Help please :)

[elleseelucy]

I'm a newbie and I would very much appreciate it if someone could tell me what some must-have supplies are for chicken keeping.
Please and thank you!

 

[bobbi-j]

You can have so many things on hand for your chickens, or you can keep it simple. It depends on how much you are willing and able to spend. My setup consists of two coops (sheds, acutally - one is 8x12, the other is 8x16), both with attached, covered runs. I have a gravity feeder and 7-gal. waterer for each run. I also have heated dog water bowls for winter, and a few black rubber feeding pans. That's it. We farm, and grow wheat, so that's what I use for bedding.

 

[donrae]

I'm also in the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid!) camp--

For adult birds....

Shelter. Birds need shelter from the elements and predators. Both these things depend on your location. A coop that works fine in the suburbs in the South won't necessarily cut it in the northern Rockies. Most shelter/coops include roosts and nest boxes. My roosts are tree branches or 2x4s, and my nest boxes are Rubbermaid tubs or milk crates.

Water. I use gravity waterers and big black rubber tubs. I also keep a kiddie pool for the ducks and back up water for the chickens.

Food. I use a big galvanized steel gravity feeder in the coop. I use a Rubbermaid trash can for storing my feed in.

That's all they really need. I don't use any medications/wormers/supplements/etc. I do keep blue-kote for spraying wounds if needed, I think I've used it maybe twice on birds in the last 5ish years.