Daily Routine

[bensantandera]

In the morning i usually go out and check for eggs and open their door to let them out for the day before i get ready for the day. When I get home I go and get any more eggs that were laid during the day and later on go out and lock up. Every weekend I usually clean it up and put in a fresh bedding every other week.

 

[eggorthechicken]

Right now.....Morning..open the doors and let them out, feed and water, throw out scraps. Say good morning to the flock.

Evening...collect eggs and lock them up after work.

On weekends and spring/summer I do go outside a lot more to garden, fiddle around, clean, and sit and watch them when there is more daylight.

 

[vmeversole]

@2AcreFarmer Sorry I don't have any helpful info for you, but I just wanted to say kudos to you for taking on this responsibility! Good for you! My hat is off to you!

edited by staff

 

[groundpecker]

before leaving for work. empty 17 frozen water bowls and replace with warm water. Feed all of my birds. Gather and dispose of any eggs laid very late evening the night before. "because they froze and not hatchable".

After work add warm water to water bowls, "if frozen again". Feed them all again and gather eggs for the incubator. pick out litter in conditioning pens. Let a pen or two free-range, depending on rotation.

Handle and inspect the birds i plan on showing, " to keep them accustomed to being handled".

Once a week: clean pens, inspect a couple birds in each pen. fully clean conditioning pens.


There is always something to do. I really dont think about all the work I put into my birds. i have become accustomed to a routine and just do it.

 

[roostereggs]

7AM chicken chores (2 minutes): Open door to big run (4-5 days of the week), scoop fermented feed into dog bowls, throw out BOSS/worms/veggies/fruit/leftovers. If I don't give them something other than feed they will cluck at me in an annoying fashion while I am out there.

I do a quick scan of the coop to make sure the water bowls aren't tipped over and everyone is accounted for.

PM chicken chores (2-5 minutes): Close up coop/small run, make sure everyone is accounted for, and collect eggs. Hand feed worms if it is still light out. And I always thank the ladies for giving us beautiful eggs.

On my days off (Sat, Sun, Weds) I go out later and get an earful from our roo about sleeping in.

I make sure the calcium bowl has enough crushed eggshell. I clean the waterers really well, tend to the FF, etc. The coops are a work in progress, so I spend some time working on them. Every other Sat I rake the poo out of there and throw it in the wheelbarrow which is my compost bucket for now. 90% of the poo is under the roost, so there is never much on their dirt/sand floor. These days I also sit and watch them scratch around for an hour or two.

Will be going to nipple waterers in a week or two, so will have some training for that soon.

 

[flo12345]

Wake up I go out at 6:30 in the summer and 7:00 am in the winter. Make sure everybody is ok and nobody is sick. Then I let them out and do my daily walk of the run. Then I do my 2 waterers and fill the feeder if it needs to be filled get eggs and I'm done Bedtime is whenever they go in winter usually 5:00 pm summer more like 7:30 pm. I close them up, count them, kiss them goodnight, and get eggs again. I love my chickens ^_^

 

[revmichael]

My 4 Barred Rocks are confined in a 4x11 run with a 4x4 coop above the run in one area. Have a small back yard so the girls are not too far from my bedroom window.

When I hear then clucking in the morning (usually around 7:30 a.m. - I get up - grab their food container (have to bring it in at night so the mice don't eat it all) refill what is needed and bring it out to them, plus change their water.

Then go back inside get my coffee and check on the girls in about an hour or so. They are just starting to lay now so wanting to know about what time they do their business.

If needed I throw some pine shavings into their run for them to scratch through, same thing under their coop. I have an open floor coop plan being here in FL. Meaning it's a wired floor for them, easier to keep clean and well ventilated. I clean the screen right now once a week or when I see it really needs more cleaning. I clean under their coop once a month removing the pine shavings and their poop and put it in a composter - mixing in what I have cleaned up from the screened floor through the month.

I have also extended my vegetable garden so all the grass and weeds that I have pulled up (with some dirt attached) I also throw into the run for them to scratch through as well as give them some greens to eat and they love it.

I plan on cleaning out the run every few months and putting in fresh shavings and grass/weed clippings and taking what is in the run to the composter as well to let it mature just a bit longer. In no time at all my garden will be the envy of the neighbors lol

Not too bad of a routine with only 4 barred rocks.

I check on them as well in the afternoons to make sure they have enough water and food and to bring them treats on occasion. Then around sunset I go and take in their food, I noticed one night when I went out there just after sunset the mice were in the run eating the feed. By then the girls are up in their coop on their perch for the night. I can see them sleeping with my coop design - it's a hardware cloth front to it. If there are any eggs throughout the day I gather those up as well.

