What to Do on a Daily Basis
- Keep feeders and waterers full.
- Make sure the waterer is clean. Chickens will be less inclined to drink dirty water, and a dehydrated bird can very quickly become ill or die.
- Check to make sure they all look active, bright and healthy. Make an appointment with your vet if they don't.
- Collect and refrigerate eggs, pointy side down for maximum freshness.
- If you've opened the coop door to let your chickens out, always be sure to close and secure it at dusk (once they've all returned!) to make sure predators can't get in. (Tip: if you have a cell phone that allows you to set a recurring alarm, try that as a reminder.)
What to Do on a Monthly Basis
- Change the bedding in the coop and the nest. This is necessary for sanitary purposes. Excessive ammonia buildup is dangerous to poultry and can cause respiratory illness.
- Remove the feces. We put ours in the compost bin or use it as fertilizer.
What to Do on a Bi-annual Basis
Twice a year you've got to really scrub your coop clean! Remove bedding, nest materials, feed and water containers. For a cleaner, we recommend a concoction of 1 part bleach, 1 part dish soap, 10 parts water. A strong citrus cleanser will also do the trick. After cleaning, rinse well and let dry before replacing with fresh bedding. Do the same with the feed and water containers: clean thoroughly and rinse well, and replace with a fresh supply. You should be able to do this all in a couple hours!
Foods Chickens Shouldn't Eat
One of the great benefits of having chickens is they take care of your unwanted leftovers! There are a few foods they shouldn't eat, though (and thanks to our customers for helping us beef up this list over the years!):
- Citrus fruits and peels (they can cause a drop in egg production)
- Bones
- Any large serving of meat, or meat that has gone bad
- Garlic and onion (unless you want your eggs tasting like them)
- Avocado skins and pits
- Raw potato skins
- Long cut grass
- Chocolate