Planning Housing & Care

Chickens need the right housing, nutrition, health care, and enrichment to keep them happy, healthy, and productive throughout their lives.  Although most backyard owners are well-meaning, most of the medical and behavioural problems we commonly treat in backyard flocks happen because the birds are not receiving the proper conditions and care for their life stage.

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If you are just starting from scratch with setting up a home and care plan for your new flock, this is an ideal time to read our resources on preventive care to make sure you are setting yourself up for success.

It is helpful to know the number, breed, and age of birds you will be keeping before beginning.

Housing & Environment

Choose the right size, style, location, and features for your coop and run to make sure your birds have a comfortable, clean, and low-stress environment.

Nutrition

Make sure your birds are getting a complete and balanced diet with access to clean water, grit, and calcium supplementation to meet their nutritional needs.

Health Care

Have a plan in place for preventing disease that includes regular health checks, biosecurity, parasite control, and keeping a close eye out for signs of infectious disease.

Enrichment

Provide your chickens with a variety of opportunities to safely interact with other animals, people, and objects in their environment to keep their active minds engaged.

Record Keeping

Make sure you can individually identify all birds in your flock and develop a plan for keeping track of their management, health, and performance.

Keeping Your Family Safe

Protect your family against pathogens that can spread between birds and people as well as other risks from eating  contaminated eggs or getting physical injuries from sharp beaks and nails.