Chickens

Chickens are small, mostly flightless, dinosaurs. Never forget it. They will eat weeds and chicken crumbles with a prehistoric voracity. Chicken care is relatively simple. Below are some key steps of chicken care and maintenance  which need to happen regularly.

Opening and Closing the Chicken Door
During the day, chickens should be allowed to mill about in their run area.

Typically, the chickens will return to their roosts within the coop in the evening. Only on the balmiest of nights will they need to be ushered back in the dark. It is a good idea to count the birds in the coop before closing the door, since on rare occasions chickens will hang around in the dark and get trapped out all night.

In order to reduce the likelyhood of predation, the doors on the coop should be closed and latched at night.

In the morning, they should be re-opened as soon as possible.

"Free-range" chickens
If you are going to be around in the yard with them and no crops are in the vicinity to be ripped to shreds or defecated on, the chickens may be let out of their run to forage. Environmental Health and Safety is not interested in allowing the Oak Cottage chickens to roam about freely (see Chicken Tractor) as bird feces is widely known to harbor salmonella and other pathogens.

Allowing the chickens a fresh place to explore is a great way to broaden their horizons, but this requires attention from the chicken caretaker(s). They love to scratch in the compost pile and should be encouraged to do so. Chickens should not be left unattended as opportunistic hawks and owls may target them.

Feeding
Chickens will spend their day scratching around in hopes of finding little invertebrate morsels to fill their crop with. It is nice to give them some weeds from the garden or select compost items so their lives are a little more interesting. Also, the debris left un-eaten provides a habitat for insects seeking shelter from the moonscape of the chicken run.

Typically, about 1.5L of grain (laying mash) will supply a half-dozen chickens for 1-2 days. Since the quantities involved are prone to change, grain levels should be monitored closely. Usually, we like to ensure that the hens always have food (free-feeding). However, time may prove this strategy to be uneconomical.

It is important to ensure that there is adequate space around the feeder so most of the hens can feed at any given time. Prime real estate at the feeder may be defended by individuals who are higher on the pecking order, leading to certain hens not recieving adequate food. During different times of year, the chickens will be more or less interested in the mash, especially if their diets have been supplemented with fresh green material and/or insects.

Watering
The availability of water to chickenis even more important than having food. Chickens should ALWAYS have an ample supply of water. They will often follow a large amount of feeding (on dry pellets/crumbles) with drinking water. It is important that they have enough water so that they can comfortably eat their fill and not become dehydrated.

Water is particularly important in the warmest and coldest times of the year. When it is hot, chickens drink a lot and bacteria grow quickly in the waterer. When it is cold, chickens drink less and it is necessary to use an electric heater to keep the water from freezing. Even though they are drinking less, care should be taken to ensure the heaters are in place and operational when freezing temperatures come along. Bacteria also grow quickly in the heated water.

Cleaning the waterer can be an unpleasant job, but it is quite important. Bits of food, bedding and feces are just a few things that chickens will leave behind in their waterer, often leading to rapid growth of bacterial biofilms on the plastic surface. While chickens are not overly picky about the water they drink, they will not typically drink water which has a "skin" on it.

Changing the water out daily significantly reduces bacterial overgrowth, though in practice this rarely happens. It is a good idea to clean the waterer regularly, first with a thorough rinsing followed by scrubbing with an abrasive material (such as a handful of leaves, probably not a sponge because that is gross). Scrubbing with leaves disrupts the biofilms adhering onto the surfaces of the waterer. Soap will act as a surfactant and aid in removing stubborn biofilms. Just be sure to rinse thoroughly to remove the soap before re-filling, which can be challenging with only cold water.

Periodically, a disinfecting bleach solution (at least 2 tbsp bleach per gallon) can be allowed to stand in the scrubbed waterer, followed by extensive rinsing. Bleach often cannot penetrate to the core of biofilms, so prior removal of these bacterial communities through manual scrubbing is necessary. '''Bleach is a strong oxidizing agent and should be carefully administered. Also, take care to not get concentrated bleach on your clothes as it may remove the pigments from the fabric.'''

If you go to animal care forums and help sites, you will find there are different philosophies about bleach and water for livestock. Some people do not like the idea of using "unnatural" cleaners at all. Some people are OK with using them, but ensure that the product be fully rinsed from the waterer reservoir before re-filling it. Others will add 1-2 teaspoons of bleach directly to the water the chickens drink every time they re-fill it.

Basically, we have adopted a middle ground here at SVSF. Bleach is used not after every refilling, but it may be worth doing when the waterer gets really funky. Bleach is one component of program for maintaining a "clean" waterer that may help you not to have to clean as often. Vinegar and baking soda has also been used by some to clean out the waterer. This is a good option in conjunction with rinsing, scrubbing worth experimenting with.

Obtaining Eggs
A hen can lay up to one egg every day. They lay in the morning. When they lay, they typically seek out a dark, enclosed space where they feel safe. Eggs should be retrieved from the coop daily.

If eggs are left in the coop, a hen may decide that she wishes to sit on the clutch of eggs in hopes of hatching them. Since we do not have roosters, this persuit is entirely in vain. But she doesn't know that. She may become very protective of these eggs and make funny noises as a warning. When this happens, it is said that the hen has become "broody". Removal of the eggs is necessary to cull this "broodiness."

Cleaning Eggs
Chickens are not very reverent about their egg laying sites and may mingle defecation and egg laying (in either order) in a given spot. It is a good idea to have a dedicated plastic bristled brush for removal of fecal material. Make sure your housemates know what the brush is for. It should be cleaned before it is allowed to sit out on the counter, shelf, windowsill etc. Usually, warm water and scrubbing is sufficient to get eggs clean. Be careful to not apply excessive force, as some shells are rather fragile. There are specific types of soap that are designed for cleaning eggs which are not absorbed by the porous shell. These may be worth investigating if you are interested in a "cleaner" egg.