Raising chickens can be a rewarding and surprisingly low-maintenance experience. While chickens are largely self-sufficient, they still rely on you to provide the essentials for their health and wellbeing. With the right supplies, you can help your flock thrive, ensuring they stay happy, healthy, and productive. In this guide, you’ll discover everything you need to keep your chickens in top condition, from supplements and grit, to coop hygiene and more.
Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous earth is a naturally occurring sedimentary rock that’s non-toxic and highly absorbent. It’s a favorite among chicken keepers for its effectiveness as a natural insecticide, especially in preventing red mite and other parasites in chicken coops. The fine powder works by dehydrating pests, making it a safe and chemical-free solution for your flock.
How to Use:
Sprinkle diatomaceous earth in the corners and crevices of your coop, focusing on areas where mites might hide.
Mix it into your chickens’ dust bath to help control external parasites.
Some keepers add a small amount to chicken feed, but always ensure it’s food grade and not pool grade.
Safety Tips:
Always wear a mask when handling diatomaceous earth, as the fine dust can irritate your lungs.
Keep it away from your chickens’ eyes and respiratory systems.
Chicken Coop Cleaner
A clean coop and nestboxes are essential for healthy hens, as regular cleaning helps prevent the buildup of harmful bacteria and parasites. You’ll need a pet-safe disinfectant to use on your chickens’ housing to keep their environment safe.
Plastic vs. Wooden Coops:
Plastic coops, like Eglu coops, are easy to clean and come with removable droppings trays.
Wooden coops absorb ammonia from chicken urine and are more difficult to clean, which can cause health problems for hens. With wooden coops, you may need to clean more regularly and vigorously to maintain a healthy environment.
Cleaning Routine:
Wipe surfaces down weekly with a pet-safe disinfectant.
Deep clean the coop and nestboxes at least once a month.
Apple cider vinegar (ACV) is a popular supplement among chicken keepers. It’s known for its ability to boost the immune system, improve digestion, and support overall health.
Benefits:
Enhances gut health and helps prevent digestive issues.
Can be used to clean waterers, removing limescale and keeping water fresh.
How to Use:
Add a small amount (about 1 tablespoon per gallon) to your chickens’ water a few times a week.
Use ACV to clean accessories, ensuring they’re free from buildup.
Chicken Grit
Chickens don’t have teeth, so they rely on grit, a mix of small stones and calcium sources like crushed oyster shells, to help them digest food.
Why Grit Matters:
Grit stays in the gizzard, grinding down food so chickens can absorb nutrients.
Without grit, chickens can’t process larger food items, which can lead to blockages.
Grit also provides essential minerals for strong bones and eggshells.
How to Provide:
Offer grit in a separate container so chickens can take what they need.
Grit should be available at all times.
Chicken Supplements
Supplements can play a key role in maintaining your chickens’ health, especially if you want to support egg production and immunity.
Essential Nutrients:
Calcium and phosphorus are crucial for high-quality eggs.
Garlic powder is recognized for its immune-boosting and deworming properties, and it can help eliminate red mite.
Herbal Additions:
Fresh or dried herbs like oregano, thyme, and mint can be added to feed or scattered in the coop to protect against infections and parasites.
Electrolytes are vital for hydration and recovery, especially during periods of stress or extreme heat.
What They Do:
Contain sodium, potassium, and calcium to help regulate body temperature and support recovery.
Useful after predator attacks or environmental changes.
How to Use:
Offer electrolytes in water for a few hours at a time to prevent overconsumption.
Essential Chicken Supplies Table
Key Takeaways
Diatomaceous earth is useful for multiple things, including dust baths and mite prevention in the coop itself.
Chicken-safe cleaners help keep the coop clean and support flock health.
Apple cider vinegar, electrolytes, and supplements are important to support your chickens’ overall health.
Grit is essential so your flock can properly digest their food.
Chicken mite treatments and antiseptic spray help prevent and treat mites.
Sand or dry topsoil is ideal for dust baths, allowing your chickens to stay clean while having fun.
Egg cartons are perfect for storing the delicious eggs your chickens reward you with.
Omlet and Your Flock
At Omlet, we’re dedicated to helping you keep your flock happy and healthy. Our Eglu Coops are designed for easy cleaning and effective mite prevention, making chicken keeping simpler and more enjoyable. With the right supplies and a little care, you’ll be rewarded with a thriving flock and plenty of delicious eggs.
Thinking of starting your first flock? Fresh eggs are just one of the best things about having your own flock of chickens right in your own backyard. But before you take the poultry plunge, there are some things to consider. Here are the most common questions people consider before bringing home a backyard flock of chickens.
Common questions about keeping chickens
Questions are great when considering keeping a new pet. Doing your due diligence and researching how to best go about obtaining chickens, their housing, and their care is part of responsible pet ownership. Here are some of the most frequently asked chicken questions, and their answers.
Do you need to register your chickens?
Depending on where you live, you may need to register your chickens. There may also be chicken keeping laws that apply to your city or local homeowners association (HOA). Always check with your city office or HOA before making plans to keep chickens.
How many chickens make a perfect flock?
The most straightforward answer to this question is: it depends. Chickens are flock animals and have to be kept as a minimum of 2-3 at a time. Then your space, any laws or restrictions, and your egg consumption comes into play.
As a general rule, you will need to aim to provide at least 4sqft of space per chicken in their outdoor area. This can be done in a chicken run or with chicken fencing. The amount of space needed inside of their chicken coop varies depending on the size of your chickens, but an average amount of coop space is 2sqft per chicken.
A mature laying hen will produce an egg every day and a half, so a flock of 3-6 chickens will likely provide a steady supply of eggs for a small family. If your family consumes a lot of eggs, or if you plan to gift eggs to friends and family, you’ll want to expand your flock accordingly.
Do my chickens need to be vaccinated?
There are no required vaccinations for chickens in the US, and there are few approved vaccines for poultry. Some hatcheries vaccinate newly-hatched chicks with the following vaccinations:
Marek’s Disease – affects the nervous system of chickens, and is usually fatal. Not all infected birds will show symptoms, but the virus that causes Marek’s can live in the ground for several years, making it very difficult to eradicate. The vaccine doesn’t prevent illness in chickens, but lessens the severity of symptoms. This disease is not contagious to humans.
Coccidiosis – this common protozoa is a type of parasite that infects several different animals, but coccidia that infects chickens is specific to the avian species. Coccidiosis causes diarrhea and lethargy, and is fatal for most chicks. A vaccine shortly after hatching or feeding medicated chick feed until chicks are 16-20 weeks old will help prevent this illness.
Not all hatcheries vaccinate their chicks, and many do so per the buyer’s request. Always check with your veterinarian to see what vaccinations (if any) are recommended for your area.
Another chicken illness that has garnered a lot of attention lately is avian influenza. While this virus can infect backyard flocks, it’s rare outside of commercial poultry operations. There are no approved vaccines in the US for avian influenza in chickens, so monitoring your state and county news for updates on this disease is the best way to protect your flock. Use chicken run covers to prevent droppings from wild birds entering the run, and keep bird feeders put up or far away from your flock. Avian influenza typically follows a pattern of spiking before going dormant for several years.
Do chickens smell?
Chickens themselves are very clean animals, taking pride in preening their feathers and keeping their plumage healthy with regular dust baths. But their droppings do have an odor, so cleaning your chicken coop regularly is a necessity. Having an easy to clean chicken coop makes all the difference in turning this chicken-keeping chore into an anticipated activity. You can expect to clean your chicken coop once a week, with once a month deep-cleanings. Your flock’s run needs to be cleaned out seasonally, and spot cleaned throughout the week to remove droppings and old food. Keep your chickens’ run covered with a substrate like pea gravel, pine pellet bedding, sand, or hemp for quick cleaning and refreshing.
Omlet and your flock
See why countless families all over the world have decided to keep chickens – and why thousands of chicken keepers trust Omlet’s chicken coops, chicken runs, and chicken-keeping accessories to help their flocks stay healthy and happy. Starting your own flock is an exciting endeavor, resulting in priceless memories and many benefits. Take the poultry plunge with Omlet and discover chicken-keeping the way it was meant to be.
Bird flu, also known as avian influenza, is back in the headlines, and new restrictions have been imposed on chicken keepers. In these circumstances, it is natural to ask whether wild birds present a major risk.
Wild birds are not the main source of the spread of the disease, however, even though they can act as reservoirs for the virus. It is human commercial activities associated with poultry farming that are the major cause of the bird flu’s spread across the world. If you are keeping just a few chickens, most of the risks can be avoided by simple hygiene and protective housing measures.
Avian influenza (bird flu)
As its name suggest, the avian flu virus is a form of influenza (flu) biologically adapted to bird hosts. Avian influenza is not a virus specific to chickens and poultry, and in theory any bird, wild or domestic, can be infected.
Bird flu – good news and bad news
In theory, any species of wild bird can catch the flu. Waterfowl such as geese, swans and ducks are thought to be major carriers of the disease, sometimes displaying no symptoms themselves. Chickens that come into contact with avian influenza are likely to catch it.
But let’s look at the good news first. The risk to human health from wild bird diseases, including avian influenza, are extremely low. In 99.9% of cases, humans affected by the highly virulent H5N1 strain of the bird flu have caught it from intensively reared poultry. The disease is not easily transmitted from human to human.
Similarly, chickens that are kept in runs and subject to common sense precautions are unlikely to catch the disease. Unless you live in an area suffering a major avian influenza outbreak, the visitors to your bird table are unlikely to be carriers of the disease.
Now for the bad news… If only one wild bird in a thousand is a carrier of avian influenza, that’s still one too many. Like it or not, backyard chickens are at risk. This is why new rules and new housing measures were introduced in December 2020.
Avian flu in wild birds
The chances of a human catching avian influenza directly from birds that visit the garden are practically nil. This is no reason to avoid basic precautions, however, especially if you keep chickens. Keeping bird feeding stations clean is important, to avoid droppings and moulds accumulating. These can impact the health of wild birds and lower their immune systems. You should always wash your hands after restocking or cleaning a feeding station, or after any situation that brings you into contact with bird droppings (feeding the ducks in the local park, for example).
Sick or dead wild birds should not be touched. In general, you do not need to report the discovery of a dead bird. However, if dead ducks, geese, swans, gulls or birds of prey should be reported, as should the discovery of five or more dead birds of any species in one place.
How do I know if my chicken has bird flu?
Chickens with avian influenza will display various symptoms. They may be less active than usual, and will lose their appetite and show signs of nervousness. Their egg production will drop, and eventually their combs and wattles will look swollen, with a blue discoloration. Other avian influenza symptoms in poultry include coughs, sneezes and diarrhea. Unfortunately, many of these avian influenza symptoms are associated with other ailments, too, so a vet will need to make the diagnosis.
