How Much Time Do You Spend Caring For Your Chickens On Average?

[Mrs. Turbo]

so much time that my husband lives in the barn more than the house

At least when it is warm I can kick the kids out with him. He wants a fridge out there, but then I would never see him...LOL

 

[catdaddy66]

For my flock of 34 birds in 2 brooders ( 4 wks old), about 15 minutes twice a day. My wife will spend about 15 total each day. While I know this is adequate as the chicks are healthy and HUGE, I still feel guilty about spending more w/ them. I do just stand, hypnotized, watching them and checking them for signs of illness, whatever.

I've heard them in the house, "Where's Dad?" and "He's in the chick room!" My addiction is well known...

 

[chickbird]

i have about 50 plus chickens, my husband and i are retired and we spend about one hour in the morning and one in the evening. we feed and water a.m. and p.m. we do not fill feeders full, only what they eat in a day...we close them into coops at night and let them out to free range in the a.m. if i am incubating and raising small chicks, it takes even longer.. i have 3 coops as i have chickens at different ages and cleaning them out takes about 30-40 minutes.

 

[95yj]

i don't think it'll take you nearly as long as most of these people are talking about since you'll just have one coop. Probably 10 min. max a day for feeding and watering and egg collection. Then you might have to let them out in the morning and shut them up at night. Then maybe ounce a week plan on spending 15-20 min. cleaning the coop. it varies. its not that bad though.

 

[BlackBart]

Quote:
That sounds about rite

But you forgot to mention the hundreds of hours you spend being hypnotized by them

That amount of time would be embarrassing to admit

 

[Heathercp]

5 to 10 minutes to open the run door (so they can free range), open the windows if they've been closed for the night, check the water and refill if necessary, check the feeder and refill if necessary and turn over the bedding under the roosts. I also check the nest boxes which also takes less than a minute - I've only got three of those and they're accessible from outside the coop.

But then... I sit on the deck and watch them. I just find it so relaxing to sit outside in the fresh air and let myself be entertained by their chicken antics.

 

[nivtup]

Lots

About 2 hours per day during the week, and most of one weekend day.

 

[dntd]

I only have 4 bantoms and I take 5 mins to water/feed daily and it only takes 10-15 mins a week to clean thier home(depending on how messy they are) but that said they are small and we only have 4 petting is not in that amount of time as that's optional if I can't do it the kids do

 

[mdbokc]

12 girls. ..to actually "care" for them and all their actual physical needs takes about 10-15 minutes a day total. But the time that I actually find to spend with them, around them is easily a couple of hours a day....even when doing outside chores which will now increase with the weather moving to spring.

Coop bedding cleaned once a year so that will take me half a day to thoroughly do.

 

[Chicken Chaperone]

For me and my flock of one chicken it all depends on how much sanity I need.

If my DS is acting like a wild man then I put myself in time
out with the chicken and she and I hang out until I calm down. For me it's all about companionship and meditation and getting fresh air
and being calm so I'm happy if I can spend an hour or so a day bonding with her, giving her treats, digging worms with her. For other folks
who are just about meat and egg production it might be a lot less- just the time it takes for basic chores. For me, Henrietta the chicken is a
pet and taking care of her is a hobby so it takes as much time as I'm willing to give it.

that chicken of mine!!