The best tips for keeping chickens, if you are all day at work

When no one is home all day, we are always disturbed by the thought that a dog or cat left at home does not receive proper attention and care. Such anxiety attends us also with regard to chickens, although to a lesser extent. Breeding poultry will be really easy as soon as you fully understand the essence, and 5 or 6 laying hens will be able to provide your family with a lot of fresh eggs.

Many people ask me to share the secrets of successfully breeding chickens, provided that everyone who can do housework is at work or at school. I thought that this is really a very interesting topic, which I did not talk about before. So, let's begin.

My advice on keeping chickens if you are not at home

Naturally, your chickens, like any poultry, need a hen house in which they will sleep at night. Since you will not be at home, you will also need a secure indoor enclosure where chickens will be kept for a day. The fenced area will not only protect them from predators (dogs, foxes, raccoons, caresses, hawks, eagles and owl), but also will not allow the chickens to go out onto the road, get into the neighboring garden or soil your litter with your litter porch. Read about: breeding guinea fowl in the country!

Requirements for chicken coop:

1. Presence of a door latch against predators (for example, a hook, a latch with a carbine, a key or a padlock).
2. Good ventilation. All windows and openings must be covered with a wire mesh with cells no more than ½ inch.
3. One hen should have at least 3-4 square meters. feet of square.
4. Each bird needs 8 inches of space on the roost.
5. In one nest may be 3-4 chicken.

Requirements for aviary:

1. The presence of a door latch against predators.
2. A welded wire fence with 1 or ½ inch cells, or a fine wire mesh attached to the fence posts.
3. The guard must be at least a foot in the ground.
4. The roof of the enclosure is better to make a solid, or welded wire.

Schedule

The hens are adapted to the constant daily routine. Every morning you have to open a chicken coop and release them in the enclosure at the same time. It is best to do this at sunrise. However, if you need to go to work before dawn, you can open the door sooner, the chickens themselves will go out into the street when the daylight begins to dawn. However, the enclosure must necessarily be impenetrable for predators. At sunset birds will go to the chicken coop and jump on the roost for overnight. Soon after this, you must close the door to the castle.

If your work schedule does not allow you to stay at home when the sun sets and rises, a good solution is to install an automatic door to the entrance to the coop. There are several types of them - some work from electricity or batteries, there are even options for power from the solar battery. Doors are configured to open and close in the required time interval. They allow you to keep your pets safe, and securely lock the chicken coop.

After the opening of the hen house, it is necessary to feed the birds. You can either measure the right amount of food every morning, or buy a roomy bowl in which food can be stored for many days. Chickens will not eat more than necessary, as, for example, do dogs. It takes about half a cup of food per day, however, you can prepare a large feeder on the weekend when there is free time. This way you will ensure the whole group with food for a week ahead. Each chicken will eat exactly as much as necessary.

The same applies to drinkers. Chicken, like all living things, requires constant access to water. Just fill the drinker with water on the weekend, when you're in no hurry. On a small flock it will last for several days. But keep in mind that in hot weather, birds need more fluid. If on such days you plan to be out until the evening, take care of installing several water sources. This is a good solution in case one of the drinkers is overturned or dirty with a litter.

With practice, the opening of the enclosure, feeding and drinking will only take a few minutes. As well as collecting eggs in the evening, with the subsequent locking of doors at night, will take quite a bit of time. At weekends, you can clean the coop and update the nest boxes. Do not forget to also fill the feeder and the drinking bowl before leaving. Going to the store for food should also be included in the program of the weekend.

So, taking care of a small flock of chickens does not take a lot of time. Coming home after work or school, you can relax with your family, watching the chickens wander around the yard, and enjoying hours free from hassle before going to bed. When you need to leave for a few days or on vacation, you can ask your neighbors to take care of your pets in exchange for a basket of fresh eggs. This is one of the most important products in the kitchen, which has no equal in the amount of protein. Taste quality of domestic eggs can not be overemphasized, so this is a great way to thank friends for helping with care during your absence.

Keeping the chicken in the winter and increasing egg production - video