It can take 14 days for an avian influenza outbreak to spread throughout a flock. Some infected birds may exhibit no signs, even though they are still potential virus carriers. Others may sicken and die very quickly.
Guidelines from the CDC
If you are concerned your chickens may have been exposed to the the Avian Flu please follow these guidelines here to protect yourself at: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/avian-in-humans.htm
CDC currently recommends a neuraminidase inhibitor for treatment of human infection with avian influenza A viruses. CDC has posted avian influenza guidance for health care professionals and laboratorians, including guidance on the use of antiviral medications for the treatment of human infections with novel influenza viruses associated with severe disease. Analyses of available avian influenza viruses circulating worldwide suggest that most viruses are susceptible to oseltamivir, peramivir, and zanamivir. However, some evidence of antiviral resistance has been reported in Asian H5N1 and Asian H7N9 viruses isolated from some human cases. Monitoring for antiviral resistance among avian influenza A viruses is crucial and ongoing.
Although avian influenza A viruses usually do not infect people, rare cases of human infection with these viruses have been reported. Infected birds shed avian influenza virus in their saliva, mucous and feces. Human infections with bird flu viruses can happen when enough virus gets into a person’s eyes, nose or mouth, or is inhaled. This can happen when virus is in the air (in droplets or possibly dust) and a person breathes it in, or when a person touches something that has virus on it then touches their mouth, eyes or nose
The main takeaway messages
Feeding wild birds in the backyard is still safe
Simple precautions and good cleaning habits minimize the dangers
Cockerels have three main purposes in a flock of chickens. They protect the hens by warning of any danger, they enable you to breed your own chicks, and they look fabulous. Sometimes, however, the cockerel’s protective instincts becomes a problem, and the bird becomes over-aggressive. This can be a particular issue in the spring, which is the breeding season.
Cockerels are wired to protect their hens. If you watch the flock foraging in a garden, the loud clucking of a hen will bring the cockerel running to make sure everything’s okay. If a hen squawks when you pick her up, the cockerel will put on an aggressive display until you put her down again. As long as this doesn’t involve physical attacks, there’s no problem. Some cockerels will physically attack, though.
If these face-offs continue, the cockerel might decide that you – and all humans – represent danger and will try to fight you off at all times. Luckily, you can usually defuse the situation.
Cockerels give warning of their intention to attack. They lower their heads and perform a strutting dance while looking straight at you. Things get trickier if the cockerel decides to run up and attack your legs, like an angry farmyard goose. If you’re walking away, the cockerel may chase you from the yard, and that can cause nasty surprises too.
How Do You Stop a Rooster From Attacking You?
Don’t walk straight towards the cockerel when you enter the place where the chickens are kept.
Don’t stare at the cockerel unless he’s already behaving aggressively, as this is a sign of aggression as far as he’s concerned – you’re fixing your eyes on him and his flock just like a predator would.
Don’t tiptoe around or run away if the cockerel looks at you, as these are signs that you’re afraid, and the cockerel might take this as a cue to rush in and finish the job!
Don’t dash around the yard – the cockerel equates quick movements with predators. Go about your business in the chicken yard in a calm, slow but focused way.
Make sure your hens are in a stress-free environment. If there are prowling dogs or unruly children running amongst the hens, their clucks and squawks will send the rooster into overdrive to protect his girls.
If your cockerel brings you small ‘gifts’ such as stones or twigs, don’t be too flattered. He is treating you like a hen, and you will have to refuse the gifts and shoo him away, otherwise he will think he’s subdued you with his presents!
Don’t crowd the cockerel. If he feels trapped in a corner, he is likely to fight his way out.
How to Handle an Aggressive Cockerel
Never respond to an angry cockerel with violence.
This will have no positive effect on the cockerel or flock’s behaviour afterwards, and it can result in serious injury to the bird. He may be aggressive, but a cockerel is still a bird, fragile bones and all.
A cockerel should be lifted with thick protective gloves to remove him to a safe place or away from the eye of the storm. Your arms and legs shouldn’t be bare when handling the rooster, and your footwear should be sturdy too. If the cockerel is only in the early stages of aggression, he can often be calmed down with a few treats. It is a good idea to carry treats with you whenever you’re in the same place as the cockerel. After you’ve fed him a few times, he will come to associate you with treats rather than danger. The treats should be hand-offered. If you throw them down and then run away, the rooster will recognise that you’re afraid, and the problems might continue.
A more hands-on – or feet-on – method is to gently roll the cockerel over with your safely booted foot when he approaches you looking for trouble. After a few of these gentle wrestling throws, the cockerel will realise that you’re the top bird in the run and give you no more trouble. In theory, at least!
How to Lift an Angry Cockerel
Alternatively, when the cockerel tries to peck you, scoop him up with your gloved hands and hold him like you would hold a hen, under your arm. The cockerel will flap and squawk angrily, but he will eventually calm down if you ignore these protestations. This may take 10 to 15 minutes, but it’s time well spent if it means that the cockerel will not attempt to attack you again.
If the cockerel has not yet attacked, you may be able to deter him by taking a large, deliberate step towards him, looking at him as you do so. If the rooster starts to fidget and looks at the ground or starts pecking it, you have won the battle, and you can back down without fear of attack.
The key to all these methods is to make the cockerel realize that you’re not a threat to his hens. Protecting the flock is all he wants to do. If that doesn’t work, and if the cockerel starts to stretch his wings and neck ready for attack, stretch out your arms. Carrying a stick can help here, as it makes your ‘wingspan’ look even greater in the rooster’s eyes.
Treat holders and peck toys will keep your chickens entertained for hours!
What is the Most Aggressive Rooster?
Circumstantial evidence suggests that some cockerels are just born mean! In these cases, the cockerel’s instinct to protect a flock of hens is in constant overdrive. The aggression is occasionally seen when the birds are still chicks, although it is more usual for the aggression to kick in at 6 to 8 months old. Although the breed of the chicken makes a certain amount of difference, even supposedly gentle breeds can sometimes decide to take no prisoners in the chicken yard!
The most aggressive rooster breeds are said to be Aseel (allegedly the biggest bullies of all), Cornish, Leghorn, Malay, Old English Game and all other traditional ‘cockfighting’ or ‘game’ species.
What is the Least Aggressive Rooster?
The least aggressive roosters include the Australorp, Brahma, Polish, Silkie and Welsummer. Bantam breeds tend to be relatively calm, too. However, there are occasional ‘bad apples’ in all breeds, and some cockerels just seem to hit an aggressive streak and never entirely leave it behind.
Constantly aggressive roosters are a real problem, especially if you have children wandering in the garden or backyard. A cockerel readily backs up his anger with a physical attack, and he is armed with sharp spurs – the spikes on his legs – that can do real damage. If all attempts to calm the cockerel down fail, the tyrant rooster will have to be rehoused.
If you have chosen a non-aggressive breed of cockerel, and if your chickens have lots of space, you will seldom have major problems with rooster aggression. Let cockerels know whose boss as soon as they hit adulthood, never accept those tempting little gifts, and you should be recognized by all your chickens as being top of the pecking order.
How cold is too cold for chickens? Chickens can tolerate cold weather, however, baby chicks are less likely to do so. The primary concern in cold temperatures is whether your chickens are becoming wet. If they are and cannot dry off, this can be cause for concern.
Our guide walks you through the optimum temperatures for chickens, how to care for your hens in winter, and which breeds are the most hardy.
How cold is too cold for chickens?
Chickens will regulate their temperature and behavior accordingly, so wherever humans can live, chickens can thrive too. Chickens can tolerate cold even under freezing temperatures. This makes caring for chickens in winter relatively simple, as only a few adjustments to your usual routine will need to be made. It is the combination of cold and wet that can prove fatal, so it’s vital to ensure your hens have a dry chicken coop. Any of your birds that become soaked should be toweled dry. Applying Vaseline to their combs will prevent frostbite and help them tolerate the cold.
Ideal temperatures for adult chickens
While chickens can tolerate the cold, their preferred weather is in the 70 degrees Fahrenheit range. You’ll find that your adult chickens can survive cold temperatures into the teens. However, we recommend keeping a thermometer in your coop to track its temperature. You should find that the insulation of your coop and the warmth created by the chickens themselves is enough to help them tolerate the cold.
Ideal temperatures for baby chicks
Baby chicks are far more sensitive to cold temperatures and are not able to tolerate them as well as full-grown hens. This is both due to their smaller size and the fact their feathers are not yet fully developed to keep them warm. When your chicks first hatch you should keep them at around 90-95 degrees Fahrenheit. After this you can reduce the temperature they’re kept at around 5 degrees a week until you get into the 70 – 75 Fahrenheit range.
Keep your chickens’ coop warm & cozy
The type of coop you have makes a big difference in how cold your chickens will tolerate. In really cold winters, a wooden coop with a drafty coop door can soon become damp and semi-frozen – not to mention very drafty. This dampness combined with the cold weather will make winter more difficult for be more tricky for your flock to tolerate.
On the other hand, a more robust state-of-the-art chicken coop such as the Eglu will keep out the cold and damp – enabling chickens to tolerate the cold weather after a busy day in their run. You’ll find that an Eglu will stay much warmer during the winter than a wooden coop. The temperature in the Eglu will remain moderate when all the hens are tucked in at night. Our Eglus are insulated by design, but if the winter becomes colder than usual you can easily add extreme weather protection to further insulate your coop.
You can help your backyard chickens keep warm in the frost and help them weather the cold by making sure the coop is clean and dry. Clear out any snow dragged in on the hens’ feet and keep an insulating layer of straw on the floor. Doing this will help your chickens to tolerate the colder weather. If you also insulate your chicken runs, there should still be some ventilation, to allow the gasses released from the birds’ droppings to escape.
An automatic door will help keep the living quarters cozy, too. It’s not advised to install a coop heater – even those rated for hen houses. Hens may get used to being overly warm all the time, which could be disastrous if the heater fails. Heat-pampered poultry can die of shock when introduced to lower temperatures, as they will not have become acclimated to tolerating the cold.
4 signs your chicken is too cold
When ensuring your chickens will tolerate the cold, it’s important to know the signs for when the weather may have made them uncomfortable. Here’s what to look out for:
Ruffled feathers
Perched off the ground
One leg tucked up
Wattles and combs are paler than usual
These are not signs of distress, and as long as the chicken is only having a brief rest, rather than staying hunkered up for the whole day, you don’t have to worry. If hens go off their feed, appear to be in shock, or have discolored (blue or black) combs, wattles or feet, it’s time to bring them inside to warm up slowly.
