What do chickens need
- Peter and Kate
- Feb 8, 2021
- 2 min read
Its easy to become daunted by the idea of adding dependents to your life, so when we first got chickens it was a pleasant surprise that the tasks where few and far between.
In this article we will keep things short and sweet, 5 things you absolutely must have for flock success.
1) Shelter: Chickens are primitive and so naturally are able to be quite comfortable in a range of conditions. Here in BC we experience both severe winters and summers, so we design our coops to have winterization boards to retain heat, and insert slots for heat lamps. As well as reflective light color roofing to minimize summer heat, with ventilation and outdoor area to optimize cooling.
2) Food and Water: When you first get chicks it is important to start on 16% protein to ensure there best survival against disease, and that they wont grow with malformities such as bumblefoot. As they get to 5 months you can begin a lower protein(cheaper) feed from your local pet store and they will also consume pests from your lawn and compost!
Water is important and may take a while for your chicks to learn how to drink, if you find they aren't figuring it out, the easiest solution is to gently dip there head in a small amount of water, they can figure out the rest! At that point its important to maintain water freshness, replace it every 2 days to prevent stagnation.
3) Cleaning: Once every two weeks, reline the laying boxes with straw, dumping waste into your garden or compost collection to make excellent fertilizer. With the Chick- INN cleaning is made simple, because lets be real, it's not how you want to spend your free time! Laying boxes are laminated plywood, meaning no time consuming scraping, plus easy egg collection. Not to mention because the Coops can move along your lawn, any waste is distributed evenly on your lawn to create an excellent grass growing bonanza
4) One Flock: Although experiences vary, if you want to keep your chicken hobby simple, only buy one flock. Chickens are inherently aggressive towards unfamiliar birds, as part of there adaptive success to prevent other flocks from superseding their own. If you introduce new birds to your already existing flock you run the potential of...well... ending the week with only the pre existing flock. Long story short, we recommend getting exactly the number of chickens you want in the begining.
5) Rocks: Chickens don't have digestive enzymes, the way there food gets broken down is actually rocks in there stomach! Spreading gravel occasionally is all it takes to keep your flock from digestive deficiencies.
I wish you the best of luck in your new hobby, if you have any questions, or are wondering about where to get your first chicks, feel free to email me at chickinntractor@gmail.com
or send a chat on the website.
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