Constructing a chicken pen is easier than it seems. You need to pinpoint some important matters like the materials to buy and the tools to use for constructing a chicken pen.

Plus, you also have to consider the area where to build the suitable chicken pen for raising chickens.

Alright, the easy yet crucial part begins with planning. First, the area, then the size of the chicken pen should be known.

The chicken pen size usually depends on how many chickens will be raised. Look at the option on what kind of birds you are dealing with.

Here are the materials you need to start off with the most basic chicken pen:

Novice or not, it is still better to start off with the most basic chicken pen – using the wire and post design. Here, the materials that you’ll need for building a chicken pen are the posts, wire, and staples that can be used for fences. The tools are also basic namely a sledgehammer, the ordinary hammer, wire cutters, and crowbar.

Now that you have gathered all materials and tools for building a chicken pen, surveyed the area, and is assured that there is none to worry about; it’s time for the construction of a chicken pen.

Being a starter in the world of raising chickens, one of the important thing you should consider and is also necessary is the fact that you can protect your raised chickens without even being on a shot-gun watch for 24 hours every waking day; that is why you have to build the chicken pens that will last for a very long period of time.

Before building the chicken pens, planning and gathering is the very first step.

Things you need to consider before building the chicken pens:

Location is the first thing to consider, before building the chicken pens.

Do you live in a rural or in an urban area? Your answer will depend on the chickens you can keep. Usually in rural communities, the number of livestock you want can be unlimited but when in urban settings, raising chickens can have restrictions regarding its number. Or sometimes, they are totally banned.

Another thing to consider before building the chicken pens is the kind of chicken that you are planning to raise. If they weigh heavier, this will be an advantage because this kind of status will make it more difficult for them to fly away.

There have been thoughts on what to do with your flock daily. Raising chickens can be quite easy but raising chickens also needs maintenance to keep their environment safe and clean for both your chickens and your own happiness.

Some owners hesitate to do such a grueling task. But in reality it is one of the easiest works you can do to give your chickens the welcome they deserve.

What to do and what not to do daily for raising chickens:

a. Keep their feed and water containers full at all times. Do not let them run out of these two essentials. They need these two things everyday to live.

If you tend to leave your house for a couple of days, be sure to leave sufficient food and water so that your chickens don’t run out of their needs and will not reach the point of picking on each other.

b. Clean their water canister. If their water becomes cloudy or if they sensed that it’s already dirty, they will refuse to drink it and in the long run, they will become dehydrated and eventually conjure illness and die.

Chickens can eat almost everything from meat to vegetables. You can give them dog food and they’ll peck it with full gusto.

You can give them pig food and they’ll eat it without hesitation. Chickens are cleaners of garbage tidbits.

They can even wipe out every insect, worm, or anything little and more vulnerable than they are.

The good thing about raising chickens in your backyard is that it needs no feeding qualifications other than vitamins and boosters.

The food that can be fed to your chickens:

Grains can also be fed to your chickens. Scraps of food bits and peelings can also be fed. You see, feeding isn’t that hard for as long as you save some of those leftovers for your poultry to feed on. Chickens are also intelligent for they know when the bucket of treats is ready for lunch.

You can feed your chickens in many ways. You can either put it in a container that is big enough to accommodate their number during mealtime. Scattering their food isn’t also a bad idea without the worry that it will go to waste and remain scattered. Bones with tiny bits of meat are also their favorite.

Raising chicken has its sacrifices and benefits. Usually what the owner sees is the benefit beyond the sacrifices and problems.

That would be fine for as long as you can handle whatever circumstances may occur. In cases of bird flu, the only way out is proper handling of your poultry and making sure that the place is spiffy clean.

Poultry farm owners sometimes underestimate cleanliness.

But sometimes, the more people tend to underestimate things, the more it becomes a serious matter. Sometimes, when its severity had come to its boiling point, it’s too late to cool it down.

Causes of bird flu:

There are two causes of bird flu (also known as Avian Influenza) - cold weather and dirty places. Why should you know the cause of bird flu? To prevent the spread of the bird flu even before it develops at your very own backyard.

Once you know the cause of bird flu, it will be easier on your part to identify the different measure you have to make to prevent the bird flu from spreading. Get rid of the cause then none of this will happen.

