I'm a Chicken Mom
I never imagined myself owning chickens. I’ve never thought farm-life was attractive or enviable but once we bought a house last year - things changed. I have spent countless hours in my small backyard growing as many plants, veggies and fruit that I can. It’s become such a soothing, peaceful part of my day. I’m that lady who talks to their plants. I rarely want to leave my house! In December of last year, I decided to go for it and purchase a chicken coop.
My mother in law had just purchased the Eglu from Omlet (cutest name ever right?) and loved it. It is all hard plastic so it is firm and hardy but SUPER easy to clean. You can just hose it out. That really sold it to me. I bought the Eglu Go with the 6 foot run. I wanted to add the ladder and wheels but they were sold out and never got around to adding it. I may order them later this year so that I can move my coop more easily. The coop was easy enough to set up and I love that the coop fans out at the bottom to ensure that no predatory animal can get under the sides. On their website, Eglu suggests that this coop will house about 4 medium sized hens. I have 4 small hens and 2 medium sized and it works very well for me. I have one silver bantam silkie named Samantha, 3 rhode island red hens and 2 easter eggers.
One of the only things that was deterring me from getting a chicken coop was the concept that I could walk outside to a gruesome scene. I’ve heard about cats, coyotes, snakes, you name it attacking chickens and I was not prepared for that. With my coop, I have had ZERO issues with predators.
The other thing that was deterring me from getting a chicken coop was the chicken shit. You can’t train chickens to shit where you want them to; they just shit where they please. If you let your chickens free roam like I do, expect to hose down your patio before having guests over. Although it is stinky, it isn’t as bad as I thought. Especially in the Texas heat, it usually dries up and I don’t notice the smell and rarely ever have an issue with stepping in chicken shit. Don’t let that deter you from chickens!
The chickens have become part of my family. They provide tons of entertainment for my cat, Popeye, and i’ve grown to love the habitual chicken chores that I have. Feed, water and collect eggs. Owning chickens may sound daunting, but it isn’t much work. They’re pretty easily entertained and simple to care for.
The following is a day in the life as a chicken mom.
I work from home so it is easy for my to let me chickens roam all day and not worry. The first thing I do when I wake up is get my coffee started. My husband and I joke that one of the deepest forms of love we could show each other is to prep the coffee the night before so you just have to hit the start button. While I wait for the coffee to brew, I log onto my computer for work in my office. When the coffee is ready, I grab a cup and walk outside to my coop and let the girls out. They get very excited to see me knowing that they’ll get freedom or treats. At this time, I fill up their water containers. I have 3: one that hangs on the coop from Eglu, one that is covered and self waters and one that is actually an old champagne bucket. In the summer, it is super important that they have access to water at all times because of the heat. I keep a hose next to the coop so I can easily top of their water a few times a day if necessary. In the summer, I have to top their water off at least once a day, sometimes twice. I like to add ice to their water on especially hot days. I usually sit in one of our outdoor chairs and watch them for a few minutes. It’s a very peaceful start to my day. Then I return to my office and continue my work day.
Around noon, I check on the girls while I figure out what I’m going to do for lunch. They’re usually either inside the coop or near the coop where they’ve created a dirt bath. Chickens like to lay in dirt and fan the dirt in between their feathers and wings to help keep them cool (that’s why you’ll notice that they fling dirt into their water). The girls like to check out my garden or poke around the yard but usually don’t stray too far. They peck around looking for bugs and fun things to eat.
Later in the afternoon I come back outside and check their food bowl to make sure they have plenty available. I like to go to Wabash Feed store and use a layer feed and mix with chicken scratch. By 3 pm, the girls are usually done with laying eggs. I usually get 5 eggs consistently each day. Sometimes 4, sometimes 6. When I bring those inside, I grab some sort of treats. They love dried meal worms, red pepper flakes, frozen veggies or berries and any type of bread. You can feed chickens most things you’d eat but stay away from sugary items or really fatty items. I like to do frozen fruits or veggies in the summer to help them keep cool, plus its very nutritious for your hens. Today I have a plate full of shredded cheese, fresh spinach, frozen berries and a piece of bread that i’ve torn up. I toss the treats into the coop, they all walk in to get the treats and then I lock the coop up. Easy as that.
The coop is entirely covered and enclosed in caging, so I don’t have to close the coop door at night unless it is stormy or super cold. In that case, I try to close the door and cover with a horse blanket or tarp to keep the bad weather out. I also put down oyster shell to help absorb water when it rains.
That is it! I clean the coop maybe once every two weeks. The omlet is super easy to clean. You just pull out the back tray and dump into the compost or trash can. Then hose down the tray with water. Easy peasy.
All of that being said, I have gone away for a long weekend and left the hens with plenty of food and water and they were totally fine. On longer trips, I ask a neighbor to refill food/ water or hire a house sitter. If you have any questions about being a chicken mom, leave them below!
