Keeping Chickens Healthy Right Now
Having chickens like anything living thing, you want to take care of them.
In fact, keeping chickens healthy not only makes a happy chicken.
But it also makes you happy to see your backyard chickens not only thriving but enjoying themselves.
Keeping Chickens Healthy And Happy
There are some thoughts on what to do with your flock daily.
Raising chickens can be quite easy but also needs maintenance to keep their environment safe and clean for both your chickens and your own happiness.
Some owners hesitate to do such a gruelling task.
Really!
But in reality, it is one of the easiest work you can do to give your chickens the welcome they deserve.
Here you will learn about what to do and what not to do daily.
Keep your Chickens feed and Water Containers Full at all Times
One way on how to keep healthy chickens is, do not let them run out of these two essential things…
Keeping chickens healthy…
Above all… They need these two things every day to live and that is food and water…
If you do intend to leave your house for a couple of days at a time, be sure to leave sufficient food and water so that your chickens don’t run out of either, especially water…
So that their needs are met, and it will not reach the point of them picking on each other if they have a lack of these two things they are going to compete for them of course.
Clean their Water Bowels
Keeping backyard chickens healthy also requires you to clean their water bowls…
If their water becomes cloudy or if they sensed that it’s already dirty, your chickens will refuse to drink it.
And in the long run, they will become dehydrated and eventually conjure illness and even worse, so fresh and clean water is a must.
Every Morning, Observe for their Health Status
When keeping chickens healthy, you also look at their physical attitudes when you go to see your chickens every day.
Do they look bright, active, and healthy?
If they don’t look anything close to normal, then you need to see what is going on.
More often than not, a single chicken might not be well, keep an eye on them, and if you need to separate them from the rest of the flock…
See also Can Chickens Eat Blackberries - What Do You Think?
Do so.
As they could be infectious, and you don’t want other chickens catching something.
Especially if they have a dirty back end diarrhoea, separate them straight away.
Keeping Eggs Fresh
If you are the type who loves collecting eggs for breakfast or for selling them, the moment they are laid.
You need to collect them from the coop.
I would not really leave them out for more than a couple of days, especially if you live in a warmer climate.
Putting your chicken eggs inside the fridge to maintain their freshness is most probably the best.
Keeping their Pen Safe
When you go and visit your chicken’s coop and look at your chickens.
There is always something you need to keep in the back of your mind, and that is checking that your chicken coop or chicken run has not degraded in any way that could be detrimental to your chickens.
Buildings decay with time, with the weather, or they can be damaged in some sort of way, either by the elements or something that could have fallen on some part of your chicken run.
Before you leave, make sure that all is safe inside and outside the hen house and chicken run.
If you see rat holes, block them.
If everything seems fine, be sure to close the door.
As dusk comes, that’ll be the time when all the chickens are in their chook house.
Not a single chicken insight.
Secure the area so that predators will not have the opportunity to get in.
In one place, my chickens were fond of dust bathes, which is natural, but some decided that scratching a hole beside the chicken run fence was a good thing.
Might have been fine for the chicken, but this causes the burrowing of dirt for their dust bath and open up a hole near the bottom of the chicken fence.
And if you do not have the chicken wire buried way below the fence – then you have an opportunity for predators to take advantage of this situation.
And they well…
I have blocked these holes up with rocks and then filled the surrounding dirt till my chickens strike again somewhere else on the chicken run fence.
See also How to Care for Your Plymouth Rock Chicken Flock
Unlike other pets, you can leave the chickens for days.
You have to keep in mind that they have to be provided with enough food and water supply.
If you came back and found eggs, it’s still okay to collect.
It still has its freshness.
Here’s a fact that you should know about an egg’s freshness: it will take you at least 12 days from the day that it was laid before it matures and an embryo develops inside.
Another thing that you should know about eggs is that upon collecting them, there will be chances that you’ll see slight smudges of dirt or faeces on the egg’s surface.
Do not attempt to scrub the dirt off no matter how the urge is killing you.
Because one thing about eggs is that they are not ejected to this world without protective barriers.
Bloom is the term that is given to the membrane that is located at the surface of the egg itself.
The use of the bloom is to protect the egg from bacteria and microorganisms that may insist on penetrating through the shell.
If you scrub this, you take away the protective covering.
But if you are that type of person who wanted things to always be spiffy clean, you can clean the dirty egg provided it will be under warm water and in a very gentle touch.
So I have shown you some ways of how to keep chickens healthy.
In fact, keeping chickens healthy is your way of showing how much you care about them and that when you bought them into your backyard and your family, they become your responsibility to take care of.
Keeping your chickens happy and healthy is going to make you also be happy, and seeing your chickens running around their hen house and yard will give you endless hours of entertainment.
I know that for a fact.
Keeping chickens healthy should be a natural want on your part to know that they are well taken care of and that you are doing your best for them.