What do you do to maintain your chickens.

[redinator]

Excellent post!
The only things I'd add to that list are make sure there's clutter in the run (stuff to break line of sight between birds if needed and multiple feeders and waterers. Both of those things will reduce the chance of bullying in your flock in addition to what SourRoses said

*As the late, great Sage said "DON'T TOUCH ME! There are 3 other birds here, why must you pet ME?!"*
I saw this and just had to comment on it. I have one chick in five that runs and screams anytime I try to handle it. The other chicks look at him like he's a maniac.

 

[FrostRanger]

*As the late, great Sage said "DON'T TOUCH ME! There are 3 other birds here, why must you pet ME?!"*
I saw this and just had to comment on it. I have one chick in five that runs and screams anytime I try to handle it. The other chicks look at him like he's a maniac.

The bird in my profile pic is my late easter egger Sage who sadly passed from wet fowl pox in fall of 23. She was an absolutely stunning bird who always looked grumpy and had a high pitched voice that made her always sound annoyed. While she liked me, she didn't want to be pet or held at all and if I did catch her, she would lecture me until I put her down. Being someone who hates physical contact myself I found her extremely relatable, thus I made that my signature in tribute of her

 

[SilkieMom0406]

Daily care: dump & refill waterer, check feeder and refill as needed. Check that grit and oyster shell containers are not empty. Collect eggs. If nestboxes or coop need more bedding, add some.

Less often: remove dirty bedding, put in some fresh bedding. This might be weekly or monthly, or you might add fresh bedding frequently and clean the whole thing out once or twice a year.

If you have a poop board under the roosts, or sand for bedding in the coop, scoop any droppings daily. Some people like doing this little bit each day, other people prefer to use other methods of manure management and do a bigger job less often.

As needed: repair or replace anything that breaks. This shouldn't happen often if you got it set up well in the first place.

As needed: buy new chicks, hatch eggs, rehome or butcher older chickens.


Almost everything else I would consider to be part of the initial setup rather than regular maintenance. That would include predator-proof housing, enough space, good ventilation, all details of how the space is arranged (roosts higher than nests, multiple feed & water locations, things for chickens to sit on or hide behind in the run, etc.)

Thank you so much for this information! It was very helpful.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hey y´all! I am just wondering how you take care of your chickens because I am getting chickens soon. Are there any recommendations on maintaining these wonder-foul creatures?

Some great posts above. We are all unique, we have different goals and reasons for having chickens, different climates, different amounts or room, different experiences, different flock make-ups, different risk tolerances, and a lot else. The details are going to vary a lot.

To me the basic needs are food, water, predator protection, climate protection, and certain things for health. You can get a lot of different opinions on these on this forum.

They need appropriate food. What is appropriate for yours will depend on age, sex, purpose. and your management techniques. You can get some really widely varying opinions on what is appropriate. I'd need to know details before I could make any specific recommendations.

They need plenty of water and it needs to be clean. There are many different kinds of waterers so details will vary as to how you maintain that. If you are watering with an open bowl they can poop in is one situation. If you are using a closed system, say with nipples, then the maintenance requirements change. What does not change is the requirement for clean water.

A lot of different things like to eat chicken. Again, different people have different perspectives on this. Some people that free range may accept an occasional loss due to their perceived benefits of free ranging. Others will be devastated at the loss of one chicken. It is your responsibility to protect them according to your risk tolerances.

Your specific climate will affect what you need to do for climate protection. In most of Texas your winters should not be that brutal and chickens can handle cold much better than many people realize. They do need to be able to avoid cold winds. Snow can be an issue if they are not used to it, not because of immediate danger but because it is strange and they don't trust it. Your summer might be pretty brutal, again depending on exactly where you are. In high heat they need shade and plenty of water as a minimum. Some of us need to go to extraordinary measures to keep them cool enough.

Health is a wide topic. As always, there are lots of different opinions on what is the best way to go.

A constantly wet coop or run is a health threat. When the weather sets in wet you may be challenged in keeping things dry. They need dry places to go to get out of the wet. Try to set things up so water drains away instead of flows to your facilities and stands.

Chickens can get a lot of diseases or parasites. I try to limit their contact with other chickens and use certain biosecurity measures to try to not bring something home to them. Others are a lot more relaxed in this.

I'll put space in this health category. I find the tighter I pack them the more behavioral problems I have to deal with, the harder I have to work, and the less flexibility I have it deal with issues as they come up. If you follow the link in my signature below you'll see some of my thoughts on space. Lack of sufficient space can cause you a lot of misery and aggravation.

Poop management. Dry poop isn't usually that big of a deal. It just isn't. But if it gets wet and especially stays wet it is. If it gets wet it can stink and be very unhealthy. It can make a mess if you step in it or they do. They can track it onto their eggs. That wet may come from water, that's why you need to keep things dry. If the poop builds up to a thickness it can stay wet and never dry out. Lots of different ways to manage poop. Some deal with it daily, some of us use different schedules and different techniques.