Keeping chickens dry in cold temperatures
While chickens can tolerate the cold, they should not be allowed to remain soaking wet. This is more dangerous than the outdoor temperature or the falling snow – and in extreme cases will result in hypothermia. Any affected hens will be stiff and cold to the touch, with their eyes wide and unblinking, or closed. If you find one of your chickens in this state, take them indoors and wrap them in a warm towel. When they recover, put them in a bedding-lined box in a warm spot for a few hours.
What happens if a chick gets too cold?
Chicks are less tolerant of the cold and are more susceptible to lower temperatures than adult chickens. If a young chicken has its full coat of feathers, it will be as tolerant of the cold as the older birds. Chicks, however, will need protection from the cold, and should be kept under an appropriate heat lamp. Any chick left to fend for itself in cold weather will die.
Tips for cold weather chicken care
Chickens can usually tolerate adapting to colder climates, but how can you tell when your flock needs a bit of help keeping warm? The following tips will help you keep happy, healthy chickens this winter:
Prevent water from freezing – Check it at least twice a day to keep it clear of ice. If a freeze is forecast, bring thechicken waterersindoors at night. If possible, buy a water heater designed for the job of preventing freezing. Ping-pong balls in the water can also prevent freezing.
Chickens usually return to the coop at dusk, but in the winter, you may find your birds trying to get more pecking time from the short days. If your hens tend to wander in the dark, a high visibility hen coat will help you locate them. The coats also keep the birds cozy, so it’s a double blessing in the Winter to help chickens tolerate the cold.
Providing weather-proof shelter in the chicken run will give the hens some respite while tolerating the cold. You can use chicken run covers to do this.
Some extra corn offered as a chicken treat before the hen’s bedtime will stoke their internal heater as the chickens digest it overnight. In general, hens will eat more food in the cold months to tolerate the cold, as more of their energy is spent keeping warm.
Protect combs and wattles – from frostbite with petroleum jelly or Vaseline.
Specially made coop heaters or brooder plates can be placed in enclosed spaces such as barns or garages for hens that are struggling in the cold, but should be used sparingly. And, these should only be used for a short amount of time, and only if someone will be home to avoid a potential fire-hazard.
If you do not have a cozy Eglu, a wooden coop can be insulated with bubble-wrap, cardboard or old carpets or blankets.
Extra bedding on the floor of the coop will help the chickens tolerate the cold, too.
Some owners like to supplement their chickens’ diets with extra protein or a little suet, to increase their fat levels for the Winter. Fat retains heat, and the whole bird benefits from the added nutrition.
How do chickens naturally keep warm in the winter?
The chicken’s secret to tolerating the cold is natural insulation. Their feathers help them retain body heat and warm the air trapped beneath their downy base feathers. When they’re at rest, a hen’s body temperature is 104–107F, with their heart rate of around 400 beats per minute – evidence of a high metabolism that sets up the birds very well for winter weather.
Watching hens scratch at the frozen ground or strut through the snow, you might wonder how chickens manage to keep their feet and legs warm. After all, this is one part of their body with no feathers to keep it cozy (unless you happen to have a feathery-legged breed such as the Cochin, Brahma or Silkie). The answer lies in the chicken’s leg scales, which retain heat to a certain extent. The average chicken will always be on the move, not keeping all its toes on the ground for too long.
Does perching help chickens tolerate the cold?
Like many other birds, chickens often adopt the ‘one leg’ pose in the winter, tucking one of their limbs up into the warmth of their bellies. This reduces overall heat loss and stops feet and toes from freezing on the icy ground. Like all birds, chickens are warm-blooded, and their own body heat soon works its magic to help them tolerate the cold.
Perching is the most effective way for a chicken to retain body heat and tolerate the cold. Hens hunker down when roosting, with their feathers fluffed up and their legs tucked into her warm body. If space allows, install a flat perch in your coop or run. This will enable the hens to roost without having to curl their toes around the roosting bar, which will prevent their toes from freezing in very cold weather. An upturned pot, a log, pallet or other slightly elevated space will give the birds a flat surface to perch on, to escape the ice and snow.
Can chickens freeze to death?
Chickens can usually tolerate cold conditions and will not die, as long as they have a warm coop to retreat into when the weather becomes extreme. Cold hens may be more susceptible than usual to illness and parasites, though, and their egg production will fall. But, most chickens will simply hunker down on chicken perches and in nesting boxes, with their feathers fluffed out to weather the winter.
The best chicken breeds for cold weather
While most chickens can tolerate the cold, there are some chicken breeds that are more suited to cold climates than others. Here are the top 5 for cold temperatures:
Omlet can help you care for your chickens and ensure they’re enjoying each season to the fullest. From chicken pens to run around in, to toys such as chicken swings to keep them entertained, you’re sure to find everything you need to keep your flock healthy and happy all year round!
It’s nice to have chickens in your backyard but they need to stay there! Seeing them fly away and attempting to catch them again is not necessarily the easiest of tasks. It’s stressful for everyone and sometimes even dangerous for your chickens! So, what is the solution? Cut off their wings? Obviously not, but here are a number of flap busting techniques that may help to keep your feathery friends on the ground.
Why does my chicken want to fly away?
If you are dealing with a runaway chicken, it could be for several reasons. Each chicken’s character is different from one bird to another. While some like to lounge under a tree or in their chicken run, others prefer to frolic in search of freedom. This traveling and sometimes adventurous spirit can be associated with certain breeds of chickens. So, it’s not uncommon to find breeds such as the Leghorn or the Gauloise, for example, perched on a branch to rest. This is mainly due to their lighter weight in comparison to other breeds. Evolved with a fairly developed herd instinct, it only takes one chicken to take flight for the rest to follow suit.
However, sometimes your chickens may fly away, or even jump, not to rest but to escape a situation. A sudden or unusual situation can induce panic. A visit from a dog, the presence of a wild predator such as a fox, or the triggering of an unexpected high-pitched noise can stress your hens and cause them to flee. They then have two options: run or try to fly. Under stress, fear and panic they can easily surprise you and fly higher than you think. They may even injure themselves in a panic to get away. So how do you avoid this kind of situation?
There are three main precautions that can be taken when you have a flight-happy chicken:
Choose a quiet but well-placed area in your backyard to set up your chicken coop. If you have space, keep the chicken coop away from potential dangers: roads, parking areas, children’s toys. Here, your chickens should feel safe. Their chicken coop is their home, they need to be able to eat, peck and sleep in peace.
Invest in a fairly large enclosure. Having a high enough fence can deter them from trying to fly and protect them from potential animal attacks and external dangers. An enclosed space, like the Walk in Chicken Run, is ideal for giving chickens a safe area to exercise and stretch their wings, without escape.
The third precaution is often known to chicken owners, but it is not often applied. However, this is an elementary precaution when bringing a bird into a chicken coop. It regards cutting the feathers of a single wing in order to unbalance your chicken and stop them from being able to take flight
. But how to do it? Take a pair of clippers and cut the flight feathers, that is, the larger feathers. You can also cut the primary and secondary flight feathers. The feathers must be cut halfway for it to be effective. Rest assured, we only cut Keratin (what our hair and nails are made of). It’s like going to the hairdressers!
Find the tutorial video “How to Clip your Chickens Wings (Safe and painless) (Easy to do)” by here.
Providing a comfortable living space, and large, safe enclosure will keep your hens happy and healthy in their home. And if necessary, wing clipping can be an effective solution for particularly determined escapees.
Most chicken keepers will fall into the eventually of “chicken math”. First, it was three, then four and now you’re thinking an eighth hen wouldn’t hurt…right? The idea of having flockmate best friends sounds great, but being the same species isn’t always enough for chickens to live in harmony. Certain chickens get along better than others, but which breeds make for besties?
Normal chicken behavior
All different breeds of chicken have been developed from the same ancestor, the Asian Jungle Fowl, and so fortunately, most chickens get along, regardless of the variety. However, there are some exceptions to this general rule.
Any new hen introduced to a flock will need to be separated from the other birds, but still be able to see them through a fence, for a week or so until all the birds get used to each other. Once introduced, they will find their natural place in the chicken pecking order, and that may involve a little bullying and squabbling in the early days. This is all very natural and has nothing to do with feuds between specific breeds.
Occasionally, one hen will fall out with another for no obvious reason, and the weaker chicken will sometimes be pecked and harassed by the more aggressive bird. If this situation continues for more than three days after introducing the new chicken, the two combatants may need to be separated.
What breeds of chickens are aggressive?
Some chicken varieties are more confident and assertive than others, but this does not make them aggressive. Aggression is usually the result of environment – poor living conditions – or visual stimulus. The chicken bullying only usually persists beyond the first few days if the new hen has unusual plumage on its head. The fancy crown of feathers on the Araucana, Houdan, Poland, Silkie and Sultan breeds, for example, is like a red rag to a bull for some hens.
The reasons for this aggression are purely instinctive. Chickens respond to the size of their fellow birds’ combs, and there is evidence that larger-combed chickens tend to dominate the pecking order and will challenge any large-combed newcomer to assert and retain her dominance. No one is entirely sure how the visual stimulus works with feather-crowned breeds. A chicken with feathers on its head is judged by the other hens to be one of two things – either a bird with a very large comb, and therefore a threat, or one with no comb at all, which makes it fair game for some bullying. Whichever way a hen looks at it, the feather-headed newcomer is a direct challenge to the dominant birds.
Birds with fancy head feathers are additionally vulnerable because the plumage flops in front of their eyes, impairing their vision, and so they may not spot an oncoming attack. This can result in pecks and injuries.
Other causes of chicken bullying
Other unusual feathering will occasionally inspire bullying amongst chickens, such as the feathered ‘trousers’ of the Faverolles. This is not generally a problem, though, and this breed should get along well with your other hens.
Sometimes, new chickens with no unusual feathers or peculiar combs may be picked on if they are a different breed from all the other hens in the flock. The bullying appears to take place simply because the new chicken looks different to the others. This is an unusual issue, though, and clearly, the problem disappears if your existing hens are a mixed breed flock.
Do chickens bond with each other?
In general, mixing breeds actually assists with the pecking order and the general bonding, as different varieties have different temperaments. There is more likely to be squabbling in a run that has chickens of a single breed – they may all be assertive and dominant, or they may all be shrinking violets, depending on the breed, but they still need to establish a pecking order.
The body size of the hen does not affect how it is treated. A dainty bantam can rub along fine with a hulking Sussex, and a cockerel will be respectful of all his hens, regardless of their breed, and in the vast majority of cases the birds will all get on well together.
