Chicken Hacks!
In each issue, we’ll show you shortcuts and smart tips to make chicken-keeping easier, more affordable and more fun for you and your birds.
Harmony in the henhouse is a beautiful thing: no bullying, no manic behavior, just happy chickens coexisting with one another. And it’s not only doable, but it’s not especially difficult to achieve. Here are some ways to make it so.
Provide Lots of Room
Crowding is at the root of most henhouse misbehavior. Most experts say a chicken needs 2 to 3 square feet of floor space in the coop and 8 to 10 feet in an outside run or 71⁄2 square feet per bird kept in full confinement, but these are bare minimums. The more personal space chickens have to stretch, stroll about and avoid dominant birds, the better life is. This is especially true if they live in confinement full time.
Most sources recommend 8 inches of roosting space per chicken, but this isn’t nearly enough. Chickens need room to spread their wings to fly up to their roosts and down again, to sort out who gets the prime sleeping spots and who sleeps next to whom.
Coop & Run Design
Provide hidey-holes or dark, quiet corners in the coop where chickens low in the flock’s social order can hide from potential bullies. A simple fix is to lean a pallet against the wall so timid hens can shelter beneath it. You can also cut an entry hole in a plastic laundry basket and upend it in a corner; this provides ventilation and privacy, too.
Hang feeders and waterers in open areas instead of in corners, so there’s plenty of room for hens to maneuver. If you have more than 8 chickens, provide extra dining and watering facilities so that lower ranking hens can readily eat and drink.
Provide climbing structures in the outdoor run. This adds space and gives chickens exercise as well as something to do. A log leaned low against the fence or erected in the center with its limbs cut back to about 18 inches in length costs nothing and works well, as do tree stumps dotted around the run.
Provide dust-bathing areas outdoors and in the coop. Chickens love to dust bathe. It calms them while helping control external parasites. A small child’s wading pool filled with sand fills the bill.
Choose Breeds Wisely
Some breeds are more docile and adaptable to confinement than others. Choose a laid-back breed and avoid breeds known for aggressive behavior.
If your flock includes more than one breed, be aware that some breeds are easily bullied.