Day To Day Routine : What to expect

What a typical day to day routine will involve.

What you will discover once you start to keep chickens is that they are actually very undemanding creatures, and just get on with things. Initially as with all things  new you may well be a little nervous and unsure, but after a few weeks you will fast become an expert in the subject and realise it not much different to keeping a pet dog, cat or rabbit, but with added benefits!

Typically you will need to let your hens out first thing every morning, regardless of how you are feeling, put out their feeder with feed, and fill their water dispensers with fresh, clean water.

Chickens will typically lay in the morning. So if you see them come out to eat and then disappear back into the housing area it’s usually to lay an egg.

Ideally you should check and remove any eggs from the nesting boxes as soon as they have laid. This is to prevent accidental damage or one of your hens actually eating the egg. It also lessens the chances of the egg getting muck on it – chickens produce waste as and where they need, which can be in the nesting box too.

That being said many people who keep chickens work and only get back in the evening which is when they collect their eggs and report that they never have a problem with collecting their eggs at this time.

Your chickens will happily scratch about until sundown, when you should return to collect any new eggs. Make a quick check for any wet or soiled bedding, which should be removed, and then shut your hens away, safe from predators.

Your chicken coop should be cleaned once a week, or twice a month if you only have a few hens. However, I always ‘poo pick’ in the mornings which simply involves carefully scooping up the poop in the hen house and throwing it on the compost heap – chickens produce a surprising large amount of waste during both the day and night.

I’ll tell you which bedding I use that makes this job an absolute breeze and why a little latter on.