If you’re getting chickens for the first time, please don’t dive in too fast. Take some time to learn what chickens need to be healthy and happy; because if you don’t take good care of them, they won’t lay many eggs, they could get sick, and they’ll be miserable.
In this video, Doug from Off Grid With Doug & Stacy lists six things every chicken needs.
Here’s his list:
1. Clean Water – Not just water, clean water. Change it every day.
2. Clean Nesting Boxes – Would you sleep in a bed filled your own waste? Didn’t think so.
3. Grit – Chicken don’t have teeth so they need gravel or crushed up shells to help them break down food.
4. Ventilation – Too much heat and moisture in your coop can cause health problems in chicken.
5. Feed – This is a whole topic, so check out his video on chicken feed.
6. Dust Bath – This helps keep parasites away. If you don’t give your chickens a dust bath, they’ll make one.
Watch the video to learn more about this list.
How about #7: oyster shell?
Do chickens stop laying in hot weather?
We have some stored wheat and bird seeds from the winter, both have bugs in them my husband has been feeding with the wheat and bird seeds. Is that okay?