Have the thoughts about raising backyard chicken ever crossed your mind? Do you feel like switching to an organic lifestyle and consider raising pet chicken in your backyard? Whether for fun, love, or profit, raising backyard chicken can be quite beneficial for those who aim for it. However, not everyone knows the dos and don’ts of keeping backyard chicken.
This mini-guide has been compiled to provide you the guidance you need in this regard. It includes the dos and don’ts, plus some insights about the reasons of backyard chicken farming becoming so popular. So grab a chair and read along.
The Dos & Don’ts of Raising Backyard Chicken
If you really want to raise backyard chicken on your own, you need to keep track of the following:
- Make sure you have enough space to let the chicken roam freely.
- Ensure clean water supply throughout the year. This means that their water must be clear of algae in summer and not frozen in winters.
- Clean off poop and other wastage residuals from their feeding area.
- Clean their sleeping area on a daily basis.
- Buy pet chicken supplies from trusted vendors such as My Chicken Coop.
- Keep their bodies clean from lice. Yes! You read it right. Chicken are prone to getting lice on their bodies. You will have to maintain their physical hygiene and perform periodic checkups to keep these tiny blood-sucking predators off their bodies.
- Keep an eye on their gut health by monitoring the quality of their poop. It doesn’t really sound like a fun thing to do, right? But there is no other way around ensuring that your backyard chickens have a healthy gut. You will have to regularly check their poop for worms, discoloration, or any other signs of a disturbed gut. If you see any signs, contact a vet you trust and get your chicken back in healthy shape as soon as possible.
- Do not overfeed your chicken.
- Do not stuff them in a closed, tight, and congested space. Make room for fresh air, sunlight, clean water, and properly spaced beds.
- Avoid using hay for making chicken beds since hay has been linked with mold spores breeding and causing damage to chicken. Use Hemp bedding instead for making comfortable chicken beds.
- Do not let your backyard remain dirty and clean it regularly. Otherwise, leftover food can serve as an invitation for mice, rats, and other unwanted pesky guests at the farm.
- Do not feed them leftovers of your other pets’ food such as dog food or cat food. Hens are hens and they need to be fed in proper proportions the meals their bodies are designed to digest.
- While selecting cleaning products such as floor cleaners, glass cleaners, and tile cleaners, etc for your house, remember to choose products that are designed for animal safety. Your choice of products should not cause harm to your pets.
Why is Raising Backyard Chicken Becoming So Popular?
Recently, there has been an increase in trends in raising backyard chicken. Many attribute it to factors such as health awareness pointing out to the fact that people might want to go for organic chicken meat. There are other factors that have contributed to the growth of this industry. These include pure love of raising backyard chicken as in to keep them as pets, the economic benefits associated with farming them, and simply keeping oneself busy.
Some people love chicken, others love their produce. Their eggs and meat sell at higher prices in the market since it is organic and is labeled as good for health. Some people are trying to make healthier choices by raising backyard chicken with the intention of eating their produce. Keeping chicken as pets is quite inexpensive as compared to keeping a pet dog or cat. Therefore, instead of adopting them as pets, people opt for raising them in their backyard.
Conclusion
Raising backyard chicken is a fun activity with health and economic benefits associated with it. If you are also one of those keen people who want to reap the benefits of this industry, then go ahead and start raising your backyard chicken right now. However, remember the guidelines highlighted in this post.