There are other practical considerations when keeping a mixed flock. Some chickens thrive in cold weather, while others are not as robust. Age may be an issue too, if you want to minimize the number of changes in your chicken flock. This isn’t to say chickens of different ages can’t get along but older chickens are more likely to bully other flock members. If possible, wait until your younger birds are close in size before moving them in.
Whether you’ve got a flock of ten or two, Omlet has the products to support the needs of your chickens. Keep your hens mentally and physically stimulated to help them live in harmony with our range of chicken toys and accessories to add to your chicken coop and chicken run.
Only very tame pet hens enjoy being picked up. Most chickens find the whole procedure stressful, so you should only catch or handle them if you have to.
There are a few reasons why you might need to know how to catch a chicken. Your hens might be in danger, might require a clean-up after coming into contact with something oily or sticky, or you might need to carry out a chicken health check.
There are various ways to catch a chicken. If the hen is in danger as a result of escaping onto a road or into a backyard with a dog in it, you can usually manage things by ‘herding’ the chicken rather than trying to lift it. If a dog is the problem, controlling or confining the dog is the first thing to figure out. If the hen has escaped and you need to catch her, guiding her back to safety by standing with your arms stretched out to the sides and encouraging her to return to the chicken coop is the best option. In these situations, the chicken will desperately want to find her fellow hens, so ‘steer’ her towards the hole in the fence or the open gate, or whichever escape route she took.
If the hen has flapped over a wall, however, you may have to resort to old fashioned hunting techniques for catching chickens.
How Do You Catch a Stray Chicken?
If your hens are very tame, you can simply offer some treats, bend down and pick them up. If only it were that easy with every chicken! Some are about as easy to catch as a fast-moving bar of wet soap – they can sprint at speeds of around 9 miles (14.5 km) per hour – and you will usually have to corner them first if you want to catch them.
If a hen has escaped or you spot her running away, or simply hidden somewhere in a large backyard or meadow where you can find to trace of her, the best approach is to be patient and rely on the chicken’s homing instinct. As dusk begins to fall, the hen will instinctively head back to the coop. This is one of the handy things about keeping poultry!
The Best Way to Catch a Chicken
Do chickens like being picked up? In general, the answer is no. But if you’re trying to catch a chicken for whatever reason there are various ways of doing so. Not all of them can be recommended for the non-expert chicken keeper.
Using a pole with a hook or noose for catching a chicken. Let’s get the dangerous one out of the way first. A pole, hook or noose should only be used by experts when trying to catch a chicken. This is a dangerous tool, and in the wrong hands the poultry hook or noose can break a chicken’s leg or neck as you try to grab it, so our advice is to avoid it.
Using a net to catch chickens. Nets can be dangerous tools, as a chicken’s claws can snag in the netting, causing injury. If you opt for this method, the chickens should be netted as quickly as possible to minimize stress – although forever afterwards the sight of that net will send the poor hen into a panic! You should always use as large a net as possible for catching your chickens. A blanket may offer a safer way to catch them.
Using crate traps for catching chickens. Putting irresistible treats into a crate, and then slyly closing the door with a pole or long stick is an effective method. The main drawback is that all the other chickens will be tempted to take a look inside too!
Boxes for catching chickens. A large box can be placed over a cornered bird in the coop or chicken run, and the flaps can be tucked in to secure the chicken. This technique can be useful if you need to capture chickens in daylight (although it works at night, too) and if they tend to be aggressive.
Flashlights makes chickens easier to catch. This is the simplest and most effective method when you need to trap a roosting chicken. When chickens are with the rest of the flock in the coop or run on their roosting bars or perches or in their nesting boxes at night, they instinctively stay put. If you open the top of the coop and shine a flashlight (head-mounted ones are perfect), you’ll be able to pinpoint the hen you need to examine, and grab her up with minimal fuss.
Picking Up the Chicken
When picking up the hen, try to be firm but not rough. Getting a good grip and preventing the wings from flapping is the key. The correct method is to hold the chicken by placing your hand over its back, confining the wings, and then bring it close to your body. If the bird is very nervous, you may have to cover her with a towel to calm her down.
A tame hen is the easiest type of chicken to capture. Simply lure the hen in with a few treats, and grab her, stroking her back to reassure her. Once the cleaning or the examination is over, put the chicken on the ground and step back. She will do the rest, scuttling back to the safety of the flock.
So, there are several ways to catch a chicken, but you should only put them into practice when you definitely need to catch one. Try to avoid the poultry hook or net if you can, and use the method that suits both the chicken and the circumstances.
Moving house is stressful for everyone involved – and that includes pets and chickens. As far as your hens are concerned, the secret to a successful relocation is to have everything ready at the other end. In the same way as you might unpack a kettle and two mugs before opening any of the big boxes, the chicken shed and run should be ready in the backyard before the first kettle boils!
Hens are prone to stress, and at the very least you can expect the egg count to plummet for a few days following a move. Weak or very nervous chickens are in particular danger, as panic can make them flap blindly and break legs, or even kill themselves. Minimizing stress is therefore the key to a successful move.
The most stress-free way to get your hens ready for the move is to collect and crate/box them from the coop, rather than later in the day when they are out and about and need chasing and cornering. That is not a good way to minimize stress!
Transporting Chickens
Your hen-carriers need to be covered, well-ventilated boxes or pet crates. They should have enough space for the birds to turn around in (to prevent them from panicking at the confined space), while being dark enough to make their instincts kick in and help them snuggle down for the duration of the trip. On longer journeys, however, you will need to have enough light in the boxes to enable the hens to feed, and pet crates will make this easier.
You’ll need one box per chicken, generally, so make sure you have enough boxes for the big day. Hens with similar, placid temperaments can be transported in a single box. Each box or crate should be lined with straw to soak up the droppings, and the boxes should be stacked securely, not more than three boxes high.
It is important that the birds do not get too hot on the journey, so ventilation is an issue. If you only have two or three hens, they could travel on the back seat of a well-ventilated car, secured with quilts or blankets – or even seat belts – to prevent the boxes from sliding around.
The journey itself should be taken using as many straight, non-bumpy roads as possible, combined with the need to make the trip as brief as you can. If your new home is a short stretch of highway and a couple of roads away, that’s all very straightforward. Rural locations with lots of windy-road options will need more planning. If all the roads are roads with lots of bends, the quickest route is the best option.
In the two weeks before the move, make sure your hens’ diet is rich in all the required vitamins and minerals. Some owners recommend adding probiotics or extra vitamins to the feed, and this is something you should discuss with your vet.
For short journeys, you will not have to worry about chicken feed. On longer trips, though, food will need to be provided. Make sure you take a long break at least every three hours, to allow the confined birds to settle down and feed. If you are transporting the hens in crates, you can attach a water dispenser to the side.
A Portable Chicken Coop?
Old fashioned chicken coops can be tricky to transport, and many hen keepers prefer to erect a new run and chicken shed at their new property. This sometimes involves housing the birds in temporary accommodation while the new coop and run are being sorted out.
There are ways of avoiding the inconvenience, though. A portable coop and run can be packed away and then installed in the new backyard in a few minutes, and they have the advantage of familiarity. Hens introduced into a coop that they already know inside out will reduce the stress of the move enormously.
Coops and runs such as the Eglu are ideal in this respect. Placing the coop in your new backyard as soon as you arrive will enable the chickens to feel at home before you’ve even managed to open any of your boxes. Humans will inevitably feel the stress of the moving-in process, but the hens don’t have to!
The process isn’t quite over when your hens are safely cooped up in the new backyard. Stress can cause any underlying diseases to bloom, so you need to carry out daily health checks on your birds as the flock settles down in its new surroundings. This is yet another reason to consider a pack-and-go portable coop and run.
As with all pets, chickens rely on their owners for their safety and wellbeing. But as humans, vacations, spontaneous trips, and other time away from home are inevitable. So how will your chickens manage while you’re away?
Chickens are fairly self-sufficient, and do well when left alone. They don’t have separation anxiety from their owners like some pets experience, and can entertain themselves as long as they have their flock for company. Chickens will also regulate their feed intake and not overeat if free-choice food is left out for them. Still, they are prey animals, and certain considerations need to be taken into account before you take an extended leave of absence – particularly if no one will be staying with them while you’re away.
How long can I leave my chickens alone for?
Every chicken keeper does things a little differently from another, so the amount of time you can spend away from your flock is largely dependent on how you have them setup. Do they free-range, or are they always in a coop and run? Do you have an automatic door to tuck them in at night? Do you leave feed out, or feed them a portion daily?
When you prepare your chickens for your absence, you’ll need to make sure they have access to plenty of food and water. You’ll also need to make sure that they stick to their regular schedule as closely as possible. If they’re accustomed to free-ranging during the day and being closed in at night, you’ll need to have a safe, contained space large enough to simulate free-ranging.
An Eglu Cube chicken coop connected to a walk in chicken run is a great option for chickens that are accustomed to free-ranging, or for flocks that crave space during their time out of the coop. The run can be extended to however large you’d like to make it, so space is never an issue. And with the anti-dig skirting, predators will be deterred from coop-crashing while you’re away!
Give the setup and routine that you plan to have while you’re away a trial run before you leave to make sure everything goes smoothly. If any changes need to be made before you leave, you’ll want to give your flock ample time to adjust. Chickens will adapt quickly, so if your trial run was a success, your chickens should be just fine if you’re gone over the weekend.
Should I get a chicken sitter?
Leaving chickens alone for a day or two is commonplace for most flock-raisers, but if you are gone longer than that, it’s a good idea to have someone come and check on your chickens while you’re away. Depending on the time of the year, chickens can go through their feed and water quickly, and one misplaced step or a visit from some neighborly mice can empty a food or water container in a hurry!
Consider asking a neighbor or a family friend that enjoys chickens to stop by and check in with your hens. A quick glance is often all it takes to ensure your flock is thriving while you’re away. You can always offer for them to take whatever eggs your hens have laid while you’re away as repayment and token of your (and your hens’) thanks!
If you have an automatic chicken coop door, be sure to let your chicken sitter know what time it opens and closes, or ask if they have a preferred time to go and check on your flock. Make sure to reprogram your automatic chicken coop door (if open or close times need to be adjusted) well in advance to get your hens accustomed to a different bedtime if necessary!
What do my chickens need while I’m away?
Food and water
Make sure to fill all of your chickens’ feeders and waterers before you leave. If possible, anchor any free-standing feeders or waterers to the sides of the run or coop to prevent them from being knocked over. Keep waterers sheltered from blowing debris to prevent them from getting clogged.
Prep for different weather
Consider the time of year you are leaving and plan accordingly. Always prepare for precipitation – even if there isn’t any in the weather forecast! Make sure your chicken run cover is on to provide shade and protection from rain.
