{"id":1821,"date":"2019-05-10T10:00:57","date_gmt":"2019-05-10T15:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chikchikchicken.com\/?p=1821"},"modified":"2021-01-30T11:02:47","modified_gmt":"2021-01-30T17:02:47","slug":"5-deadly-mistakes-new-chicken-owners-make","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chikchikchicken.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/10\/5-deadly-mistakes-new-chicken-owners-make\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Deadly Mistakes New Chicken Owners Make"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Momma<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There are 5 deadly mistakes that many new chicken owners make. We made a few of these ourselves but, luckily, we didn\u2019t lose any birds. These are all equally important to know if raising backyard chickens.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not Enough Room<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You should allow at least 3 square feet per bird in the coop or hen house. I attended a class a few weeks ago sponsored by Texas A&M and they suggest 5 square feet per bird. The more room you can give your chickens the happier they will be. Happy, healthy birds will lay more eggs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the run, it\u2019s suggested a minimum of 10 square feet per bird but 15 is preferred. If your chickens free-range most of the day, you could get by with a little less.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why so much room? When too crowded, they get stressed and irritated. They\u2019ll start pecking each other, causing injury. They enjoy being outside, scratching, and foraging so the more room they have the better.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"deadly<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Chickens have a hierarchy called the pecking order<\/strong><\/a>. There\u2019s always a top bird. Ours is Trudy our White Leghorn. She gets the prime spot on the roost bar and generally gets to eat first. The other girls stay out of her way. Now, she\u2019s not a total B. Since we don\u2019t have a rooster<\/strong><\/a>, she\u2019s taken on the role of the flock protector. She even crowed the other day!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chickens will also pick on each other when they are bored. Giving enough room helps this plus it gives the girls at the bottom of the pecking order a place to escape. Check out my blog on The Dark Side of Chickens<\/strong><\/a> for more info. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Putting S<\/strong>mall <\/strong>C<\/strong>hicks with <\/strong>M<\/strong>ature <\/strong>B<\/strong>irds<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Chickens are prey animals, so they look at any other animal, even a small chick, as something that wants to hurt them. They will peck the new chicks, sometimes causing injury and even death.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have an established flock and decide to get new baby chicks. You need to keep them separate until the babies are close to the same size as the rest of the flock. When adding new birds to your flock, the birds look at the new ones as intruders. They\u2019ve already established their pecking order and have their little family.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You want the new birds to be about the same size so they can defend themselves. Be sure and check out my blog on Adding new Chickens to your Flock<\/strong><\/a> for more info on how to integrate them.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not <\/strong>Quarantin<\/strong>ing<\/strong> New Birds<\/strong> <\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the mistakes we made was not quarantining our new birds properly when we got them. I had heard that we would need to introduce them slowly and with supervision so we set up a separate area in the run. They were blocked off but could still see each other. This way the established flock wouldn\u2019t peck them.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, I didn\u2019t know about the respiratory illnesses<\/a> chickens could get or infectious gastrointestinal diseases.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To protect your chickens, you should quarantine new birds for a minimum of thirty days and six weeks would be better. They should be at least 30 feet away. During this time, you can monitor for any illness that hasn\u2019t presented itself yet.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Setting up a <\/strong>Dust Bath <\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"dust<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

We figured this out pretty quickly. <\/strong>Our new babies started rolling around in the dirt in a seizure-like activity. So, I got online and found out that birds will dust bathe to keep their feathers clean and smother any parasites, like lice and mites. I hadn\u2019t really thought about how they stay clean. I kind of assumed in water like birds or ducks.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dust bathing is important for their overall health. Lice and mites can suck the blood out of your bird, causing death, so be sure and check out my blog on Setting up your Dust Bath<\/strong><\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you set up a dust bath area, hopefully, they will not dig and bathe in your garden or other areas of your yard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being Unaware of <\/strong>Predators<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I knew we needed to provide a safe place for them to sleep. Plus, we have dogs, so I knew we needed to protect them from the dogs, but I didn\u2019t know that everything wants to eat your chickens. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"predator<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Not only the big predators like bears, coyotes, bobcats, and owls but also raccoons, skunks, opossum, foxes, weasels, hawks, and many more. The list goes on. When I say everything wants to eat your chicken, I mean everything!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, to keep your chickens safe, you need to Predator Proof Your Chicken Coop<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong> There are many things you can do like add a skirt around the edges to keep animals from digging in or burying six to twelve inches of hardware cloth around the perimeter. It\u2019s also a good idea to know the predators in your area so you know what measures you should take. Be sure and check out my blog on Common Chicken Predators<\/strong><\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, these are just a few of the things I didn\u2019t know that could be deadly mistakes. I\u2019m still learning something new every day. Like how they communicate with each other or how they can’t really see at night or how aggressive these sweet little balls of fluff can be.   I really just thought they pecked the ground happily looking for bugs all day. Little did I know!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have to deal with any of these issues that result in a wound, be sure and check out my blog post on Wound Care for Chickens<\/strong><\/a>.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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