As a poultry raiser, you have to know that from the moment they were laid, eggs must hatch after 21 days of incubation.

It’s a good thing if your hen wanted to continue incubating her eggs. But if she doesn’t, there is always an alternative –chicken incubator.

A chicken incubator should have a temperature of at least 98 – 99 degrees. To measure the humidity inside the chicken incubator, use a hygrometer or a thermometer.

Hygrometers can be bought in a price that’s quite practical. You can buy it in any cigar shop or even online.

For the first 1-18 days, your humidity inside chicken incubator can be at least 50% and the remaining days till day 21 humidity inside chicken incubator must have a maximum of 80%.

How to maintain adequate moisture inside the chicken incubator?

You should maintain adequate moisture inside the chicken incubator. You can use paper cups or a pan containing water in order to maintain adequate moisture inside the chicken incubator. To evenly apply the heat, mark the eggs with an O on one side and an X on the other side.

Chicks that are hatched inside an incubator must stay inside the incubator for a couple of days.

Don’t get too excited to take them out. Give them some time to realize that they are already hatchlings and have to cope with their environment.

Birds like quails, pheasants and chickens can survive for three days without any source of water or food.

One very good thing about chickens is that when they are still inside the egg, days before they come out; the yolk is drawn to the navel and travels off through the stomach of the young one.

The yolk will serve as nourishment for transition of the baby chick from the moment it hatches, to the time it gains sufficient strength till it fluffs out and becomes active to search the world for food. Physically, no gain weight will occur but there will be gain in activity, stature and faculty use.

Upon noticing that chicks get interested with water drops or his companion’s toes, don’t mistook this as being hungry but part of the transition phase where they learn to adapt and familiarize themselves with their environment.

Like children and adults, chickens also need treats that will motivate them to live healthy and happy. But! Unlike children and adults, the treats for chickens are different and are more nutritious.

Compared to human treats that mostly comprises of chocolates, candies, and other sweets, chicken treats are more on veggies and fruits.

Yogurt is a classic favorite of them birds. They are tasty and are very good to the intestines. This is also a good source of calcium that can contribute greatly to the structure and health of the eggshell.

But the most favorite and is very popular among every living chicken is the worm! They will eat it so fast and not a single evidence of it will linger.

Chickens, even with puny brains, have in it the command to like or dislike a certain treat. Below are some of the things that in general, chickens will come running for. If the first one didn’t work, scratch it off then proceed to the next. Bon appetite!

Below are some of the things that in general, chickens will come running for:

Apple

Certain equipments must already be present upon the arrival of the chickens in your own backyard. You have to be geared up before presenting your not so baby chickens outside the world.

The transition period can be quite stressful therefore being prepared can help you rid of half of the stress.

You have to purchase a lot of items for your chickens to stay comfortable from where they would lay. You need to pamper them so that when selling or butchering day comes, there are no regrets.

Here are some things that you need to purchase for raising your chickens:

1. Food

Without this, who will live? The food you will give will entirely depend on the kind of chicken that you have. But to sum it up, just give something that is “complete”. It must contain the right food substance that your chickens will need like carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and minerals and if the budget can still take it, buy them vitamins.

There are two kinds of feeds: conventional and organic. Either of the two can be purchased online or at an agricultural poultry store.

Growing chicks to chickens is hard work but is quite fulfilling, especially when you’re about to benefit from it.

Baby chickens do change so quickly. Within just a month, you could notice development.

On the beginning of life baby chickens are just little slimy egg contents and the next thing you know baby chickens can now chirp their way to the coop starting a whole new life - a life that’s self-sufficient and nevertheless, independent.

Jumping off from three to six weeks old, a baby chicken sheds off its fluffiness and replaces it with feathers that will become more mature.

Combs and wattles will grow and turn to a deep red hue. If you are raising cockerels, what you call a young rooster, they will attempt to crow.

At the age of 21-25 weeks, pullets will lay their very first eggs. Pullets are the baby chickens. One characteristic of a baby chicken’s egg is that its shell is weak and small. As baby chickens lay frequently, their eggs become harder and larger.

The fun part of pecking one another is then established by six months. Their wattles and combs will be completely formed by then. No sleeping on the job for these fine-feathered friends.