Entertainment
If your flock is used to daily visits and treats from you, they will likely miss it while you’re away! To head off any treat-pining or fear of missing out on playdates, offer some fun alternatives such as a Chicken Swing or a variety of chicken toys to keep them occupied. To really stay in their good graces, set out some treats in a chicken peck toy or Caddi Treat Holder. Your flock might not even notice you’re gone!
Good to go
With proper preparation and planning, traveling can still be part of your lifestyle when you have chickens. The easiest way to maintain a flexible schedule with chickens is to create a setup that allows for flexibility from the beginning.
It’s always easiest to start off with the ideal setup for your flock so that your future travel plans don’t interfere with their routine. Large chicken coops with walk in runs, automatic chicken coop doors, and weather protection are all components of raising happy and safe chickens – whether you’re home or not!
As November and December start to roll in, the cold weather will come with it. You may have already purchased the Omlet Eglu Cube or Go-UP to keep your chickens cozy during these cold nights. However, who said you do not want to spoil your chickens even more over the holiday season?! It is the season of giving after all! Below is some information on feeding your chickens in colder months and some “egg-cellent” treats that you can surprise your hens with on a cold, blustery day that they will absolutely love!
1. How often should I feed my chickens during Winter?
During the colder months it is normal that other animals hibernate and usually stock up on food for the Winter. With your chickens it may be helpful to feed them a little more than their usual ration, especially if you are planning to have your chickens continue to lay eggs throughout the colder season. A good rule of thumb is if you feed them 1 time a day, give them half of an extra ration in the Winter.
2. What is the Most Comforting Treat?
If you have already bought some pumpkins to paint or to decorate your doorstep with in the Fall Season and are wondering what to do with them here is a solution, Pumpkin Puree! This is a great treat for your hens that you can easily whip up in minutes.
All you have to do is scoop out the seeds and cut the pumpkin into small enough pieces that they can be put in a food processor or a blender. Then, just blend it up until it is a nice, smooth consistency for your chickens. After you have pureed the pumpkin, take it straight out to your chickens and add some chicken feed and they will go crazy!
Another option is also to warm up the Pumpkin Puree for a warm treat on a colder day! Make sure that the puree has cooled down to a comfortable temperature before you feed it to your hens.
3. What are the easiest treats to prepare?
Sometimes simpler is better and these treats will definitely keep your hens happy and maybe give you a little laugh in the process.
One easy treat to give your hens is leftover pasta! Who knew that chickens like to load up on carbs in the Winter as well! If you have some leftover spaghetti or penne toss it into the chicken pen and you will get a good laugh watching the chicken have noodles hanging from their beaks.
Another easy treat is warm oatmeal! Just add hot water and stir. You can also add some chicken feed or any nuts and seeds that your chickens prefer. You will be amused watching your chickens try to slurp up the warm oatmeal. Again, make sure the oatmeal is at a comfortable temperature to serve to your hens.
4. What Winter Foods Are Healthy for my Flock?
For those of you that like to keep your flock in tip top shape here are some ideas for healthy treats. One food that helps with egg production and is very nutritious is scrambled eggs! I know it sounds crazy, but it provides your chicken with needed protein and vitamins during the Winter months.
Also, egg shells believe it or not will provide your chickens with extra calcium and nutrients that they will need even more during the colder months. After you have used one of your chicken’s eggs just break up the shells into small pieces and feed it to them. They will love it!
5. Conclusions
All of these recipes can be found from this great website: https://morningchores.com/chicken-treats/. Go check out her page for more ideas on treats for your chickens and help your chickens stay warm and cozy this season!
Backyard chickens thrive when they have a balanced diet, space to forage, and the right mix of nutrients. For healthy hens and reliable egg production, you need to provide the correct amount of feed, ensure they can hunt for wild treats like worms and beetles, and supply essential nutrients such as protein for eggs and calcium for strong shells. Understanding exactly how much to feed your chickens each day is key to providing good backyard chicken care.
How much feed per chicken per day?
On average, a standard-sized chicken such as a Rhode Island Red, Oxford Brown, or Orpington needs about 4.2 ounces (120 grams) of feed per day, which adds up to around 1.8 ounces (840 grams) per week. Bantam breeds, being smaller, require less, while larger breeds may need a bit more. The most important thing is to ensure feed is available throughout the day so your chickens can eat little and often.
Feed Amounts by Chicken Size
Feed should be readily available all day as chickens naturally eat small amounts frequently, filling their crop as needed. If you restrict access, you may see a drop in egg production or changes in behavior.
What Nutrients Do Laying Hens Need for Healthy Eggs?
Protein: Vital for egg production and feather health. Laying hens need at least 16% protein in their feed.
Calcium: Essential for strong eggshells. Oyster shell or a layer feed with added calcium is recommended.
Carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals: Support energy, growth, and overall health.
Allowing chickens to forage supplements their diet with insects, seeds, and green plants, providing natural sources of nutrients and enrichment. However, foraging alone rarely provides all the nutrients your flock needs, especially during times when natural food sources are scarce. Commercial layer feed is carefully formulated to deliver a balanced diet, ensuring your chickens get the right levels of protein, calcium, and other essential nutrients every day. By prioritizing a high-quality feed and offering foraging opportunities, you help support robust health and steady egg production in your flock.
Feeding chickens in winter
During winter, hens need more energy to stay warm and active. Foraging becomes difficult as insects and plants are scarce, so your chickens will rely more on pellets and grains. It’s recommended to increase their feed by up to 50% in cold weather, which means up to 6.4 ounces (180 grams) per chicken per day.
Chickens eat more when molting, as they need extra protein to grow new feathers, so be sure to refill your feeder more frequently during this period.
Chicken Water in Winter
Providing fresh, unfrozen water is just as important as increasing feed during winter, as hydration helps chickens digest their food and maintain body temperature. An insulated chicken waterer keeps water fluid and at your chickens’ optimal drinking temperature for longer when it’s cold outside.
Winter Feeding Tips
Increase daily feed by up to 50% (180g per chicken)
To ensure your chickens are eating enough, use a chicken feeder with a window or clear panel so you can see feed levels at a glance. If you’re concerned about a particular hen, watch for signs such as lethargy, weight loss, dull feathers, or a drop in egg production.
Sometimes, bullying can prevent a chicken from accessing food, if you notice one hen being pushed away, consider adding another feeder to reduce competition. The Omlet No Waste Feeder has five separate ports, allowing multiple hens to eat at once which minimizes bullying.
It’s also helpful to observe your flock during feeding times to ensure every chicken gets a fair chance at the feeder. If you see any chickens lingering at the edge of the group or hesitating to approach the feeder, this could be a sign of social stress or illness. Regularly checking your chickens’ body and monitoring their behavior will help you catch any issues early and keep your flock healthy.
Signs a Chicken Isn’t Eating Enough
Lethargy or lack of energy
Noticeable weight loss
Dull or ruffled feathers
Fewer or smaller eggs
If you spot these signs, monitor the hen closely for a few days and ensure she has easy access to food.
Do chickens know when to stop eating?
Chickens are naturally good at regulating their intake. They rarely overeat and will stop once their crop is full. Free-choice feeders are safe to use, as hens prefer to eat little and often throughout the day.
However, chickens will often choose treats over their main feed if given the chance. It’s important to make sure their primary feed is always available and treats are given in moderation. Peck toys or treat caddis can help regulate treat intake and provide enrichment.
If a chicken stops eating entirely, check for signs of illness and consult a vet if needed.
Key Takeaways
Feed each standard chicken about 4.2 ounces (120 grams) per day
Increase feed by up to 50% in winter or during molting
Use a feeder with a window to monitor feed levels and watch for signs of undereating
Chickens self-regulate their intake and rarely overeat
Provide treats in moderation and use enrichment tools to keep chickens active
At Omlet, we offer feeders designed to make backyard chicken keeping simple and efficient. Our feeders minimize waste, so you know your chickens are eating every pellet. With smart features like app-controlled feed level alerts and clear panels for easy monitoring, you can keep your flock healthy and happy with less effort. We also design chicken treat dispensers to help you provide enrichment, supporting your chickens’ wellbeing year-round.
Yes, chickens are great pets for families. They’re low-maintenance, social, and endlessly entertaining, and they come with the bonus of fresh eggs every morning. Compared to dogs or cats, the daily care commitment is more manageable, and children of almost any age can get meaningfully involved.
More and more families are discovering this for themselves. Whether you have a large or a compact backyard, a small flock of hens fits into family life more easily than most people expect. But before you bring home your first chickens, it’s worth understanding what’s involved, from choosing the right breeds and setting up a safe coop, to knowing what your kids can realistically help with and how to keep everything hygienic.
This blog post covers everything parents need to know before getting started.
Why Chickens Are Great Pets for Families
Chickens tend to surprise new owners. People expect them to be purely functional backyard animals, and then find themselves charmed by a hen that trots over when she hears your voice, or a flock that settles into a reliable daily rhythm your whole family can participate in.
Here’s what makes them such a good fit for family life:
No walks, no grooming. Unlike dogs, chickens don’t need to be walked or brushed. Their daily care takes around 10 to 15 minutes in the morning and evening, which is manageable even on busy school days.
They’re social and recognise familiar faces. Chickens form bonds with the people who care for them. Many hens will come when called and enjoy being gently handled, especially when raised with regular human contact from a young age.
Fresh eggs keep kids engaged. The daily egg collection is one of the most reliable ways to keep children invested in the flock. It’s a tangible, exciting reward that never really gets old.
They fit in most backyards. A small flock of three or four hens doesn’t require a large amount of space. As long as the coop and run are appropriately sized, chickens can thrive in suburban and even urban backyards.
Simple chores that kids can genuinely help with. Filling feeders, refreshing water, collecting eggs, and checking on the flock are all tasks children can take ownership of, which brings us to the benefits for them specifically.
The Benefits of Keeping Chickens for Children
Chickens offer something that most family pets don’t: a built-in daily routine with real consequences. If the hens aren’t fed and watered, they go without. That reality, handled gently and with parental guidance, teaches children a level of responsibility that’s hard to replicate elsewhere.
The benefits go well beyond responsibility, though:
Daily responsibility. Feeding, watering, and checking on the flock every day, rain or shine, builds consistency and follow-through in children in a way that feels natural and rewarding, rather than forced.
Understanding where food comes from. Collecting eggs from a hen your child has named and cared for is one of the most direct, hands-on connections to food production available to a family outside of farming.
Routine and consistency. Chickens need the same care every day. That predictability is genuinely good for children, providing structure that carries over into other areas of life.
