Chicken keeping is a very fun and rewarding hobby. When chicken keeping, it is essential that we keep our chickens happy. We have happy chickens by providing them an environment to thrive in.
Throughout this article we will highlight all things chicken keeping. Including some breeds, tips for chicken keeping in different weather, tricks, and advice that may be helpful for beginners, and even advanced chicken keeping hobbyists!
When starting out your chicken keeping hobby, it is essential to ensure you have chosen the right chicken breed for your wants. Are you looking for a chicken with high egg production capabilities, or are you looking for a feathered companion? Either way a chickens happiness is in the hands of its keeper, and we are happy to provide about best chicken keeping practices to ensure your chickens happiness!
Breeds
When starting with chickens, choosing the right breed is the best place to start. Some characteristics that chicken keeping hobbyists look for is very dependent on what the purpose of keeping is. Are you, the hobbyists looking to keep chickens to produce eggs? If so, the chicken of choice for you would be a Leghorn. If you are looking for a companion, read on.
Leghorns are excellent egg producers and can lay up to 300 eggs per year. With proper care they can live up to 10 years of age, and are extremely resilient birds. They do very well in mild temperature but also adapt to cold and hot weather conditions well. One thing to look out for if keeping in cooler frosty temperatures is that their long combs are susceptible to frost bite. With that said it is best to keep them in a Urban Chicken Coop during the winter, and a Wire Chicken Coop in the warmer months.
Due to them being lay heavy chickens, we recommend providing them with an Ultra Soft Nesting Pad quickly from Amazon, for them to lay their eggs comfortably. For more information about picking the right coop read our information filled article!
Though these birds are very resilient and terrific foragers, they are not typically cuddly to humans. However they certainly can grow closer to humans with more exposure to them overtime. If you have young children around, we would recommend keeping the Leghorns away until the children are old enough to understand the chicken keeping hobby, each chickens tendencies and understand Chicken Do’s and Dont’s.
Take our word for it or take a look at the paperback version of the Leghorn Chickens Complete Guide.
For those who are looking for a companion chicken, Silkies are the ones for you! Silkies are excellent birds for those seeking a companion, or their fluffy looks. They are almost like a chicken poodle! The Silkie chicken is a fantastic chicken for those who are looking for a chicken with an extremely mild temperament, and extremely loving. Though Silkie chickens produce between 100 to 150 eggs per year, they are such great caring fluffy lovers. Silkie chickens are interesting because they love sitting on eggs, even if they are not their own.
For those who are looking for a companion chicken, Silkies are the ones for you! Silkies are excellent birds for those seeking a companion, or their fluffy looks. They are almost like a chicken poodle! The Silkie chicken is a fantastic chicken for those who are looking for a chicken with an extremely mild temperament, and extremely loving. Though Silkie chickens produce between 100 to 150 eggs per year, they are such great caring fluffy lovers. Silkie chickens are interesting because they love sitting on eggs, even if they are not their own.
Tips & Tricks
Some chicken keeping tips may be obvious for some, but there are so many simple duties that are always forgotten leading to poor chicken health, and often times death. First as good chicken keepers we need to ensure our coops cleanliness. This consists of buying high quality small animal bedding for comfort, and daily cleaning using a Metal Chicken Coop Scooper. Though they are not essential to a clean chicken coops success, they are definitely handy and a time saver when it comes to a clean coop. Removing chicken bedding weekly in warmer months is also recommended, mitigating moisture buildup and as a result mitigating disease throughout your chicken coop.
Also, having an easy watering device like the Original Poultry Pro Waterer makes the essential task of performing daily water changes extremely quick and easy, make water changes a part of your daily routine! Remember thinking you’ll do it tomorrow, will only jeopardize a chickens health that much more. As the days go by, the chances of chickens getting ill increase exponentially. So it is important to keep the water clean and keep those feathery beauties healthy!
Second, is to always pick up eggs. This will ensure the freshness of the egg, and will promote hens to continue to lay them. If you do not gather daily, the hens may start eating them reducing your yield. Another word of encouragement to gather eggs is to not attract pests. Pests like Rats, Mice, Snakes, Skunks, Raccoons and Opossums, are all egg lovers and will come after your eggs if they are not routinely collected. A tool to use for a fun and easy collection can be the Egg Grabber!
