10 Tips Healthy Chickens For Less $$$
Maintaining a healthy, happy, and productive backyard flock doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated. Whether you’re brand new to backyard chickens or a seasoned flock member, I hope you will enjoy these 10 simple tips to boost your flock’s health without putting strain on your budget.
Pick yard greens for your flock. Especially if your flock is living partially or fulltime in confinement, providing a dish of hand-picked greens from your yard can be a welcome form of enrichment. Be certain first the greenery you provide has not been treated with any yard chemicals as they are harmful and even deadly to your backyard chickens. These greens make a great treat, not a substitute, for nutritionally complete chicken feed. Greens like grass, plantains, dandelions, and violets are all safe for your backyard chickens.
Feed your flock discount produce as treats. Grocery stores and farmers markets often have sections for damaged, undesirable, or soon to expire produce. Discount produce, discount salads, reduced price frozen or canned vegetables and fruit all make great treats for your chickens. Utilize these bargains as luxurious treats for your flock.
Mix and mash. By adding water to whatever brand of chicken feed you provide for your flock, you create mash which is easier for young, elderly, and smaller flock members to consume. It also offers an additional way to provide critical hydration to your flock during the summer months. Mix 2 cups water to one cup of any chicken feed of your choosing. Remove any unused portions when your flock is finished eating and has roosted for the night. If this is creating a lot of waste for you, reduce the portion size. Remove your livestock dishes at night to avoid attracting pests and predators to your chicken area.
Spice it up. Did you know common kitchen herbs are thought to help support your backyard chicken’s natural immunity to disease? Kitchen herbs like sage, oregano, mint, basil, thyme, lemon balm, and others are safe for your chickens to consume. *Not all herbs are safe for chickens so please research adequately before adding any additional elements to your chicken’s diet.* You can safely mix 2 tablespoons of these safe herbs into your chicken’s mash or feed for a natural and healthy low-cost immunity boost. Typically, a generic Italian seasoning mix is a great way to acquire all of these herbs in one product or you can grow them yourself in containers or in your garden. Discontinue if your flock shows any adverse reaction to this or any addition to their diet. Every flock is different and pickiness levels among chickens will vary.
Level up. Give your flock perching options. Perching and roosting are natural behaviors that promote your flock’s overall health in many ways. Chicken perches and roosts don’t need to be expensive or fancy, just safe and sturdy. A 2×4 placed with the flat wide side down, scrap lumber, natural found branches at least 3 inches in diameter, or thrifted objects like shelves, ladders, or chairs can all be adapted to be great enrichment for your flock. Remove any sharp edges, dangerous hardware, or protrusions to protect your chicken’s sensitive feet and prevent conditions like bumblefoot.
Cleanliness is the key to healthiness. Maintaining your chicken area daily and seasonally is a cornerstone of your flock’s health. Removing excess droppings from your chicken area and perches is one of the best things you can to do help prevent pests and disease as well as keep your eggs clean! Simple tools like a puddy scraper, a dedicated scrub brush, old rags or unwanted old shirts, and a natural Castille soap mixture are great tools to clean your chicken area, nesting boxes, perches, and accessories. Chicken safe ground cover litter materials like pine shavings or sand make your chicken area is easier to maintain and clean.
Your presence is free. Even if it is just for a few minutes a day, spend time observing and talking calmly to your flock. If you can enjoy time in the backyard with your flock, it is what I consider a piece of heaven. If your chickens are living in confinement and you can’t enter their area to be with them, bring out a chair and offer some treats. Watching them eat and being a positive calm presence near them is a form of enrichment for your flock. Observing your flock also helps you spot critical health issues before they become a flock-wide problem.
The more you know the more your flock can grow. Don’t just rely on just online resources to support your backyard chicken journey. Your local library, your local bookseller, your local agricultural office, farm box stores, and online sellers all offer ways to obtain books and magazines about chickens. Purchase or check out from your local library any beginner chicken care guide materials. Sometimes online resources may be unavailable or offer contradictory advice. Printed backyard chicken materials provide proven methods to support your flock in every season. You can find these resources for free or used at a discount.
Stretch your chicken feed by fermenting it or creating mash. Chicken feed once fermented doubles in volume and also improves the nutritional availability for your flock stretching your feed budget and making the food easier for your flock to digest. Fermenting chicken feed is simple and easy; anyone can do it! If you don’t want to ferment feed, even adding water to your chicken feed can help improve the availability for the most fragile members of your flock.
Water and shade and your flock will have it made. The simplest ways to keep your flock cool this summer are providing additional water stations and plenty of shade. Your chicken structure needs a roof to protect your flock from the elements. You can create additional shade for your flock using things like a tarp, outdoor curtains, an old bed sheet, a camping pop-up shade tent, and other options. Multiple water stations which can be anything from a purchased dispenser, a homemade dispenser, livestock dishes, or thrifted livestock safe bowls (not glass). Reducing heat stress from extreme summer temperatures helps keep your flock healthy and productive during sweltering summer temperatures.
Bonus tip, provide grit and calcium supplement in a free choice station. If your flock is moved on fresh pasture daily, these supplements are often not necessary, but for flocks living in partial or fulltime confinement these supplements are crucial to prevent conditions like shell deformities, soft shells, impacted crop, and sour crop. Buy these supplements in bulk for maximum savings. Provide in a free choice dispenser of your choosing and refresh when needed. Shell deformities cost you eggs which costs you money. Sour crop and impacted crop if untreated and depending on the severity can result in the injury or death of your chicken. These inexpensive supplements save you both money and heartache in the long run.
I hope you enjoyed these tips to help keep your flock healthy for less money. If you enjoyed this post, check out Chuck’s other social media for more backyard chicken and homesteading content.
Chuck and the Chicks 