Aside buying chicken coop, maintenance of the chicken coops bought should be considered too!
As more people are choosing to become food self reliant, it is becoming more important people have the proper information.
Maintenance of the Chicken Coop
Raising chickens is a highly rewarding way to be environmentally responsible; however, it is crucial you understand the basics of daily maintenance and long-term chicken coop maintenance to ensure its success.
Daily Chicken Coop Duties
In general, caring for a chicken coop is not overly difficult, time consuming, nor complicated.
If you work each day to maintain the care of the chicken coop and chickens, you should be able to go about your daily routine virtually unscathed.
You must ensure the hen house is always filled with fresh water and quality feed. If you choose to use an inferior seed, you will have inferior results.
While you are adding more water and feed to the dispensers or containers, you should ensure each device is clean, as well.
This is essential to ensure the hygiene of the coop remains at a superior level at all times to prevent the spread of bacteria, disease, and mold.
Once the food and water duties in the chicken coop have been addressed, you should be mindful of the necessary daily maintenance of the actual coop.
You should inspect the perimeter fencing and the state of the hen house to ensure no holes are developing naturally or from outside predators.
Many larger animals would love the opportunity to share your chickens with you, so each day you should seek out structural imperfections.
Once you are certain your chickens are protected for yet another day, reward yourself with freshly laid eggs!
These daily tasks are crucial to the overall health of your animals; however, you should also be certain to take a few long-term precautions.
Long-Term Coop Care
As part of your long-term maintenance plans, you should consider your initial investments.
You should be willing to spend a few extra dollars on the actual chicken coop to protect your animals.
You want to ensure outside predators are unable to get to your chickens. Also, you should consider hanging feeders and hanging water dispensers.
Both of these items are lower maintenance which will allow you to spend less time in the coop and more time on other aspects of your life.
You should also consider installing a heating lamp on the ceiling of the hen house to encourage egg production in colder months and to simply keep them happier.
For the ultimate long-term chicken coop maintenance, keep your feed in waterproof bins with a tightly-sealed lid to prevent the development of mold.
These steps will help you have a successful chicken coop for years to come.
Your chickens are perfectly suited to spend some time on their own, as long as you complete the appropriate preparations.
The long-term maintenance will aid in the efficiency of your daily duties as long as you take the proper steps to do it right the first time. And remember, a happy hen lays more eggs than an unhappy one!