Looking After Chickens

Keeping your chickens happy is a difficult task to maintain. It takes a lot of care and work in keeping them in a happy condition so be sure to follow these necessary steps for a happy chicken.

Research

Before purchasing your chicken, do your research. This part is so important, you must be sure you’ve got the resources and funds available to meet the needs of your new addition. Looking on websites such as Wynnstay for the best research, products and facts is a great way to begin your journey. Take into consideration your lifestyle, are you too busy to look after the chicken and are you away often? If so, it may be wise to reconsider your options. You also need to take into account the space you have, if this is considered limited you should stick to only two or three hens to allow for more room.

Housing Your Chickens

Although they’re small, chickens can destroy the ground on your land very quickly. It may be wise to consider housing your chickens in something that you’re able to move to allow the ground to heel. Ideally, you’ll be able to allow your chicken to run free range however you’ll need to invest in added protection against other animals around, i.e. cats, dogs and foxes. Your chicken coop needs to be big enough to house your chickens suitably with good ventilation and insulation. Your chickens will need a nesting box so filling this with hay is perfect.

Image Credit: Wynnstay

Hydration in Summer

Keeping your chickens hydrated at all times is key. There are so many informative blogs and news pages online you can get huge amounts of information and tips from regarding this topic such as Wynnstay. As a rule of thumb, you should ensure your chicken drink half of their body weight in water per day through the hotter months of the year. Drinking water allows your chickens to keep cool without over heating in summer.

Always have water available for your chicken
Keep water in shaded areas
Freezing water in a container and placing in the chicken waterer keeps the water cool

Body Temperature in Summer

Ensuring all ventilation is kept open in the hot days of summer means you can maintain a good flow of air through the chicken coop to stop your chickens from overheating. Ensure you put less bedding into the coop over the warmer months to allow for less heat to get trapped, as well as keeping the coop in shaded areas if possible.

Feed

Purchasing the right chicken feed for your chickens is important. This may sound obvious but getting the right feed ensure a happy life for your chicken. There are different variations of chicken feed, from pellets, crumble, mash and wholegrain. You would usually give a mash chicken feed to a younger chick, mixed with water to make an oatmeal substance. Crumble is the perfect consistency as it’s not too large or small, however this is not always as available as a standard pellet. A wholegrain mixture comes in its natural form made of seeds and wholegrains, unprocessed and very natural.