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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n1. Chickens get things dirty quickly. You could spend a lot of time trying to keep their area or coop clean, but they don\u2019t care and will have it filthy again within hours. Adjust your expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. As long as they have adequate space to run around in, a thick layer of straw a couple times a year is all you need for \u201clitter.\u201d Read Gail Damerow\u2019s book Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens<\/a><\/span> 3. Chickens move a lot of dirt when they scratch. This means that they will accidentally dig out of enclosures unless the ground level borders are secure. It also means that free-range in your yard usually means your yard will turn into a compost heap. Don\u2019t believe the photos about free-range chickens in well manicured landscapes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Chickens can climb, fly, and roost. Either build an 8 foot fence to contain them or learn to trim their wings a couple times a year. They do not like having their wings clipped, but there are ways to get it done quickly and without hurting them, as my daughter teaches me in this video<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. Chickens have a pecking order. There is nothing you can do about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 6. Foxes, hawks, skunks, and raccoons hunt chickens. Finding food is a top priority for predators and they will dig into, climb over, and fly down to get your chickens. The chickens are particularly vulnerable when sleeping, since they are not easily roused from a sleep state. You will want them in lock down at night if you want to avoid losses. Some predators hunt in daylight, so you may have to secure ground level borders and have high, hard to climb fences. I have done everything from bricks dug into the ground around the border to a layer of wire as a perimeter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7. Chickens are messy eaters. They spread the grain as they eat, which in turn attracts wild birds and mice. See here for our latest mousetrap<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 8. Chickens are good at deciding what is safe to eat. You can give them scraps of almost anything. If they don\u2019t eat it, they will scratch most of it into oblivion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 9. Chicken wire is fairly weak and not good for much, especially keeping out predators. It also gets torn pretty easily, so you probably want your main fencing to be something sturdier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 10. Sometimes chickens die and you don\u2019t know why. It is part of having animals. (Here is something I wrote about what kids learn from caring for animals.<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n 11. Rolling around in the dust is one way chickens keep mites off of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 12. When chickens molt, it is kind of ugly, but they are fine. They just might need a little extra attention to make sure they are warm if cold weather is involved, such as a draft free coop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 13. Chickens like fresh water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 14. Chickens don\u2019t like the snow, but they can usually handle it and the cold if they have been raised in that sort of climate. They don\u2019t need extra heat in their coop, especially if it gets closed up at night and they can share body heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 15. Chickens will sometimes eat their own eggs. The main ways to avoid this are to make sure they have enough space, enough food, and collect eggs at least once a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a>