Above all, be flexible as you can. Many things do not work out as you expect. That's just the way life is. If something is not working, change it. If you can give us the details of what you are working with and what you want to accomplish we can often help with that. But there are so many different ways you can do practically any of these things I'm not going to try to give you a point-by-point list.

Welcome to the forum and welcome to your chicken journey. It should be interesting and may even be a lot of fun.

 

[SilkieMom0406]

Some great posts above. We are all unique, we have different goals and reasons for having chickens, different climates, different amounts or room, different experiences, different flock make-ups, different risk tolerances, and a lot else. The details are going to vary a lot.

To me the basic needs are food, water, predator protection, climate protection, and certain things for health. You can get a lot of different opinions on these on this forum.

They need appropriate food. What is appropriate for yours will depend on age, sex, purpose. and your management techniques. You can get some really widely varying opinions on what is appropriate. I'd need to know details before I could make any specific recommendations.

They need plenty of water and it needs to be clean. There are many different kinds of waterers so details will vary as to how you maintain that. If you are watering with an open bowl they can poop in is one situation. If you are using a closed system, say with nipples, then the maintenance requirements change. What does not change is the requirement for clean water.

A lot of different things like to eat chicken. Again, different people have different perspectives on this. Some people that free range may accept an occasional loss due to their perceived benefits of free ranging. Others will be devastated at the loss of one chicken. It is your responsibility to protect them according to your risk tolerances.

Your specific climate will affect what you need to do for climate protection. In most of Texas your winters should not be that brutal and chickens can handle cold much better than many people realize. They do need to be able to avoid cold winds. Snow can be an issue if they are not used to it, not because of immediate danger but because it is strange and they don't trust it. Your summer might be pretty brutal, again depending on exactly where you are. In high heat they need shade and plenty of water as a minimum. Some of us need to go to extraordinary measures to keep them cool enough.

Health is a wide topic. As always, there are lots of different opinions on what is the best way to go.

A constantly wet coop or run is a health threat. When the weather sets in wet you may be challenged in keeping things dry. They need dry places to go to get out of the wet. Try to set things up so water drains away instead of flows to your facilities and stands.

Chickens can get a lot of diseases or parasites. I try to limit their contact with other chickens and use certain biosecurity measures to try to not bring something home to them. Others are a lot more relaxed in this.

I'll put space in this health category. I find the tighter I pack them the more behavioral problems I have to deal with, the harder I have to work, and the less flexibility I have it deal with issues as they come up. If you follow the link in my signature below you'll see some of my thoughts on space. Lack of sufficient space can cause you a lot of misery and aggravation.

Poop management. Dry poop isn't usually that big of a deal. It just isn't. But if it gets wet and especially stays wet it is. If it gets wet it can stink and be very unhealthy. It can make a mess if you step in it or they do. They can track it onto their eggs. That wet may come from water, that's why you need to keep things dry. If the poop builds up to a thickness it can stay wet and never dry out. Lots of different ways to manage poop. Some deal with it daily, some of us use different schedules and different techniques.

Above all, be flexible as you can. Many things do not work out as you expect. That's just the way life is. If something is not working, change it. If you can give us the details of what you are working with and what you want to accomplish we can often help with that. But there are so many different ways you can do practically any of these things I'm not going to try to give you a point-by-point list.

Welcome to the forum and welcome to your chicken journey. It should be interesting and may even be a lot of fun.

Thank you for all the help!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Yup, as above. Feed 'em, water 'em, protect 'em, enjoy 'em.

 

[jandjmca]

Hey y´all! I am just wondering how you take care of your chickens because I am getting chickens soon. Are there any recommendations on maintaining these wonder-foul creatures?

In cold weather, they must be kept warm, till they get feathers. if you have older chickens, they should introduced as a group of at least 4 best at night

 

[SilkieMom0406]

In cold weather, they must be kept warm, till they get feathers. if you have older chickens, they should introduced as a group of at least 4 best at night

Thank you! I am getting 8 silkie eggs as said in my signature and these eggs are my first flock. Therefore, I don't have an older flock. Do you think blankets that I don't use would work as insulation?

 

[FrostRanger]

Thank you! I am getting 8 silkie eggs as said in my signature and these eggs are my first flock. Therefore, I don't have an older flock. Do you think blankets that I don't use would work as insulation?

No need for blankets, just keep them under a heat lamp or brooder plate for 4-6 weeks. They should be fully feathered by then

 

[SilkieMom0406]

No need for blankets, just keep them under a heat lamp or brooder plate for 4-6 weeks. They should be fully feathered by then

Ok thank you!!