How To Keep Chickens

You have finally decided to rear chickens at home, nevertheless, do you know how to keep and raise chickens? Keeping chickens needs quite a lot of time and enough space. Be sure to do enough research and gather information about keeping chickens so that you know what to expect. If you have a small farm or a homestead, chickens can be great birds to keep. Keeping chickens can be a fun and a rewarding experience as well. However, you should be well informed on how to provide all the necessary things to raise your chickens properly. Plus, you also need to know how to maintain hygiene and health of the chickens. You should also be familiar with keeping your chickens warm during the winters and protect them from predators. If you are looking for some useful information on how to keep chickens, then read through the next sections for neat tips on the same.

Tips On Keeping Chickens

• Before anything else, ask yourself a few quick questions. Do you really want to keep chickens? Are you willing to spend enough time to raise these birds? Is it legal to keep chickens at home in your city? If you are satisfied with your answers, go ahead. Keeping chickens is trouble-free and inexpensive if you are equipped with the right information.
• The next logical question is where you plan to keep your chickens? Do you have enough space where you can allow your chicken to roam about freely or do you have a coop for them? If you live in an urban or suburban area, you probably want to keep the chicken confined to a particular area. However, make sure that your chickens get enough fresh air and sunshine. Also, make sure that the area in which you intend to rear the chickens has a coop of ample size, roosting poles, adequate ventilation, and nest boxes.
• There are plenty of options for a chicken coop. You can either buy one or make it yourself.
• Arrange for a light bulb inside the coop. A light bulb will be helpful especially during the winter season as it provides some heat during cold winter nights.
• Be cautious while choosing the breed of your flock. There are over 400 varieties of chickens available. Consider the climate, egg production levels, breed temperature, etc while choosing the breed.
• Get the best supplies for your chickens. These include best feeders, bedding/litter, feed, scratch and grit. Many of these items can be made at home as well.
• You might or might not opt for keeping a rooster. A rooster protects the flock from predators to a certain extent, and it is therefore a good idea to have one.
• If you want to hatch chicks, be ready to provide them with enough care for the first few weeks. This can be a very time consuming process, but can be fun as well. If you have kids at home, engage them in the task and they will love it! Chicks are vulnerable, so keep them under a heat lamp and monitor their temperature periodically.
• To prevent the chickens from flying, clip their wings.
• To ensure that your chickens lay eggs, you need to provide ideal conditions for them. If the coop is not receiving enough light, make arrangements for artificial light so that the chickens get at least 15 hours of bright light in a day.