Essentials of the urban chicken keeper.
There has been an increase in both interest and number of backyard chickens moving into our urban centers. This was true before COVID19 and even more so now. 2020 has been a crazy year, and maybe you never thought this was going to happen, but here we are talking about what you need to start your urban flock of chickens. As beginners the best way to get off to a good start is to make sure you have everything ready for your birds before they show up, this will make for a happy transition into your backyard homestead.
These are the essential things needed in your backyard chicken coop and outdoor run to keep a happy and healthy backyard flock. These items were gained from my experience keeping chicken in my urban backyard.
Feed and Water Fountain
There are a lot of options to choose from when you look for your feeder and water fountain that will depend on the size of your flock. If you are acquiring chicks you will need a chick waterer, a lot of options are inexpensive and simply screw onto a mason jar. Once the hens are fully grown you will need to invest in a larger chicken waterer.
Chicken waterers range in size from a few ounces for chicks, up to an 8-gallon water fountain for a large flock of backyard hens. With a backyard flock, you will only need a 1- or 2-gallon water fountain. Going with a smaller water fountain will be easier to handle when refilling over a large 5-gallon fountain. If you live in a region that gets below freezing for part of the year, invest in a heater waterer, or a watering heater for those months. A frozen water fountain will crack and no longer be functional.
The Choices of feeders are about the same as the water fountain, minus the worry of freezing in the winter. You can get hanging feeders, feeders on legs, dome feeders on legs, galvanized floor or hanging feeders, and many more. They range in size, with a capacity of holding less than 4 pounds of feed to holding more than 50 pounds of feed. Keeping a feeder that size proportional to your flock size is important to keep feed fresh, as well as clean of dust and mold and chicken wastes.
A single laying hen will eat from 2 to 2 ½ pounds of feed a week depending on seasonal factors and the number of treats and scraps are given. This can help you choose the right size feeder for how many chickens you are keeping.
Chick and Chicken Feeds
All birds require a balanced diet containing all necessary requirements such as protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, & minerals. Without the essentials in the diet egg quality, hen health, and productivity will all decrease.
When given the option, chickens are good foragers, and some breeds are even better than others, but having a quality feed will make all the difference in your flock’s health and overall productivity. You can choose between a lot of options that range from conventional feeds and organics to specialty diets that can range from soy-free feeds to sustainable insect feeds.
I Always recommend using a sustainable organic option, I believe it is important to consider that, what you feed your birds is what you get in both egg quality and fertilizer quality. So choosing an option that’s right for your needs is important.
Feed also comes in different forms: mash, pellets, and crumble. Mash feeds are a mix of all the required ingredients ground and mixed together. Pellets are mash feeds mixed with a binder, heated, and extruded into different sized pellets. Crumble feeds are pellets broken into smaller pieces. Different people prefer different styles of feed, and often it’s about preference and what works in your situation.
Always keep your animal feeds dry and sealed. This will increase the longevity of the nutrients in the feed and prevent it from molding and going to waste.
Grit
Chickens, like other birds, don’t have teeth, they have gizzards. These are “pouches” that hold small pebbles or grit, and along with the crop muscle, it helps breakdown and grinds food for the chickens, making digestion easier.
It’s important to have free access to grit all year round, and it doesn’t take much, 5 to 7 pounds will last a small flock a year.
Chickens can also ingest and use oyster shells along with their girt. Oyster shells help the grinding process in the gizzard and add a source of calcium to the diet, which is very important in egg production.
Roost
Each night your birds will instinctually head back into the nest to sleep. They will be looking for something to perch on. Each bird will need about 8inches of roosting space, this can be as simple as a pole or stick that is securely fastened to the walls.
Keeping this roosting area open and easy to clean will be very beneficial to you and your backyard chickens. You will begin to notice the buildup of chicken waste under the roosts as the birds defecate during the evening.
An expert tip is to have straw or shaving close by and sprinkle some under the roosting area. This will help keep the overall odor and any waste buildup on the cleanliness side. Making for a happier you, and chickens.
Nest box
During the morning and throughout the day your birds, depending on their schedule, hens will use the nest boxes to lay their eggs. You should aim for a box that is 12 inches by 12 inches and at least 1 nest box for every 3 chickens
Your next box will be designed or built into the coop and should have easy access. Check your box once or twice a day for eggs, and keep it fresh with clean straw or wood shavings.
Dust Bath with Diatomaceous Earth
This is a great tool to have around to keep a healthier backyard flock. Diatomaceous earth is great at helping kill parasites such as mites, fleas, and lice externally, as well as some intern pests.
The chickens will naturally make a spot somewhere in their coop or run to dust bath, anywhere they have access to loosened dirt to roll around and kick up. You can also make them a set up using a small pool or an old tire rim. And making your own dust bath mix is as simple as mixing dirt or sand with diatomaceous earth.
Diatomaceous earth also works internally to help kill parasites, just gently add some to your flocks feed from time to time, this will also add some supplemental minerals.
Additionally, Diatomaceous earth will also help keep bad smells at bay around the coop. This is a great addition to any backyard flock, helping keep a healthy, happy, and odor-free coop. keep diatomaceous in a sealed container and dry, it will clump if allowed to get wet.
Chicken Treats
Chickens will be so happy with a few extra treats from time to time, these can be leftover veggie scraps from the kitchen as well as other supplemental feeds from scratch grains to dried fruits and insect treats.
Kids will love to go out and socialize with the birds, and having good treats around will be a good way for kids to interact with the birds.
Giving your birds a healthy treat like dried insects during the winter not only provides additional minerals and protein to their diet, but it helps provide entertainment and excitement during the long winter days locked in the coop.
Chicken Coop Lights
When you are starting off with baby chicks and not full-grown laying hens it's vital you add supplemental heat with infrared light. There are a few styles available to purchase, the simplest ones hang above your chick brooding area and are quite inexpensive. This light should be adjusted so it doesn’t add to much heat pushing the chicks to the edges of your area, nor is it too far away causing them to congregate in a group under it. a proper chick light will give off enough heat to keep the general area warm.
Going into fall the day length starts to shorten until the winter solstice when days are very short and nights are long. Chickens are photoresponsive and as daylight hours dip below 14 per day, egg production will begin to slow. Adding supplemental light will help keep the birds active longer during the short days.
This can be as simple as a 60watt outdoor light attached in the coop set on a timer, allowing you to extend the length of day light. This light during the cold winter can also be a tiny source of heat