Empathy and patience. Learning to read an animal’s behavior, to approach calmly, to notice when something seems off, develops emotional intelligence that benefits children long after they’ve grown up.
More time outdoors, less time on screens. A flock in the backyard gives children a reason to go outside every day, not just when the sun is shining.
How Many Chickens Should a Family Get?
For a family new to chicken keeping, three to four hens is the ideal starting point. That’s enough to produce a good supply of eggs without the care feeling overwhelming, and without needing a vast amount of outdoor space.
Chickens are flock animals and get lonely on their own, so keeping at least two is always advised. Beyond that, the right number comes down to your family’s capacity and your available space.
A few things to consider:
More hens means more eggs, but also more feed, more cleaning, and more daily tasks. Consider what your family can realistically manage.
Think about space before you commit to a number. Each hen needs adequate room in both the coop and the run to prevent stress.
Start with a manageable flock, but plan ahead. Most chicken keepers find their flock grows over time, a phenomenon known as chicken math, so it’s worth choosing a coop you can grow into rather than one you’ll quickly outgrow.
For families just starting out, the Eglu Go and Eglu Go Up are brilliant starter coops for up to four hens. If you’d like to build a larger flock over time, the Eglu Cube (for 6 large hens) and Eglu Pro (for 10 large hens) give you the space to start with a few, with knowledge that you can add a few more later.
Do You Need a Rooster?
No. Hens lay eggs without a rooster in the flock. You only need one if you want fertilised eggs for hatching.
For most families, a rooster is more trouble than it’s worth. They can be noisy, territorial, and occasionally aggressive, which isn’t a great combination when you have young children in the mix. Sticking to an all-hen flock keeps things calmer, quieter, and considerably more neighbor-friendly.
Choosing the Right Coop
The coop is the foundation of a happy, healthy flock, and for families, the right setup makes daily care feel easy rather than burdensome. There are a few things to prioritise:
Security
A predator-proof coop is non-negotiable, particularly in areas with known predators like foxes and raccoons. Omlet’s Eglu coops are built with strong heavy-duty steel mesh and anti-tunnel skirts that will keep your flock safe from unwanted visitors.
Easy access for children
Children are much more likely to stay engaged if they can actually reach the eggs. The Eglu Cube and Eglu Pro chicken coops from Omlet feature a side Egg-port that makes egg collecting simple and accessible, even for younger kids.
An automatic door
When choosing a coop, make sure it’s compatible with a smart automatic coop door. In summer especially, hens need letting out early, and that can mean a 5am start if you’re doing it manually. With an autodoor set to open on a schedule, you don’t have to go out at sunrise or rework the kids’ morning routine around the flock. It closes automatically at night too, so locking up is one less thing to think about.
Enough space
Overcrowded coops lead to stressed, unhappy chickens. Omlet’s runs are modular, so you can extend them as your flock grows. The walk-in chicken run is particularly well suited to families. It’s large enough for adults and children to step inside and spend time with the hens, which makes bonding with the flock a genuinely enjoyable part of the day.
Easy cleaning
A coop that’s difficult to clean won’t get cleaned as often as it should. Omlet’s Eglu coops have smooth pull-out roosting racks and droppings trays that can be wiped, scrubbed, and hosed off quickly, and children of most ages can get involved.
What Are the Friendliest Chicken Breeds for Families?
Breed makes a real difference when you have children involved. Some chickens are naturally calm and enjoy human contact; others are flighty and easily spooked. For families, especially those with younger children, starting with a docile breed sets everyone up for a much better experience.
Best breeds for families
Silkies. Fluffy, calm, and most love being handled. Their gentle nature makes them ideal for young children who want to get up close with the flock.
Buff Orpingtons. Large, gentle, and rarely peck. They’re one of the best first chickens you can get, and their laid-back temperament holds up well around busy, noisy households.
Plymouth Rocks. Curious and easy to tame, they’re a solid all-rounder for families who want a hen that’s friendly without being overly demanding.
Easter Eggers. A gentle temperament combined with the novelty of colorful eggs makes these a firm favorite with kids of all ages.
Bantams. These are smaller versions of regular chicken breeds, (e.g. Pekin Bantam) which makes them far less intimidating for toddlers and younger children who might be nervous around full-sized hens.
Breeds to avoid with small kids
Leghorns and Rhode Island Reds can be feisty and flighty, which can easily overwhelm young children. They’re not bad chickens, but they’re not the most forgiving choice for a first flock with kids in the mix.
Are Chickens Safe Around Kids? Hygiene and Health
Chickens are safe around children when a few simple hygiene habits are in place. The precautions are straightforward, and most children adapt to them quickly once they become part of the daily routine.
Key hygiene rules for families:
Always wash hands thoroughly with soap and water after handling chickens or collecting eggs.
Supervise toddlers and children under five closely when out with the chickens. They’re more likely to touch their faces without thinking.
Keep the coop clean. A well-maintained setup dramatically reduces the buildup of bacteria over time, and an easy clean coop like an Omlet Eglu is key.
Don’t allow children to kiss chickens or bring them indoors.
None of these rules are difficult to follow and will easily become a habit for children.
Chickens vs Other Family Pets: How Do They Compare?
If you’re weighing chickens against other pets, here’s how they stack up across the factors that matter most to families.
Cost. Chickens are significantly cheaper to keep than dogs. There are no grooming costs and no vet bills for routine care, which makes them a far more affordable long-term commitment for most families.
Time. No daily walks needed. Around 10 to 15 minutes of care in the morning and evening is enough to keep a small flock happy and healthy.
Space. A small backyard is sufficient for a small flock, making chickens a realistic option for suburban families who couldn’t accommodate a larger pet.
Noise. Hens are considerably quieter than dogs. They cluck and chatter, but they won’t disturb the neighbors the way a barking dog might.
Lifespan. Chickens can live five to ten years as pets, which is a meaningful commitment, but shorter than a dog or cat. It’s worth having an open conversation with your children about this before you get started.
Allergens. For families where children are allergic to cats or dogs, chickens are a brilliant alternative. They’re a low-allergen option that still gives children all the benefits of caring for a pet.
Eggs. A bonus no other pet can offer.
What Can Kids Do? An Age-by-Age Guide
One of the best things about keeping chickens as a family is that there’s a role for every age. As children grow, so does their capacity to take on more responsibility, and the flock grows with them.
Ages 3-5
Supervised egg collecting, watching feeding, and gentle supervised petting. At this age it’s about building familiarity and excitement around the flock, with a grown-up close by.
Ages 6-9
Filling feeders and waterers independently, naming hens, and starting to form real bonds with individual birds. This is where daily ownership starts to take shape.
Ages 10-12
Cleaning the coop with guidance, carrying out basic health checks, and keeping a chicken diary to track egg counts and flock behavior. A brilliant age to take on genuine responsibility.
Teens
Full flock management: monitoring health, managing feed, and confidently introducing new hens to the flock. By this point, most teenagers can run the whole operation with minimal input from parents.
Starting young keeps children connected to the flock from the beginning, and gradually increasing responsibility as they get older builds real confidence. By the time a child reaches their teens, they’re capable of managing the flock almost entirely on their own.
The Mental Health and Educational Benefits
The benefits of keeping chickens extend well beyond the practical. Research consistently shows that regular interaction with animals reduces anxiety and stress in children.
A few of the less obvious benefits worth knowing about:
Real-world biology. Children learn about life cycles, egg development, and animal behavior in a way that the classroom can’t replicate. It’s hands-on, observable, and genuinely fascinating.
Sustainability and food literacy. Understanding where food comes from, and having a direct role in producing it, builds an awareness of sustainability that sticks with children into adulthood.
Confidence building. For children who are shy or find social situations difficult, the quiet, non-judgmental company of a flock can be genuinely therapeutic. There’s no pressure, no performance, just a calm daily connection.
Consistent routine. The predictability of chicken keeping, same tasks, same times, every day, provides a structure that benefits children with anxiety or those who thrive on routine.
The evidence backs this up. Studies on animal-assisted activities have found meaningful reductions in cortisol levels and anxiety symptoms in children who spend regular time with animals. Chickens may not be the first animal that comes to mind, but the daily, low-pressure nature of the interaction makes them particularly effective.
Key Takeaways
Chickens are low-maintenance, affordable, and more rewarding than most people expect, with fresh eggs as a daily bonus.
The friendliest breeds for families are Silkies, Buff Orpingtons, Plymouth Rocks and Easter Eggers.
Hygiene is simple to manage: handwashing after handling and a clean coop keeps the risk low.
You don’t need a rooster. Hens lay eggs without one.
Children of all ages can get involved, from supervised egg collecting as a toddler to full flock responsibility in their teens.
With the right setup, chickens can be one of the most rewarding pets a family can keep.
Ready to Get Started?
Omlet’s range of coops is designed with families in mind. Eglu coops are predator-proof and built to last, with daily cleaning made quick and easy so the whole family can get involved without it feeling like a chore. The walk-in run gives your flock plenty of space to roam, with the added bonus that the whole family can step inside and spend time with the hens up close. And the Autodoor takes the pressure off busy mornings and evenings, opening and closing on a schedule so you never have to worry about forgetting.
Everything at Omlet is designed to make chicken keeping enjoyable, not a chore. If you’re ready to take the next step, explore our full range of chicken keeping supplies and find the setup that’s right for your family.
Most people would agree that the yolk is the best part of the egg. A double-yolker in the breakfast pan is therefore a very welcome sight!
Some hens lay double-yolkers every time, a genetic quirk that simply means two yolks are released into the system instead of one. However, hens that manage this impressive feat are rare, and no single breed has been developed to pull off the double-yolk trick every time.
The one-egg-with-two-yolks breakfast can still be yours every day, though, if you are willing to pay extra for it. You may have spotted double-yolk ‘super eggs’ on the shelves of certain supermarkets – sold at a premium, of course – but these are nearly all from young birds, rather than the mythical Double Yolker breed. It is worth pointing this out, as a Google search will lead to some interesting information about such a breed. But it does not exist – yet!
Most double-yolk eggs encountered by chicken keepers come from young hens. Point-of-lay birds tend to produce a very small egg or two, and then a couple of double-yolkers, before their bodies settle down into a regular four or five eggs-per-week pattern. A double-yolk egg after this early laying stage is very rare in most birds, although some hens begin to produce double-yolkers again towards the end of their egg-laying lives. Circumstantial evidence suggests that the Rhode Island Red, Oxford Brown, Sussex, and Leghorn breeds have a higher chance of producing double-yolkers.
How Are Double Yolks Formed?
