DIY is not always cheaper than buying the store version of some thing . However , when it total toraising chickens , you could provide quite a mo of what they postulate using stuff you have on the homestead .
unluckily , I did n’t do it that when I got started . So , I ended up being one of those not - so - canny chicken steward who spent more on raise chickens than I saved on eggs for the first distich of years .
Now that I get laid well , I ’d wish to give you some gentle ideas to help you get embark on manage for your chickens for cheep ( peep , cheep ) !
Rules of the Roost Hacks
Roost bars should be blue , across-the-board , hardy enough to support the weight of your batch , and easy to pick under . Other than that , there are no rule for roost ! That being said , I would hate to see you waste money on complicated and expensive roost bars .
Instead , hear these .
1. Natural Roost Bars
Please do n’t purchase roost bars ! you may well use free - sourced arm from impudently shoot down Tree . With all the bad weather condition that ’s been going around , these are quite abundant in any forest area .
Any 2.5 to 4 - in diameter outgrowth cut to match your roost area will solve . They look beautiful in any coop . Plus , since trees are where chickens would course roost in the jungle ( their aboriginal home ground ) , chicken love them !
2. Pallet Roost Bars
If you live in a desert , knock down branches might be hard to find . In that case , you’re able to use spline from innocent pallets . These unremarkably are complete in . So , you require a pry prevention and a hammer to break down the pallet into useable pieces .
If you have a wad of chickens , you could even use the whole palette as your roosting area . Hinge the palette to the wall like a Murphy bed . Then , bind fold legs to the non - wall side to make it loose to move out of your way for cleaning .
3. Lumber Roost Bars
If you must bribe a roost bar , then all you need is a 2 x 4 , a mo of scrap wood , and wood screws to make good roosts . check that to confront the wide - side up so volaille can keep their feet categoric on the pole .
Please do n’t buy wooden dowels , shower rods , or any other suggestion that cost more than $ 3 . These ideas cost more . Also , because of their pocket-size diameter , they can sometimes contribute to chicken feet health issues .
4. All One Level Roost Bars
I thought I had to have a ladder roost streak to keep chickens safe at night . After geezerhood of watching my hens jostle for position , and occasionally having to treat foot injury from roost fall , I con something .
you’re able to run low bars ( 18 - 24 inch high ) around the perimeter of your henhouse . That impart the center of your cage open . It makes houseclean beneath the bar super simple . Plus , even someone with modified woodwork attainment can draw off this simple design with no difficulty .
Chicken Feeders and Feed Storage Hacks
I like to get natural volaille trend be my guidebook for how to care for them . Too much of the advice I ’ve translate about does n’t mesh with what crybaby prefer and what I have sex sustain them healthy . That ’s peculiarly true when it comes to poulet feeders .
We ’ve heard about all the scarey pathogen in chicken poop , and so we reverence it . We go to slap-up lengths to check that our chicken feed never accidentally comes into contact with their dope .
As such , we end up with detailed feeder that make our chore more unmanageable because they are a pain to clean and fill . Well , I can tell you from experience that healthy crybaby endure no sick force from their food get along into contact with a bit of quarter .
In fact , if you do have poop in their intellectual nourishment , your chickens scratch through it looking for dirt ball larva and seed all the metre . Trust me , they eat every poop - covered , tasty morsel they find . Instead of worrying about elaborated provender systems , give your volaille plenty of space , admittance to forage ( even if you scrounge it and throw off it to them ) , and tonic water .
Then use these simple musical theme to make feeding chickens easier and less costly .
5. The Scatter Feed Method
Yes , that ’s just what it sounds like . merely dot their feed on the ground . Your chickens might not eat every speck , every mean solar day . But , they ’ll eventually get around to it .
I do this with everything I feed my chickensexceptlayer pellets . The layer shot get soppy when besotted and wash away . But , otherwise , all my chicken - safe leftovers , scratch , sunflower cum , gage , fodder , and whatever else , gets scattered in their ravel for them to have fun finding .
I especially enjoy scattering all the whole seeds I feed in them . If they pass off not to deplete something and it rain down , then the seed spud and give them even more approachable nutrition .
6. Any Available Container Feeder
For your layer pellets , chickens will eat about 4 Panthera uncia of feed per day ( with limited forage and scrap ) . So , if you have 4 Gallus gallus , any clean-living food - gradation container that holds 16 ounce of provender will work as both a daily scoop and a serve well bowl .
If you have more crybaby , 8 - quart dollar stock dishwashing tubs forge well . solid food grad 1 - 2 gallon bucket , family - size of it juice containers on their side with cold shoulder - outs , and gallon jugful cut in one-half also bring keen .
7. Easy Feed Storage
If you plan to buy feed in bulk , you’re able to store about 250 pounds of pelleted feed and even more scratch in re - purposed 55 - gallon metal drum . Pickle barrels hold a bit less but have wrench - on lids that keep feed dependable .
price for barrels vary by locations . In my area , metal drums are usually 2 for $ 35 . The lids never suit well . But I put a concrete blocking on them , and they stay in place just fine . Plastic drums run for about $ 25 . Pickle barrel be $ 35 and are money well - drop .
Chicken Feed Hacks
The easy way to keep your laying hens goodly is to buy pelleted commercial provender , appropriate to your chickens ’ years and intent . The corporations that make that stuff have spent vast amounts of money on research to perfect those formulas for optimal growth , set , or meat production .
That being tell , I am not a fan of buy stratum feed . I do n’t know exactly what ’s in it , where it was spring up , or if it ’s something I would feel well-fixed feeding . So , in person , I judge to write out down the quantity I give my poulet .
Here are some of the thing I give my chickens instead .
Probiotics:
8. Homemade Yogurt
Homemade yogurtis just as good for your chickens as it is for you . All my older Milk River gets turned into yoghourt for my chickens . Not only does yoghurt have amazing probiotic benefits , but it has calcium and protein to help with egg production .
As a bonus , because yoghourt is runny , I apply it for my chicken health inspections . The chickens come running for the yogurt I decant on the earth . Then they stay put as they eat it . This gives me a chance to do visual inspection for my whole flock in unsubtle daytime .
9. Kombucha SCOBYs
For all youkombuchamakers out there , you know how bighearted and ungainly those probiotic blobs get if you do n’t do something with the baby . Well , how about flow them to your volaille ? They are loaded with probiotic goodness and also protein and fibre !
10. Vinegar Mothers
exchangeable to kombucha SCOBYsvinegarmothers make babies too . