If you want to keep a healthy flock, then you have to be aware of these chicken raising mistakes that can be deadly for your birds. Raising chickens can be easy as long as you know the essential things to give them in order to keep them healthy and safe.
Whether you are just getting started raising chickens, or you have had chickens for a while you need to know the key things to avoid in order to keep your flock healthy.
Chicken Raising Mistakes to Avoid
From proper planning to monitoring health, there are some common things that people overlook or just plain get wrong when they are raising chickens.
When we got our first chickens, I am afraid to admit that we fell into at least 3 of these chicken raising mistakes. And, though it was unfortunate, we did learn a lot from going through them and the issues they caused.
But, hopefully you won't have to learn the hard way like we did.
Improper Coop Setup
Although you can use lots of materials and different chicken coop plans that fit the right standards, it's important to make sure your coop has some essential characteristics so that it is a safe and health place for your birds.
For example, you want to ensure your coop is draft free and has enough nesting box space for each of your birds.
Using a Heat Lamp
Yes, when raising baby chicks they do need a heat lamp or other source of heat like a heat plate. However, you don't want to ever add heat lamps to your coop.
Heat lamps pose a significant fire hazard and when added to a coop where full sized birds are flapping around and they are hanging over bedding like straw - it's just not worth it. Plus, when raising chickens in the winter, you'll find they keep themselves warm with their feathers.
No Daily Health Checks
All those feathers on the chickens are great for helping the to stay warm and insulated, but they also can easily mask health issues. It's easy to miss chickens losing weight, having parasites and other issues if you aren't looking them over closely.
Make sure to do daily health checks quickly on each birds to ensure they don't have any issues starting to creep up.
Quickly and easily assess your flocks health without missing a step by using this free download: The Chicken Care Checklist.
Run + Coops Being Too Small
Chickens don't need a ton of room, but is essential to make sure they have sufficient space. Standard sized chickens need at least 4 sq feet per bird in the coop and 10 sq feet per bird in the run.
Coops and runs with not enough space can easily become too dirty, have parasite issues and cause chickens to peck more at one another.
Need some help keeping your chickens health and care taken care of? Check out the Organized Chicken Keeper for an easy to follow system.
No Predator Proofing
Predator proofing your chicken coop and run is super essential to the health and safety of your flock. There are so many other animals that prey on chickens - from stray dogs to racoons, bears and more.
Give your birds a safe home by making sure you are thoroughly protecting them from the main predators in your area.
Not Counting Chickens At Night
This is one we learned the hard way. Even if your chickens aren't free ranging, make sure that you count them at night when you lock them up.
Sometimes they can be sneaky and get out of the run, or be hiding somewhere you don't see. Chickens left out at night are often times grabbed by nighttime predators.
Regular Egg Collection
Make sure that you are prepared to collect eggs at least on a daily basis. A few times a day is best if you have a large flock.
Leaving eggs out for more than a day can cause a variety of issues from egg eating and broken eggs to attracting predators that want to eat the eggs.
Proper Cost Estimates
Ever heard of chicken math? For real, this can impact you quickly. Make sure that you know how much it costs to feed your chickens, how much their supplies cost and how much it costs you to keep them overall.
This way, you can be sure that you are only maintaining a flock that is the size you can financially support. It's easy to add a few birds here and a few birds there and end up with a feed bill you didn't expect.
Not Quarantining Birds
If you are bringing new birds into your flock, it is important to always quarantine birds before introducing them. Even if you have gotten your new chickens from a trusted source, don't skip this step.
Chickens can look and appear healthy, but it is common for underlying issues to bloom and come through when they go through stress (like relocating to a new home). Avoid transmitting any potential sickness like chicken lice and mites to your current birds by just implementing a quarantine period for any new additions.
If you need more help with taking care of your chickens, check out The Organized Chicken Keeper for a complete system for managing their health through keeping their supplies stocked and coop clean.
