Entertaining Your Flock on a Budget

Chickens really live their best lives when they are free ranging outside Unfortunately, not everyone has the option of letting their chickens out of the coop Space restrictions, local ordinances, and job schedules are just a few of the reasons why many chickens are cooped up all day

Owning animals is like being a zookeeper A good zookeeper takes care of the physical needs of an animal However, a great zookeeper comes up with ways to keep their animals’s minds healthy and active! It’s called enrichment! There are countless ways to provide your flock something to keep their brains busy

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Repurpose Old Tires Into Dust Baths

It never ceases to amaze me how great my chickens are at digging holes! They love to scratch around, wiggle down and flap around the dirt To keep themselves clean, chickens take dust baths This summer, I’m working on making a dedicated area for my chickens’ dust bath I’ll keep you posted on if they actually use this area or if they continue to just dig dust baths wherever they want Haha!

How to Build a Winter Dust Bath for Your Chickens

Have you ever seen chickens rolling around in the dirt? That’s known as a dust bath, and it helps chickens keep their feathers clean and dry But what happens when temperatures drop below freezing? Your chickens still need to dust bathe in order to stay healthy and clean!

Fortunately, there is a way to keep your chickens cozy and clean this winter with an indoor dust bath Read on for tips and steps on

Adding Enrichments to the Coop

You’ve probably heard the phrase “busy as a bee”  Not to knock how productive bees are, but have you seen how busy chickens can be?  If your chickens have access to a large area to free range, you probably know that they’re up before dawn and they don’t stop wandering around, scratching and searching for food until the sun goes down  They’re naturally very active animals  The only time the stop for rest is at night

 

Chickens that are kept in a coop still have that same desire to be busy  Without something to do, chickens

The Perfect Dust Bath

Have you noticed your chickens laying around in a dusty spot, kicking dust all over themselves? Chickens love to roll around in the dirt and dust  It may sounds backwards to ‘bathe’ in dust, but chickens have good reason for rolling around in the dirt  When chickens cover themselves in dust, they are doing so in order to take care of their feathers and skin  Chickens can easily become infested with external parasites like mites, fleas, ticks and other insects

Most of these insects prefer to hop onto patches of clean skin that they can easily gnaw through to get

How Do Chickens See?

I remember spending time out in the coop one day Well, this is most days for me I love to sit and watch my girls scratch around and see who can find the best snacks They are silly little birds, and there’s never a dull moment It also gives me a good opportunity to check them all over to make sure they’re healthy and

How to Make a Chicken Dust Bath