Lastly is a more fun one, and that is to provide your chickens with dust baths! Chickens love dust bathes because they are a form of cleaning for them. They enjoy the dust bathes the same way humans enjoy their showers. They use this as a form of hygiene to keep themselves clean, absorb excess oil and to ward off parasites. The dust bath also serves as a tactic chickens use to cool down in hot weather!
Tips and Tricks For Cold Weather
For chicken keeping in cold weather there are many strategies for keeping them warm. Below are some simple and easy tactics you can use!
- Chicken Coop Insulation Strategy- Use straw bales, an old blanket, or even foam boards as insulation to keep chickens warm. It is crucial not to completely seal the coop. Ventilation is important to prevent moisture buildup, which in turn can cause frostbite.
- Deep Litter Strategy – Let the quality bedding in your chicken coop accumulate and compost in place. This will generate natural heat and insulate the floor of the chicken coop. If using this method, ensure that the bedding is being turned often and new bedding is being added to the top to prevent odor and ammonia buildup within the chicken coop.
- High Energy Food Strategy – Feeding chickens foods like Cracked Corn Feed, and Scratch Grains in the evening will help them generate body heat throughout the cold parts of the night. This method is great, if you’re in a pinch, however in doing this you would want to ensure they have access to their regular feed as well.
- Heater Strategy – This is a last resort strategy. When it comes to the heating method it varies. Cozy Coops Panel Heater would be an excellent first choice, Ceramic Heat Emitters are the runner up, and lastly lamps. Lamps are great for raising chicks and they certainly serve a great purpose throughout a chickens like. However they serve a great fire hazard which is why they come in last place.
Tips and Tricks for Hot Weather
Keeping chickens cool during the summer is essential to prevent heat stress and maintain their health. Here are four effective methods, with elaboration on each:
- Provide Plenty of Shade – High temperatures can quickly lead to overheating, so ensuring adequate shade is crucial. You can use trees, tarps, shade cloth, or even DIY shelters to block direct sunlight. Position shaded areas strategically so your flock has multiple options to escape the heat throughout the day.
- Ensure Fresh, Cool Water – Chickens need access to clean and cool water at all times to stay hydrated and regulate their body temperature. Using wide shallow containers, adding ice cubes, or placing waterers in shaded areas can help keep their water cool throughout the day. In extreme heat, adding electrolytes to their water can also provide extra hydration support.
- Improve Coop Ventilation – A well-ventilated coop prevents heat buildup, especially in confined spaces. Making a DIY project, by installing a fan to help circulate air and create a cooling breeze inside the coop. Solar options typically are considered to be less maintenance, because they are standalone units, and the only power source they need is the sun. Wired units are less desirable because they need direct power from an outlet, which can be difficult when your coop is outside.
- Offer Cooling Treats – Certain foods can help keep chickens cool while providing extra hydration. Frozen fruits like watermelon, berries, and cucumber slices make great summer treats, as they contain high water content and help lower body temperature. Avoid sugary or processed foods, but incorporating hydrating options into their diet can offer relief from extreme heat.
Advice
If there is anything to take away from this post it would be the following:
- Clean Clean Clean, using tools like the Chicken Pooper Scooper.
- Gather Eggs to avoid pests, use a tools like the Egg Grabber!
- Use proper bedding to keep the chickens comfortable
In conclusion, raising chickens successfully requires daily care, simple pest prevention, and a well-maintained coop. Collecting eggs regularly keeps them fresh and discourages unwanted scavengers. With thoughtful feeding, health monitoring, and enrichment activities, your chickens will thrive and reward you with fresh eggs and companionship. Whether you’re raising Leghorns for high egg production or Silkies for their friendly nature, a well-managed flock brings both practicality and joy to backyard chicken keeping!
Chicken-Keeping 
Leave a reply to Chicken Keeping Essentials for Beginners and Enthusiasts – Chicken-Keeping Cancel reply