Hens’ bodies release a yolk approximately two hours after the previous egg has been laid. Once in the hen’s oviduct – the part of the bird’s body in which the eggs are formed – the yolk is surrounded by the white albumen part of the egg and then covered in hard calcium. If a hen has released two yolks side-by-side, the egg-forming process treats them in the same way as a single yolk, resulting in two yolks ‘trapped’ inside a single egg shell.
If double-yolked eggs are fertilized, the result is two chicken embryos in one shell. Most of these ‘twin’ eggs fail to develop properly, though, with only one chick growing beyond the early development stage, or with neither of them developing. This makes it rare for two chicks to emerge from one egg. Chicken breeders are advised to put aside the double-yolkers to prevent them developing, and in commercial operations most double-yolkers are sold to food companies that use eggs in their products.
How Can You Tell If An Egg Has Two Yolks?
You do not need to crack the shell to find out what is inside – you can spot a double-yolker by ‘candling’ the egg. The word candling comes from the ancient practice of holding an egg in front of a candle flame, but a small flashlight does the job just as well (although they are still ‘candled!’) If there are two yolks inside, they will be visible as two dark blobs against the bright light as it shines through the shell.
So, although double-yolkers are estimated to occur in just one per thousand eggs, the sheer abundance of point-of-lay hens means that they are a common sight on the plates of chicken keepers around the world.
Triple yolkers, however, are very unlikely to grace the breakfast table. This super-rarity is found in just one egg per 25 million!
The very short answer to that question is probably no. If you give your chickens a good quality feed and some corn, and let them peck around the backyard for insects and small stones they use to grind down their food they should technically be getting everything they need.
Any supplement should be given to your chickens as a complement to a healthy and balanced diet, and not instead of giving them good feed or sufficient space to live out natural chicken behaviors. However, just like you might boost your own system with some extra vitamins and minerals, there are some things that you can give your hens that will help them stay healthier and give them more energy.
Particularly useful at more challenging times, like around a molt or during a particularly tough cold snap, we have listed all the supplements you might want to have in your cupboard:
Grit
Chickens do not have teeth, but use small rocks and stones to grind their food down. Most free range chickens gather grit naturally while exploring the backyard, but if you for some reason have to contain your chickens to a smaller area than normal, or if their run is covered in snow, you might need to add grit to their diet.
Make sure to choose something that is chicken specific and will have the right composition and size of components.
Vinegar
Vinegar, normally Apple Cider Vinegar, is a great booster all year around. It aids digestion, keeps internal parasites at bay, and is mildly antiseptic. In the Winter it is also fantastic to use preventatively to keep respiratory infections away from your flock.
Choose an organic or unpasteurized vinegar that contains a substance called ‘the mother’. It is a gel-like substance that grows naturally on the vinegar, and it is the mother that contains the most powerful enzymes and minerals that make the vinegar so beneficial.
Vinegar can be added to the chickens’ drinking water, approximately 10ml per liter of water.
Garlic
As well as keeping vampires away, garlic has been used for its beneficial properties for centuries, and it is a great addition to your chickens’ diet.
You can crush up a fresh clove or use garlic powder to add to the feed. It is great for circulation, and can help with respiratory infections. It’s also said to help ensure a good appetite, so it is ideal to give it to newly rescued hens that need a nutrient boost.
Herbs
Plenty of herbs and spices are said to have medicinal properties that will help your hens keep their immune system in top condition. Verm-X is a 100% natural supplement that helps maintain intestinal hygiene and keeps the hen’s gut and digestive system in great condition, which can help keep parasites and infections away.
Oregano, cinnamon, parsley, turmeric, and ginger are other chicken favorites that will increase vitamin levels and aid the immune system, and when it is grind down it can be mixed into your chickens feed.
Calcium
Chickens use lots of calcium to build egg shells, so laying chickens can sometimes need a little more than they get from their pellets.
Equimins Egg Shell Improver is a great example of a supplement that contains high levels of calcium and phosphorus and will strengthen the quality of your chickens’ eggs. Ideal for ex battery hens or hens going through a molt.
Poultry Spice
This is a long term favorite with chicken keepers, a mineral supplement that will be beneficial to your chickens’ general health. It’s perfect for molting, or to help maintain good appetite in the Winter.
1. You have created a social media page for your Hens
Let’s face it, when you invest in a chicken coop and purchase your first flock you have to share it with friends and family. Whether it is documenting first eggs laid in the coop to your gourmet recipes with your farm-fresh eggs you are posting it on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.
2. You find eggs throughout the house
As you start becoming more comfortable with your chickens maybe you decide to let them in your home. They never bother anybody and get along great with your pets but occasionally you find a fresh egg in your fruit bowl or on top of your favorite armchair. Hey, at least you know they are comfortable!
3. A “staycation” is your idea of a holiday
When you invest in your first brood you feel like you are a second parent to theseanimals. You wash them, feed them, and make sure they are comfortable. Add that in with taking care of your own kids and the idea of going on vacation is the last thing on your mind. You would much rather set up a zoom background of the beach or the tropics, order in a favorite meal, and put your feet up. Ahhh!
4. You find yourself chatting with your chickens
Sometimes we just need a good therapy session with an attentive listener and who better than your chickens. They will never talk back to you or judge you for your decisions. They may give the occasional nudge or peck for a pet but hey it is cheaper than therapy.
5. You have pet names for your hens
After the first couple weeks of tending to your chickens you start noticing some have different personalities. Some are on the shy side, some are very particular about their feeding time, and some just want all of the cuddles in the world. What a perfect time to give them a name! Whether it is Rudy, Cleo, or Fluffy we don’t judge here because they are your pets.
6. The home is filled with fashionable fowl decor
Whether it is chicken cocktail napkins or a hen-tastic serving platter you or your friends have made sure that you have all of the latest in chicken-related home furnishings.
7. You have a carrier bag to transport your chickens
Maybe you need to take them to the vet like any of your other pets. Who says that they shouldn’t be comfortable. That is why you have the top of the line carrier bag to transport your chickens whenever they are unwell.
8. Dressing up your brood for special occasions
When you have Spring chickens or Fall Fowls they must be dressed for the season. When Halloween comes around you wouldn’t put it past yourself to dress up your chickens in a matching outfit with your other pets.
9. Instead of walking the dog you find yourself walking the Flock
Yes, there are harnesses for chickens because you have already researched it on Amazon. Maybe you have limited land and your chickens need to stretch their legs each day so you take them to the local park to graze and get some fresh air. Totally normal, right?!
10. You find yourself building a chicken picnic table for feeding time
We have all seen the trend of building mini picnic tables for our squirrel friends in our backyard. If you haven’t just Google it and you will be entertained by these structures. Well, who says your chickens should have any less than the squirrels. You paint your own table to pour your chicken feed into each day so your chickens can chow down in style.
At the end of the day, we understand that when you decide to venture out into the land of chicken coops it can be a daunting process. Everyone has unique experiences and should be able to tend to their hens/ roosters in their own way. Your flock is part of your family so why skimp on their care and upkeep!
Like most other animals, chickens can suffer from parasitic worms. These are endoparasites that live inside your bird’s body, and are collectively called Helminths by vets.
Does my chicken have worms?
The three types of parasitic worms that your chickens are most likely to contract are:
Roundworms. There are a number of different roundworms, with the large roundworm being the most common. They live anywhere in the bird’s digestive system, and can sometimes be spotted in your chickens’ droppings.
Gapeworms. These nasty parasites attach themselves to the trachea of the chicken, hooking on without moving.
Tapeworms. These attach themselves to the lining of the intestine and can get really long and unpleasant. They are less common, but will more significantly affect the bird.
It’s not always straightforward to tell if your chicken has worms, but symptoms may include a paler comb, decreased egg production, diarrhoea and increased appetite without weight gain. A chicken who has been infected with gapeworm will stretch their neck and gasp for air. Sometimes you won’t spot an infection until it’s really serious and possibly untreatable.
To worm or not to worm
Many chicken keepers therefore choose to worm their chickens regularly to prevent them getting infected, usually once in spring and once in fall. This is normally done using a poultry specific wormer you can get at the vets that will kill both the worms and their eggs. Make sure you get a worming treatment that is suitable for chickens, and check if you should be discarding the chicken’s eggs while she is being treated. Always worm all chickens at the same time.
Other chicken keepers think it’s better to only treat chickens that have a confirmed infection. This is partly because some wormers are only effective on particular parasites, and will be pointless if your chickens have a different type of worm. Some also think it’s unnecessary to stress the system by giving the birds treatment for an issue they might not have. Additionally, it can be pricey to worm a whole flock twice a year.
If you don’t want to treat your chickens without a diagnosis, but suspect they might have worms, you can get their droppings tested for presence of eggs. Ask your vet if they will do it for you, or you can send the droppings off to a laboratory in pre-made kits.
Prevent infections
Whether you decide to treat only confirmed worm cases or worm preventatively, it’s always best to do everything you can to make sure your chickens don’t contract parasites. One of the best things to do is to regularly move their coop and run to a new patch. This will stop serious outbreaks, as it stops the life cycle of the worms. Worm eggs are expelled in the droppings from infected birds and survive on the ground for a surprisingly long time before they are picked up by foraging chickens. This is called a direct life cycle, as the worm doesn’t need a host animal to get to your hens. Worms that have an indirect life cycle on the other hand let their eggs first be ingested by for example earthworms, slugs or centipedes, where they lay dormant until the host is eaten by one of your chickens. The larvae hatch inside your hens, and the cycle repeats.
To prevent an unbreakable chain of worm infestations, it’s therefore important to regularly move your chickens. This is made easy by portable chicken coops like the Eglu Cube or the Eglu Go UP.
Another useful thing is to keep the grass mowed as the ultraviolet light from the sun can kill off potential worm eggs in your chickens’ droppings. Clean the run every week and scoop up droppings and wet bedding. If one of your chickens is infected it’ll be very difficult to get rid of all worm eggs from the ground, but every little helps!
Finally, many chicken keepers swear by the mineral supplement Verm-X. It’s a herbal formulation that works to create an environment in the gut that is able to eradicate and expel any intestinal challenges. This can be given as a supplement to your flock regularly to help their immune system stay on top.
Making sure your flock is healthy and happy is the responsibility of all chicken keepers. Knowing how to give your chicken a health check will enable you to see that all of your hens are feeling their healthiest. When combined with adequate shelter, nutrition, and enrichment, regular health checks will help your chickens live long, healthy lives. Learn when and how to give your chickens health checks, and familiarize yourself with what’s normal so that you can recognize when something is amiss.
Why are chicken health checks important?
