Preparing for your chicken keeping journey

Preparing for your chicken keeping journey is an exciting time full of planning and purchasing. But when you aren’t sure where to start, it can be a little overwhelming. If you’re wondering which items are “must haves” vs. “nice to haves”, you’re in the right place. We’ll break down everything you need before you bring your chickens home, and which elements may not be essential, but are great for enrichment and entertainment. 

Can I keep chickens where I live?  

Before you commit to keeping chickens, you’ll need to be sure that your property isn’t subject to chicken keeping laws by your city or homeowners association (HOA). Many urban areas now allow backyard flocks of chickens, but there may be restrictions on the number of hens you can keep, rules prohibiting roosters, or requirements for coop placement. Some areas also require permits or licensing before keeping chickens. Once you’ve obtained permission and any required documentation, it’s time to make your chicken-keeping essentials list.  

What to have before bringing chickens home 

There are some things you have to have in order to keep your chickens safe and comfortable when you bring them home. And, when you invest in high quality chicken products, these items will last throughout your flock’s lifetime and beyond. Choosing the right setup from the start will save you countless hours and dollars in the long run.

The chicken coop 

First and foremost, your flock will need a safe place to roost (sleep) at night, protection from the elements, and a quiet place to lay their eggs. This is where their chicken coop comes in. A good chicken coop should be: 

• Resistant to predators
• Easy to clean
• Insulated  
• Draft-free 
• Well ventilated 
• Parasite resistant 

The best way to achieve all of these at once — without having to make modifications — is with Omlet’s line of Eglu Chicken Coops. Their strong plastic construction makes them impervious to rot, keeping their structural integrity intact against predators and the elements. And, the smooth panels are a breeze to clean thoroughly to prevent red mites from ambushing your flock. Twin-wall insulation keeps the interior of the coop at a comfortable temperature, while the draft-free ventilation allows fresh air to circulate. You’ll never need to worry about maintaining your Eglu plastic chicken coop like you would a wooden chicken coop — it’s engineered to last a lifetime. 

Size is also important when considering your chickens’ coop. A coop that’s too small will make for uncomfortable quarters, while a coop that’s too large will have difficulty keeping your hens warm enough in the winter. Omlet takes the guesswork out of coop sizing, providing options depending on how many hens you have. 

• Eglu Pro: Up to 10 large hens or 15 bantams 
• Eglu Cube: Up to 6 large hens or 10 bantams 
• Eglu Go Up & Eglu Go: Up to 3 large hens or 4 bantams 

Unless you have property laws that restrict you to a certain flock size, it’s safe to assume that you’ll likely succumb to what chicken keepers call “chicken math”, which is the phenomenon of ending up with more chickens than you originally planned for. Chicken math can occur suddenly, or slowly over time — so buying the biggest coop from the start will help you head off chicken math and turn this potential problem into a welcome certainty. 

A chicken run or fencing 

Once you’ve selected your hens’ house, you’ll need to secure safe surroundings for them. Some chicken keepers have flock-appropriate fencing around their yard already, while others will need to provide dedicated outside spaces. This can be done with either chicken runs or chicken fencing. 

Omlet’s Walk In Chicken Run is fully enclosed, providing protection from aerial chicken predators, and features anti-dig skirting designed to help keep foxes and other digging fiends out. The strong steel weld is much more resilient than ordinary chicken wire, without the threat of staples breaking free from wooden supports like traditional chicken runs. 

Chicken fencing can be used to set appropriate boundaries for free-ranging flocks. Use chicken fencing to prevent your hens from wandering into the street, stray too far from home, or to keep them away from your prized plants. While it doesn’t offer full protection from predators, chicken fencing is a great way to keep your hens close while they’re out of their coop. 

Weather protection 

Along with predators, the elements are a real threat to chickens. Hot weather in particular is hard on hens, and you’ll want to make sure that they have adequate shade from the blazing sun. And, while most chickens tolerate the cold, they’ll need shelter from wet conditions and chilling winds. 

Weather protection helps keep your flock dry, shaded, and warm when needed. Walk In Run Covers are waterproof, and come in solid material for shade during the summer, and clear to allow warming sunlight to permeate during the winter. 

Chicken coop covers protect the attached run in the same way, and come in sizes customized to your size coop and run. Top covers protect from sun, rain, and snow, while lower covers block the wind. 

