Tips and Tricks for Raising Chickens

Raising chickens is a rewarding experience that the whole family can appreciate. With rising food costs and concerns about food safety, it is reassuring to know exactly where your food is coming from. If it is your own backyard, that is even better. There are several benefits to raising your own chickens. Some people do it for the eggs, others do it for the meat and if you would rather not eat the eggs or meat birds, chickens make excellent cultivators, fertilizers for the garden and control pests and weeds.

You can pick up your new baby chicks at Greenwood Hardware. If you like to be a little different from the rest, check out the Araucana chicks that are available in the store. These gorgeous chickens are unique and lay blue eggs. It is like Easter all year round without the hassle of dyeing the eggs!

If you are ready to start raising chickens or have already picked up some birds, you probably have some questions. These tips will help you raise a healthy flock.

Cleanliness

Chickens are messy critters—like most animals. You will want to keep up with the area they are going to be sleeping in, laying eggs in and spending the majority of their time in. The coop is where you will want to focus your cleaning on. Make sure there is plenty of fresh bedding in the roosting area and laying boxes. Chicken poop will start to emit a very strong odor if it is not cleaned out of the coop on a regular basis. If you smell something close to ammonia, it is definitely time to clean out the bedding and start fresh.

Pine shavings are an excellent material for spreading in the bottom of the coop. It absorbs the waste and keeps the odor down. The frequency in which you clean the coop will depend on the number of chickens you are keeping. Plan on adding fresh shavings at least once a week and doing a full clean out anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks.

On a side note, fresh bedding in the laying boxes leaves you much cleaner eggs.

Feeding

Chickens are not picky eaters and will eat almost anything. Kitchen scraps can be tossed out to the chickens for them to enjoy, but be careful what you throw out. The following list is some things you can safely feed your chickens. Some folks will feed their chickens cooked meat bits, but it is really personal preference.

Do Feed:

• Leftover salad ingredients
• Bread (no moldy bread)
• Grains
• Leftover veggies
• Oatmeal
• Fruits
• Baked potatoes
• The crumbs from the bag of chips
• Scrambled eggs (yes it seems odd, but eggs are high in protein, which is good for layers.)

After dinner, simply scrape your plate into the chicken bucket and toss it out to the chickens. These tidbits are just little extras and in no way make up a balanced diet for your chicks. This is one way you can keep from wasting food!

Don’t Feed:

There are a few things you shouldn’t scrape into the chicken bucket.

• Potato peels
• Garlic and onion
• Avocado skins or pits
• Raw meat
• Greasy foods

Treats

Along with their regular diet of pellets and scratch grains, you can give your chickens extra treats to give them a little protein boost that will help encourage egg laying.

• Yogurt
• Oyster shells
• Meal worms

Chickens require very little extra work to take care of. They will go about their business and do not require a great deal of attention. A visit to the coop a couple of times today to give food, refresh the water supply and collect the eggs is all that is needed. They are really a very inexpensive pet to keep and do not typically require vet bills or expensive medicines and chickens can most definitely become pets. They will know who you are and will likely rush to greet you in the morning. The Araucana breed is notorious for being very friendly as well as excellent egg layers.

You can find everything you need to get started raising chickens in your own backyard at Greenwood Hardware. Our friendly and knowledgeable staff can help you choose exactly what you need for your baby chicks.  And if you have any questions, we are here for you. Come on in, or contact us today!