Daily Chores for Chicken Keepers

It’s a good idea to do a daily health and safety check. Do the birds all look healthy and alert? Is there any sign of red mite? (See the Chicken Health section of this guide for issues such as this). Is the chicken run secure, without holes, signs of gnawing, loose areas, tunnels in/under the wire or fencing where predators could sneak in? Is the water supply dirty – green algae is a health hazard – or frozen?

Providing your hens with fresh food and water every day is part of the routine

Daily To-Do List

Open the chicken coop in the morning, and close it securely at night.
Top up feeders and water dispensers.
Give your flock a visual check, to make sure they are all looking alert and healthy. Any change in their usual behavior indicates a problem. If a bird stays indoors in her egg box when the others jump outside to enjoy the day, don’t worry – she’s probably laying. Any bird that stays on its roosting pole or perch is probably unwell.
Scoop out larger droppings that have accumulated overnight.
Collect the eggs and store them. You don't need to store eggs in the fridge; but keeping them refrigerated, pointy side down, will give them a slightly longer shelf life.
Scatter corn for your hens in the late afternoon. It's not a disaster if you fail to do this, but late afternoon is the best time to offer treats.

A Black Rock hen taking a dust bath

Dust Baths

Chickens are not great fans of water baths, but they love dust baths. Kicking up the dust helps them keep their feathers and legs free of parasites. If there is a bare patch of earth in their run, the hens will peck and scratch the ground to form a shallow hole. Crouching in this, they will shake the dust over their bodies, and then shake the whole lot off again.

If there is no suitable ground in the run, or if your birds are kept indoors, you should provide a dust bath using a box containing 6" of dry earth or dusting powder. You can make your own using dry mud, wood ash and sand in equal quantities. Cover the dust bath in wet weather to prevent it turning into dust soup!