Like other pets, injuries and illness can occur in chickens. Since chickens are prey animals, they are masters at hiding pain and weakness. So while some illness or injuries may seem to occur suddenly to the untrained eye, there may be subtle hints that can be detected through routine health checks.
Routine chicken health checks will also give you a baseline for what’s “normal” for each individual hen. By knowing how your chickens normally look and feel, you’ll be able to more quickly identify a potential issue. Time is of the essence when your chickens are feeling “off” — making regular health checks a vital part of your flock-care routine.
How often should I give my chickens a health check?
It’s likely that you’ll observe your chickens daily as they go about their business in the yard or run. But weekly chicken beak-to-tail health checks are best for heading off potential problems. Each week, handle your hens and go through this checklist: Eyes
Your chicken’s eyes should be clear, bright and fully open. Any amount of discharge, whether clear and watery or thick and yellow or green, is abnormal. Their eyes should also be properly lubricated and not appear dry, and third eyelids should slide easily and retract fully.
Nose
Nostrils, or nares as they are called in chickens, are located on the top of the beak near the eyes. Nares should be clean and free from debris, and should not have any discharge. Breathing sounds should not be audible.
Beak
Your chicken’s beak should be smooth, without cracks or other damage. The top and bottom should align, with the top being slightly longer. Healthy chickens keep their beak closed most of the time.
Comb
A grown chicken who is not broody or molting should have a firm, bright red comb. It should be positioned according to the breed standard, i.e. if the breed’s comb is upright, it should not be hanging or looking shrivelled.
It’s especially important to check combs and wattles in winter, as they are prone to frostbite. Larger combs can be protected by a daily layer of vaseline.
Crop
Chickens have a “crop” at the base of their esophagus that holds their food before it’s moved through the rest of their digestive system. You can feel the crop by palpating by the breastbone of your chicken at the base of their neck. It’s easiest to feel when your chicken has just eaten — it will feel firm and about the size of a golf ball. Empty crops usually can’t be felt.
When you first let your chickens out in the morning their crops should be empty, as they should have spent all night digesting their food. After eating, the crop will feel firm, but not rock-hard. If it never feels empty, full even after not having food all night, or if your hen’s breath is foul smelling, you could be dealing with an impacted or sour crop.
Feathers
With the exception of molting season in chickens, your hens’ plumage should be full and shiny. Bald patches, broken feather shafts, or unkept feathers can all be signs of stress, parasites, or behavioral concerns.
Legs and feet
Your chicken’s legs should appear smooth, with the scales lying flat against the bone — raised or dry scales can be an indication of scaly leg mites. The bottoms of the feet should be smooth and free of cuts, discolored spots, or bumps. Large bumps on the bottoms of the feet can indicate bumblefoot in chickens, which is a bacterial infection.
Vent
The vent, or cloaca, of chickens is where eggs and eliminations are expelled from the hen’s body. Laying-age hens have pink, wide, and moist vents, while vents in older hens may appear dry and more pale. Healthy vents should never protrude or appear injured. Mites and lice gravitate toward this area, so check for black specks of debris or skin irritation.
Droppings
Slide out dropping trays, like those on Eglu chicken coops, help you keep an eye on your flocks eliminations. Chicken droppings should be formed and somewhat firm, and dark brown in color. Loose, white portions on these droppings are also normal. Your chickens’ droppings will vary depending on their diet for the day, but should always revert back to “normal” within a day or two of eating new or diverse foods. Extended periods of loose stool, or bloody stool is an indication of illness or stress.
What to do if your chickens aren’t feeling their best
If any of your findings during the chicken health check are abnormal, it’s best to separate the affected hen from the rest of the flock and contact your veterinarian for further guidance. Make sure that you have a veterinarian that treats poultry as a point of contact. Some veterinarians may be able to come to you, or give you advice over the phone on how to proceed with any chickens that feel under the weather or that appear injured.
Isolate ill or injured hens until their symptoms have cleared, or until you’re advised by your veterinarian that it’s ok to reintroduce them back into the flock. Having a back up chicken coop to serve as a hospital wing or quarantine coop is always a good idea. This will ensure that the chickens that any chickens that aren’t feeling their best will still be housed in the best accomodations possible — which will help aid in reducing their stress and boosting their recovery.
Omlet and your healthy hens
A healthy flock starts with their housing and care. Our chicken coops are easy to clean, and offer the support and security that your flock needs. When they’re not sleeping or laying eggs in their coop, your hens will enjoy their time outside safely inside our walk in chicken runs, protected from predators. Add chicken run weather covers, and your flock will be ready to enjoy healthy, happy seasons in their home with you.
FALSE – Chickens actually have superior color vision to humans. Thanks to five light receptors in the eye (humans only have three), they can see many colors more vividly than us.
Chickens can be half male, half female – split down the middle
TRUE – Due to a phenomena called bilateral gynandromorph there are chickens where one side of the body is male (large wattle, spur and muscular breast etc.) and the other side is female (duller plumage, smaller comb, slighter build etc). Worth a google!
There are as many chickens as there are humans on earth
FALSE – There are almost 4 times as many chickens as there are humans, more than 25 billion. In fact, there are more chickens in the world than any other bird.
Chickens navigate through magnetic fields
TRUE– Like other birds, chickens use the magnetic fields of the earth to orientate themselves and navigate around their home environment. Additionally, studies show that chickens use the sun to tell the time of day. Daylight intensity is also what tells roosters when to crow in the morning and when to go roost at night.
Chickens are cannibals
UNDECIDED – You might have heard about cannibalism in poultry, and it does happen that chickens start pecking the flesh of other hens. This is however not a natural behavior seen in the wild, but a result of a stressful environment with limited space in large egg or meat factories. A happy chicken will not eat its friend.
Chickens have no taste buds
FALSE – While it may seem like chickens will eat just about anything you put in front of them, they do have taste buds, and personal preferences. A chicken can’t taste sweetness or spiciness, but can tell saltiness, sourness and bitterness apart.
The color of the egg affects the nutritional content
FALSE – Despite what some egg producers have claimed during the years, brown eggs are not healthier than white ones, or vice versa. The color of the shell only depends on the breed of chicken it came from and will have no impact on taste or nutritional content.
If you chop their heads off, chickens will keep running
TRUE – Some chickens will indeed keep running after having their head chopped off. The pressure from the axe triggers nerve endings in the neck, sending a message back to the muscles telling them to move, without the brain actually being involved.
The chicken is then moving while actually being dead, but in the case of Miracle Mike, the farmer who tried to kill him aimed a bit high and accidentally left a bit of the brain that chickens keep at the back of their necks. This made it possible for Mike to live for another 18 months (!) after his head had been removed.
You can hypnotize a chicken
TRUE – There are several ways of putting a chicken in a trance, but the most common one involves holding the chicken with its head close to the ground, and drawing a line in the ground going outwards from the beak. This will paralyze the chicken, and she will stay laying still until you clap or poke her.
While it probably won’t hurt your chicken to hypnotize it like this, it’s unclear how much stress it causes her, so make sure not to do it too frequently.
Hens are always talking amongst themselves. All those clucks and squawks mean something, and while some of the meanings of these chicken sounds are obvious – the explosive squawking of a bird running away in panic, for example – others are more subtle.
Here are ten ways in which you can eavesdrop on the chicken chat and brush up on the bantam banter.
Chicken sounds and what they mean
A calm, gently rising borrrrb
This is the chicken sound hens make as they peck their way through the grass or chicken run, and it means two things. It indicates that the chicken is enjoying the endless search for quick snacks, and it’s also telling the other birds ‘everything is fine’. A flock of hens saying borrrb together sends out the reassuring message that there’s nothing to worry about.
The cluck-cum-squawk
This brief, excited cry usually means that there has been some sort of confrontation, usually between a meek hen and a more dominant one who has muscled in to see what snacks the more timid bird has found. The sound is also used if a hen is surprised by something, such as the chicken-run door opening suddenly.
The ‘squawk bomb’
This is when the hen clucks, gobbles and squawks in one hysterical flurry. It sounds as if the bird is about to explode in a cloud of feathers. This is the chicken’s main alarm call, expressing fear and also telling the other birds to run. The causes can be vehicles, dogs, people trying to pick up the hen, or predators.
Cackling
This is the name often used for the familiar Buk-buk-buk-badaaak! call. Repeated several times, and loudly, it is the sound many hens produce after laying an egg. The hen moves away from the egg and then begins cackling. It is thought to be a way of luring potential predators away from the egg and the nest.
Buk-buk-buk (but with no badaaak!)
This slightly angry and persistent sound is often made by a hen who wants to sit in her favorite nest box but finds it occupied. It’s meaning is a combination of “I’m here!” and “Get out!”
Growling
If a hen is broody and doesn’t want to move from her nest box, she will make a hissing, growling sound. This simply means “Don’t touch!” and “Go away!”
Chick-chat
A hen hatching eggs will mutter various gentle clucking sounds to communicate with the chicks and reassure them. Once the chicks are hatched and running around, she tells them where the good scratching and pecking places are by saying tuk-tuk! (Cockerels use this sound too, to tell the hens that they have found a good foraging spot).Mother hens also have an insistent Rrrrrr call, which is the chicks’ cue to come running if the hen senses danger.
Crowing
This is cockerel territory, the classic cock-a-doodle-doo – although some hens get the crowing habit too. Crowing says several things. It means a new day has dawned, and it’s time to be up and scratching/pecking. It also tells the world that this is the cockerel’s territory, and that these hens are his. If there is more than one cockerel, the subordinate ones will only crow when the boss has crowed. Crowing usually hits 90 decibels, or even more!
Help!
A hen separated from the flock will make an alarm call. The sound is similar to the ‘cackling’ that announces a new egg. It is thought to be an SOS call to the cockerel to come and save his lost hen. There will be a strong element of danger if there are predators around, so it’s a risky strategy for a lost chicken.
Buzzing
First thing in the morning, with the chicken coop still locked, the hens will begin to make repetitive, buzzing clucks, which may rise in volume as the minutes pass and the doors remain shut. This sound simply means “Let us out – there’s lots of pecking and scratching to be done!”
With this knowledge of chicken chit-chat, you will be able to tell what your girls are talking about, even if you can’t actually see them. It’s an all-day, non-stop conversation!
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How Do You Catch a Stray Chicken?
Moving house is stressful for everyone involved – and that includes pets and chickens. As far as your hens are concerned, the secret to a successful relocation is to have everything ready at the other end. In the same way as you might unpack a kettle and two mugs before opening any of the big boxes, the chicken shed and run should be ready in the backyard before the first kettle boils!
Transporting Chickens
Most people would agree that the yolk is the best part of the egg. A double-yolker in the breakfast pan is therefore a very welcome sight!
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Prevent infections
