and six chicks. And about five months later a hawk got the hen and all but two of the babies. So with all of my Christmas money I bought two red sex link hens a 10x10x6 dog lot and a guy gave me a barred rock rooster. Plus I got a bigger coop. I leave them in the dog lot all the time. Should I let them out and leave the dog lot door open so they can enter/exit as they please?

I'm with the others--if there are dogs, hawks, etc I wouldn't free-range them. For us, the pasture fence deters dogs until I can get out the shotgun, and the goats are pretty good at deterring hawks. Don't know why, but I used to lose 6-8 birds per year to hawks and haven't lost one since we got the goats.

Your dog cage should be fine for them. I'd put down sand so it drains well and is easy to clean. Give them something to do each day--scatter a handful of scratch (not more than a handful) and/or some food scraps. Put in some rocks or things for perching. Then when you are home and can watch them, you can let them out to play. They'll go back in by themselves at dusk.

We have to lock ours in every night. We have racoons, foxes, owls and weasels that will all get into the hen house if we leave the pop door open. Seems like every time I forgot to shut the door or got lazy and didn't do it, I lost birds. Since then, I shut the door every single night.


Edited by Staff

 

[aart]

6am...shovel path to coop, take out liquid water.
8am..shovel path to coop, feed and gather eggs.
10am..shovel path to coop, take out liquid water, gather eggs.
Noon...shovel path to coop, take out kitchen scraps, gather eggs.
3pm....shovel path to coop, take out liquid water, spread scratch grains, gather eggs.
5pm..shovel path to coop, make sure no one's roosting nests.

That's been the drill the past few days.