What do you do to maintain your chickens.

[Cadmansd]

I have about 50 grown hens, and about 50 chicks about 3 weeks a old and a couple turkey and a dozen ducks. Raising is old hat now for us, every morning first thing I do is say good morning to my new girls, and check them for pasty butt. Fresh food, water then to my outside girls.

I have a constant water supply to my girls outside and have food throughs for them to feed and their run is under cover, wired, and clear siding.

Working on a new duck only area and a coup for bantums as well. A mix of mulch and pine chips works very well and lasts a long time.

 

[ChicChicks07734]

I have about 50 grown hens, and about 50 chicks about 3 weeks a old and a couple turkey and a dozen ducks. Raising is old hat now for us, every morning first thing I do is say good morning to my new girls, and check them for pasty butt. Fresh food, water then to my outside girls.

I have a constant water supply to my girls outside and have food throughs for them to feed and their run is under cover, wired, and clear siding.

Working on a new duck only area and a coup for bantums as well. A mix of mulch and pine chips works very well and lasts a long time.
View attachment 4071729View attachment 4071730

Awwwe! So cute! Thank you.

 

[Cadmansd]

Silkies are great, and funnier than anything in the coup. Samuel, our great white silky roo, is amongst the smallest birds we have and when he crows he truly tries, but he sounds like a deflating whoopy cushion. To or surprise, the larger girls are letting him mount them, I think it's because they feel sorry for him, not for his rooster dance.
We may try to see if we can't hatch some of his eggs too see if he can't pass on his genes lol.

 

[NatJ]

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

Clarification: do not force them to stay under the heat lamp or under the brooder plate. Give them a big enough space that they can choose to be warm or cool, and let them move back and forth as they choose.

A heat lamp can work well in the corner of a large brooder ("large" brooder can be 3+ feet each way.)
A brooder plate is generally better if you are brooding chicks inside a house, or in a smaller brooder. This is because the brooder plate does not heat the rest of the area as much as the heat lamp does. On the other hand, in very cold conditions, the extra heat from a heat lamp is a good thing. Which heat source is "best" depends on the details of the situation.

Too much heat is bad for chicks and so is too much cold. But healthy chicks are very good at moving back and forth to find a comfortable spot when they are given a choice. They will run off to play in the cool end of the brooder, come back to warm up in the hottest spot, and lay down to sleep at a just-right place in between. That is better for the chicks, and easier for you, than trying to keep the whole brooder at one perfect temperature.

 

[Wol1]

The things below were learned via a lot of heartbreak. It's long, but I found these to be very important for their long-term health and well-being:

#1. Do a daily check for "fluffy bums". If their hindquarters are soiled, they're likely sick. Prompt treatment saves lives. I did this each morning before anything else by taking a handful of scratch, waiting until they're clustered around my feet (because they know what I'm about to do [see #2 below]), and then toss it as far away as I can. They all turn and run, showing you their behinds. This can also reveal if any are injured or ill in some other way.

#2. Routine. It keeps them calm(er) because they know what to expect, and it helps ensure you cover everything that they need on a daily basis. My morning routine was to:

check their bums;
clean, disinfect, and fill their waterers (I kept diluted dishwashing soap, a gentle scrubber - luffa works great- and a spray bottle filled with a very diluted bleach/water mix to spray before then rinsing and filling.);
fill (and clean if necessary) their feeders;
top off oyster shell (don't feed crushed eggshells as they dissolve quickly, decreasing their urge to take the longer lasting oyster shell) and grit;
remove most of the nightly poop under the roost;
fluff up the bedding (I used straw) and toss some of it under the roost, adding more straw every so often, as they pulverize it; and
check nest boxes for eggs and replace bedding if soiled (we dried grass clippings and used those as it was soft and easy to pick up just the dirty patches).

#3 Keep on top of parasites by using broad spectrum "wormers" and rotating among wormers to prevent resistant pests and treat different spectrums of parasite. Some parasites can last a long time outside the body and are difficult to kill, leading to constant reinfection, so preventing them in the first place is important. Parasites can affect how well your chickens absorb nutrients and that in turn can cause issues like thin shells that break and cause peritonitis, a death sentence. Beware of "alternative" worming suggestions. They may have merit, and you can do them in addition, but do you want to use your chickens as experimental labs given the health consequences of parasites? I did sprinkle diatomaceous earth under their roosts in the summer as it kills fly maggots.