 

[Cknldy]

Winter- 7:30am at the earliest and 9:00am at the latest I get to the feed shed to dole out food in buckets for the different coops. Tend bantams in feed shed coop-water, food, stir litter, talk to them while petting then check feet of silkie. Next is Silver Sebright bantam coop down from the feed shed. Food, water,grit, etc. Then stir bedding in house, check nest boxes just in case someone has decided to start laying. Back to feed shed for the feed buckets for farther away coops. Forgot the water jugs in the house so go back for them, make sure I have all gallons for all coop waterers plus enough to make their feed wet. Load up the arms with all feed, grit, oyster shell, sawdust or hay needed, hang waterers brought in the night before (so I won't have to take frozen waterers up to the house then go back down to coops again) over my shoulders and grab the 3-4 gallons of water. Trudge down to 2 midway coops and hope that if (when) I slip I don't spill the feed. Mix feed, dole out to small coop chickens then give water. It's okay to leave the door open at this point because no one is going to make a break for freedom to become breakfast for the dogs or cats when they have warm food- scoop under roosts. Fluff up litter and go to big coop. Dole out the rest of the grower feed, give water then scoop under roosts. Don't forget to give out the grit/oyster shell that I lugged down with me. Count chickens of each breed

 

[Cknldy]

That was getting long so I'll continue here Talk to everyone, get favorites/friendlies to go down off my lap/shoulders. I also collect clean feathers from the coop for quilt stuffing since these guys aren't laying yet. Gather rest of supplies and head ALL THE WAY to the very bottom of our property to tend the Russian Orloff chickens. Slide the last bit of the way on my behind in the snow because it is much safer that way Check for strange dog pawprints and ask the oldest RO's when the dog came to visit. Feed first or get accidently swatted with a wing when they fly up anxiously trying to get the scratch mixed into their feed. Do the water for both sides of the coop. Check for eggs, scoop under roosts in their house. Add hay and turn litter on the juvenile side. Spend time talking and waiting for eggs since the girls like to wait on a clean nest box if the roos left their version of eggs in it. Oh yeah-check legbands on everyone in every coop too. And check for frostbite or broken toes or anyone looking under the weather. Trudge back up to the house after laughing at myself for having to crawl up a section of the snow/ice covered hillside while the cat looks at me like I've lost my mind...get almost to tge feed shed before having to take a breather and ask the 20 or so pound dog why he thinks his tail will pull me up the rest of the mountain. Put all the containers up, make sure all feed bins are securely closed then remember the injured chicken in the outdoor brooder. Go the few feet to the brooder to feed, water, add bedding, check healing wound and add salve. FINALLY get into the house for coffee then remember us humans need more firewood brought in...at dusk speedily grab a bucket of scratch, run around to all coops tossing out scratch. Remember to grab waterers from the farthest coops to save a trip in the morning. If I forgot the waterers I spend extra time with the tire-plugging punch breaking and chipping ice the next morning. Summer is so much easier.....

 

[crzy chkn ldy]

Well my day begins at 6 am with my 17 adult chickens. Hubby lets them out as he leaves for work. They meander around for a bit and then head up to our house for some corn scratch. They think their feed in their coop is not enough, haha. After their scratch, I fill the waterer on the porch for them b/c the waterer in the coop freezes . They prefer the water on the porch anyway, I think it is so they can annoy our three dogs. After that they will all go to their nesting boxes and lay their beautiful brown eggs for me to collect after they are done. Three of my hens lay in our barn, a little nesting box that our previous hen had made herself, I.have to be diligent about collecting those before our dogs help themselves. After they are finished they will wander around our place to find whatever they can to eat or play with. It is so funny to watch one of them get a "prize" and the others chase her around! I daily check their coop and clean out or add bedding as needed and more feed. I then shift my attention to the "babies" in our rearing pen. I freshen their water, give them more grower and their scratch corn. I watch them for awhile until I have been amused enough! There are 12 "babies" in our rearing pen, mostly roosters. I would have turned them out with the others by now except that I don't need any more roosters added to my flock and it has been so cold that I didn't want to let the hens out in this weather only to be pecked on by the others. They have lights, both babies and adults so that is checked at least a couple of times a day. By the afternoon it is snack time for the adults and they may have bread, cornbread, waffles, tomatoes or green beans! Yes, they are spoiled. Then they play for the rest of the afternoon until daddy gets home and they know it's time for their scratch corn before bed. After being fed and loved they go back to their coop, decide where they are roosting for the night. After they are settled, I go to the coop to count chickens, make sure all is safe and there are no "boo-boos" then I lock them in. All is right with the world. We start all over again in the morning, what a wonderful world!