Feeding and health essentials 

With their housing in hand, you’re ready to move on to feeding and health essentials. These will be recurring purchases throughout the lives of your hens, and are largely determined by each individual keepers’ preferences. 

• Quality feed – This can be in pellet or crumble form, and should consist of between 16-20% protein for laying chicken breeds. Scratch grains and chicken-safe fresh foods can be offered as treats, but shouldn’t make up more than 10% of your flocks’ diet. 

• Fresh water – Should be readily available at all times. Refresh often, especially during warm weather.

• Bedding – Choose an absorbent bedding like pine shavings or pellets for droppings tray, and soft bedding for nesting boxes like straw or fine shavings. If your chickens stay in a run, you’ll need to bed it with a chicken-safe substrate once they’ve eaten all the grass to prevent it from becoming muddy. 
• A dust bath – Free-ranging flocks will create their own dust bathing areas, but hens in runs will need a chicken dust bath prepared by their keepers. There are several recipes, but the base should be non-treated, loose soil. 

A sample chicken-keeping schedule 

As a chicken keeper, you can expect your day to follow a general rhythm. Chickens are fairly self-sufficient as long as their basic needs are met, and they thrive on routine. You’ll be able to create a schedule that works best for you and your flock, but it will likely look something like this: 

• Let your chickens out of their coop shortly after dawn 
• Top off chicken feeders and waterers
• Collect eggs in the late afternoon 
• Close your chickens in shortly after dusk 

In hot weather, refresh your chickens’ water throughout the day to keep the temperature cool. In the wintertime, you may need to add hot water or break the ice throughout the day. 

You can spend as little or as much time with your flock, but you can expect to spend at least 30 minutes each day performing routine tasks. In addition to their daily needs, you’ll also need to plan to: 

• Clean their coop once at least once a week by dumping the droppings tray and refreshing the bedding 
• Wash their waterer weekly to prevent bacteria growth (especially during the warmer months) 
• Perform chicken health checks once a month 
• Deep-clean the coop once a month by removing all components and using a pressure washer or garden hose to spray it clean 
• Rake out and refresh the run substrate every couple of months or as needed 
• Change run covers from solid to clear in preparation for cold weather, and back to solid once the weather warms up 

Elements to add when you can

Once you have all the essentials and a plan in place, you can consider adding some extra elements that will elevate your chicken keeping experience. These can be incorporated at the very beginning, or added as you progress in your chicken keeping journey. 

Chicken perches and toys 

Chicken perches and toys are a great way to encourage your flock to stay active, and for you to observe their natural behaviors. A Freestanding Chicken Perch can be moved as often as needed, and a Customisable Chicken Perch can be added onto as your flock grows. 

Peck toys encourage natural foraging behaviour, and helps keep the floor of the run free from excess scratch grains.  A Caddi Chicken Treat Holder keeps fresh foods off of the ground, while giving your hens a chance to peck and stretch for their treats.  And for a truly novel experience, try a Chicken Swing for your hens. The gentle swaying motion makes this toy a flock member favourite. 

An automatic chicken coop door 

You can plan to get up early to let your chickens out shortly after dawn, or you can have the Autodoor do it for you. This ingenious device isn’t just smart — it’s also safe. The horizontal opening mechanism makes it much more difficult for predators to pry open, and the customizable open and close times keep your flock securely in their coop during predator primetime. And, it can be added onto any chicken coop or run — wood, wire, or mesh. 

Choose settings based on the clock or the sun to set your flock’s schedule, and never worry about getting up early to open the coop, or rushing home to close them in after dark. Upgrade to the Smart Autodoor for coop control at your fingertips. Change your Autodoor’s settings, receive real-time updates, and manually control the door from your mobile device from anywhere in the world. 

Don’t forget…

In the midst of all the planning and preparing, don’t forget to enjoy the journey. Keeping chickens is a wonderful way to experience a slower, more simple pace. In addition to providing your family with the superfood known as eggs, chickens make quirky and endearing companions that are a pleasure to watch and spend time with. So, make sure to prepare your heart for your chicken keeping journey, and to the probability of absolutely loving your backyard flock. 

Omlet and your chickens 

Our chicken keeping products are designed for every chicken and their keepers. From long lasting, supportive chicken coops and chicken runs to joy-inducing chicken toys and perches, you’ll find everything you need and more at Omlet. Prepare for a lifetime of happiness with your hens, and leave the rest to theit trusted setup.  

This entry was posted in Chickens

---