#4 Check frequently for bumblefoot. Clear the run of small sharp rocks, nails, glass, etc. Check feet at least once/week. It's so much easier to treat at that stage. Just pull or scrape away the scab (tweezers work well) and clean out the pus, put antibiotic ointment on it, put the pad a band aid over it, and wrap the foot (not tightly) with strips of vet wrap (around the ankle once, then crosswise over the foot, gently through the toes on one side of the foot, back over crosswise and gently through the toes on the other side, repeat a few times, then straight across the pad, then back up and around the ankle and press in place.) Repeat every other day until healed.

 

[ChicChicks07734]

The things below were learned via a lot of heartbreak. It's long, but I found these to be very important for their long-term health and well-being:

#1. Do a daily check for "fluffy bums". If their hindquarters are soiled, they're likely sick. Prompt treatment saves lives. I did this each morning before anything else by taking a handful of scratch, waiting until they're clustered around my feet (because they know what I'm about to do [see #2 below]), and then toss it as far away as I can. They all turn and run, showing you their behinds. This can also reveal if any are injured or ill in some other way.

#2. Routine. It keeps them calm(er) because they know what to expect, and it helps ensure you cover everything that they need on a daily basis. My morning routine was to:

check their bums;
clean, disinfect, and fill their waterers (I kept diluted dishwashing soap, a gentle scrubber - luffa works great- and a spray bottle filled with a very diluted bleach/water mix to spray before then rinsing and filling.);
fill (and clean if necessary) their feeders;
top off oyster shell (don't feed crushed eggshells as they dissolve quickly, decreasing their urge to take the longer lasting oyster shell) and grit;
remove most of the nightly poop under the roost;
fluff up the bedding (I used straw) and toss some of it under the roost, adding more straw every so often, as they pulverize it; and
check nest boxes for eggs and replace bedding if soiled (we dried grass clippings and used those as it was soft and easy to pick up just the dirty patches).

#3 Keep on top of parasites by using broad spectrum "wormers" and rotating among wormers to prevent resistant pests and treat different spectrums of parasite. Some parasites can last a long time outside the body and are difficult to kill, leading to constant reinfection, so preventing them in the first place is important. Parasites can affect how well your chickens absorb nutrients and that in turn can cause issues like thin shells that break and cause peritonitis, a death sentence. Beware of "alternative" worming suggestions. They may have merit, and you can do them in addition, but do you want to use your chickens as experimental labs given the health consequences of parasites? I did sprinkle diatomaceous earth under their roosts in the summer as it kills fly maggots.

#4 Check frequently for bumblefoot. Clear the run of small sharp rocks, nails, glass, etc. Check feet at least once/week. It's so much easier to treat at that stage. Just pull or scrape away the scab (tweezers work well) and clean out the pus, put antibiotic ointment on it, put the pad a band aid over it, and wrap the foot (not tightly) with strips of vet wrap (around the ankle once, then crosswise over the foot, gently through the toes on one side of the foot, back over crosswise and gently through the toes on the other side, repeat a few times, then straight across the pad, then back up and around the ankle and press in place.) Repeat every other day until healed.

Thank you!

 

[Wol1]

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.

"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."

Absolutely agree! Every day is a new adventure.

 

[Wol1]

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.

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.

Yes! First snow of the year (every year), they run to jump out the coop door only to stop on the threshold in terror. I would shovel or rake (depending on depth) the snow away from the door and a few paths out into the run, then sprinkle a bit of scratch to coax them out. The bravest or (hungriest?) bird would hop out. The others would watch in horror, then see that she was ok and getting all the goodies, and they'd all jump out. Fine until next year, although I would have to shovel away a layer if it was too deep. They naturally don't want to be bogged down if they need to run from a predator.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Depends entirely on your purpose. But quality food, fresh water, the largest well ventilated, draft free coop you can afford, and as much run space as you can reasonably provide them is a very good start.