tHE KEY TO HAPPY AND HEALTHY BACKYARD chickens

Keeping backyard chickens is a great way to get delicious and very nutritious fresh eggs and the best part is that backyard chickens can thrive and live long happy lives with pretty minimal caretaking. Having a healthy and happy flock really comes down to a safe, spacious and clean chicken coop and some simple steps to ensure the birds have access to nutritious feed and clean drinking water. Below we have compiled some tips and tricks to the most frequent backyard chicken questions we get. 

Start small, maybe a flock of 4 or 6. This is a great size flock to start with and you will have plenty of eggs to feed a family of four or five. A flock of this size also allows for you to grow the flock. Because if you are anything like us, you are likely to pick up some more chicks next time you are at the feed store…we are up to 16 chickens now – I still don’t know how this happened. 

Space is the biggest factor for most people, we always suggest to first see how much space you want to allocate for a chicken coop. You will want to have ample space for the chickens to roam around during the day. Our most popular chicken coop and run combo has a footprint of 4’x8’ and because space is maximized by having the coop elevated above the run the chickens can enjoy over 50 square feet of space. This is perfect for a flock of 4 birds, maybe more if you also allow for free ranging. 

In addition to space, you want to ensure the coop is easy to maintain. Since you will have to get into the coop on a weekly basis to clean you will want to ensure that you can get into the coop and quickly rake and scoop up the droppings. If you do not have space for a walk-in coop, you will want a coop that has a large enough door opening so you can easily reach in. Our coops that are not walk in coops are easy to clean due to large door openings that can be used to broom waste directly into a trashcan. Cleaning a Chick Inn Coops chicken coop should not take more than 10 minutes! 

A healthy flock does not need much. To ensure the safely for the chickens you will want to make sure your coop is predator proof and provides ample sunlight in winter and shade in the summer. Additionally, to ensure great egg production you will need spacious and private nesting boxes for the ladies to lay their eggs. Ventilation is key as well to allow for a fresh breeze to circle through the coop and run area. Lastly, the chickens will appreciate a nice set of roosting bars to roost.  

Your typical feed store will have a great variety of nutritious chicken feed. Additionally, any feed store will have some scratch grain and dried meal worms that makes for a healthy treat that they will love. I suggest supplementing this with all your kitchen scraps like apple cores, watermelon ends and any other fruits and veggies in your fridge that are about to go bad. Also be sure to crush up the egg shells and throw them back to the chickens, they will eat those too to nourish their body with calcium that they so desperately need. If you want to really treat the flock, some fresh corncobs will be much appreciated. 

That is really up to you, with a large enough coop and run space that offers all the necessary amenities, you definitely don’t have to. Although the birds love to get out of the coop and run and roam around, you may not want to permit this as the chickens will get into everything and they love to dig for worms and bugs, in particular in your favorite planter boxes with those nice new flowers that you just planted. 

Additionally, the birds can be surprisingly social, so that means they will come and visit you on your patio, and leave their droppings on your patio…

Having said all that, if you are able to let them roam around your backyard while protecting the other things you care about then I would definitely recommend that. Seeing the birds run around the backyard and graze for their favorite snack is a very satisfying sight to see. 

It is really not that difficult, there are three things that the birds really only need: foot baths, shade and a fan. The way chickens control their body heat (cool off) is through their feet. So similar to us jumping into the pool, chickens need a foot bath (usually a shallow pan) filled with water that they can stand in. You will see that the chickens love this so much that they will stand in these foot baths for long periods at a time. So, you will want to make sure that at the end of the day you dump the (what is now very brown and poop-y) water – this is great fertilizer for your plants by the way - and start with some fresh water each morning. 

In addition to the foot baths, we usually place a large box fan in the run area during the hot summer months to ensure the chickens can enjoy a cool breeze. With these measurements our chickens have always been happy and healthy. Some chicken owners go all out and get space coolers and air conditioners. Although this is definitely very luxurious, I personally have not felt that these measures have been necessary. 

And just like us, the birds will love some frozen treats in the summer months. The flock will love a slice of frozen watermelon on a hot midsummer day.