I went to a presentation today about keeping backyard chickens. Over the course of an hour, I learned only two facts. Although I was not thrilled with the amount of new information trickling into my head, it was comforting to find out that I already know enough about chickens to learn little from an hour-long presentation about them.

Let me tell you a few things about chickens. (Disclaimer: I don't have any just yet. As soon as I get out to that other coast, I am building myself a flock ASAP. In the meantime, allow me to share my book learnin'.)

First of all, chickens are birds. That makes them rather different from you and me, in that they're not mammals. They're also different in that they're pretty dumb. Luckily, this means they have fairly simple needs.

Chickens want to eat, drink, poop, sleep, peck, scratch, and lay eggs. They also want to not be eaten.

Let's go through these ornithological desires item by item. How can I, the backyard chicken keeper, see to each?

(Answers after the jump!)


Eat
You'll want to provide your chickens with a supply of high-quality chicken feed. They'll eat a lot less of it if they're enjoying the buffet offered my Mama Nature. Free-ranging (or somewhat free-ranging; see "not be eaten") your chickens can help enormously. Your chickens will be so psyched about getting out there, digging things up, eating some plants, finding some bugs, and generally chowing down. You should also provide your birds with access to ground up oyster shells or some other source of calcium so that they can have strong bones and sturdy eggshells.

Drink
Always provide easy access to drinking water! This is especially important when the weather is hot. If the temperature drops below freezing, make sure that the water doesn't freeze solid-- those ladies can't drink ice! Highly recommended: waterers that are suspended, provide water only by pecking, or otherwise avoid having a pool for the chickens to step in and contaminate.

Poop
The chickens are pretty good about doing this for themselves. The only tricky part for you is cleaning up after them. It's a good idea to have a removable droppings tray under their roosts (see "sleep"), which should take care of a lot of your in-coop cleaning needs. It's more pleasant to clean a soiled tray outside the coop than in; no one likes bending into a pretzel shape to reach bird droppings. Make sure that you have bedding down in the coop to make your job even easier. For more coop information, see "the coop" at the end of this post. If you keep your chickens in an enclosed run all of the time, you'll need to shovel/rake/scoop/brush poop out of their run sometimes, too. Add it to your compost pile! Free-ranging chickens spread their waste out over a large area, which means organisms in the soil can compost it for you.

Sleep
Chickens want to sleep in a coop. The temperature stays more constant, they feel safer, and they're less likely to be eaten. (See "not be eaten" and "the coop.") They'll usually put themselves in the coop every evening around dusk. If they're not doing that, keep them enclosed in it for a couple days until they feel more like it's home.

Chickens want to sleep on a roost, a bar set up off the floor of their coop. Not too high, not too low, but just right. Too high results in chickens that have to work too hard to get to bed, and that are more likely to injure themselves. Too low simply results in less happy chickens who can't pretend they're living wild and free, sleeping in the trees. About two feet up is just about right. The roost should be the highest thing in the coop. If there's something higher, the chickens will turn it into a roost instead.

Peck
Chickens like to peck things. Letting them roam allows them to express this in a more sane way. Watch out for them pecking each other, especially if one already has a wound. The shiny blood is exciting and new-- and therefore fun to peck! Also watch out for them figuring out that pecking eggs is a great way to pass the time.

Scratch
Chickens like to scratch at things: the dirt, their bedding, their food, your garden. Make sure to keep them out of areas you don't want to get scratched. They like to take dust baths in particularly scratched up spots. The dust baths are actually good for their skin or feathers or something, so this is a-OK.

Lay eggs
Chickens want to lay their eggs in nest-ish feeling spots. You should provide at least one nest box in your coop for every four chickens. They'll take turns laying. If you don't provide one, or sometimes even if you do, they'll just lay their eggs wherever. If you're letting them roam, this would mean that you get to do an Easter egg hunt every day. Make sure you're providing them with the calcium and nutrients they need to keep producing good eggs. (See "eat.")

Not be eaten
Until I decide that it's time for me to eat my chickens, I'm with them on this one-- I don't want other things eating them. Unfortunately, chickens are tasty and stupid. That means that taking care of this one's up to you, dear chicken keeper.

Night-time safety: make sure your coop is secure. Shut the coop door every night after all the chickens are home. Have latches on every opening (door, nest box lid, droppings tray) to make sure crafty raccoons don't open up your coop for a midnight snack. Even better, have two latches on every opening.

Day-time safety: You can keep your chickens in an enclosed run, with chicken wire on the sides and top. Some predators dig down under the chicken wire, so you can either have some underground or you can set up a dig-proof bib that runs out along the ground for several inches. You can keep a rooster with your chickens to help protect them. You can pasture them enclosed in electric poultry fencing to keep out non-aerial predators.

Sometimes, particularly if you let them roam around, something is going to kill one of your chickens. It just happens.

The coop
Along with being a top-notch writer, I'm a budding MS Paint artist. To help you on your quest for chicken keeping greatness, here's a diagram of a coop with just about everything you'll need. Not included: your chosen "not be eaten" day-time safety tactic(s).

Whew. And there you have it, folks: chickens! Any questions?