Chicken Care
It is very simple to care for chickens because their needs are few. All they need is a space to roam, a space to roost and nest, and food and water. The chicken coop is where they will spend most of their time, so you do have to have a space for this. The floor of the coop should be covered with shavings. Wood shavings will do just fine, but you can also use straw cuttings. The layer of shavings needs to be thicker in winter than in summer so that there is warmth to the floor.
You will have to clean out the litter from the floor of the coop several times a year. Simply add more shavings when the litter from the chickens starts to build up. When you do clean out the coop, sprinkle lime over the floor before you add the shavings because this helps to neutralize the odour. In order to control mice in the coop, use dichotomous earth on the floor, on the roosting shelves and in the nests. This is a non-chemical insecticide that is not harmful to humans or animals.
Chickens need nesting boxes. Lining them with straw will make them comfortable. When the nests start to get dirty, you clean out the straw and replace it with new straw. Chickens sleep on the roosts and in order to control the droppings you can put shelves under the roosts. You can put wood shavings on these shelves too, but cat litter works just as well, especially the kind that masks the odour. Then all you have to do is scoop it out and replace it with new.
You do have to be careful of the food you give chickens. They need to have grains, greens, grit and protein. Most of the grains are covered in the commercial chicken feed, but you can supplement the diet by giving them vegetable peels from the kitchen. They will peck at the grass and weeds in the garden, but you can add the grass clippings from when you mow the lawn. Fish flakes and bits of fish added to the feed will provide them with protein. They need to eat tiny rocks to help them digest their food. They may get most of what they need for this from the garden or the pen.
You do have to ensure that the chickens are well watered. If a chicken goes without water for a few hours it can die due to salt toxicity. Keep the water in a place where the chickens cane get to it whenever they want. You do have to keep it clean because they won’t drink dirty water.