Learning About the Chicken Chores
Learning about the chicken chores, it’s funny how 14 cute little chickens can take up so much time and attention. That is exactly what our hens are doing with Ron and I. They are close to the house, maybe to close but I can enjoy them from the living room window so I’m ok with where they are. Plus, I love to hear them cackle after they lay an egg and squawk as they eat bugs out in their run. However, I’m not very involved in their day-to-day care so I found the video Ron did this week very informative.
Scraping It Together
My husband can build just about anything and he built the original run and their coop. He used mostly scrap wood to complete the project. One thing to keep in mind is that the run and especially their coop needs to offer them protection from the weather and from predators. You can see what he did here. If you have access to a pallet it is easy enough to put up the walls and a roof for a nice, inexpensive shelter for your chickens. He added the side wing to the main chicken run and the roof after we got the main coop finished.
Chicken Chores
Probably the most important chicken chore to learn about is watering the chickens. It’s always important but if it is in the middle of a Texas drought chickens need to be watered at least once a day if not more. Something we didn’t know is how much they like to play in water. Ron is always scrubbing out the water buckets because of dirty feet splashing in the water.
Of course, feeding them is also important. Ron made their feed tubes to help keep their feed clean and dry. He explains it really well in the video which you can watch here. He says that the tubes hold about 15 pounds of feed and last our 14 hens a week to a week and a half.
Worth It?
So after hearing about the shelter chickens need and the feeding and watering chores you might ask yourself if it’s worth having chickens. Ron and I think so, it’s not unheard of to go sit in the back and watch the girls (hens). But really, only you can answer that question.
Here is to your homesteading dreams,
Shawn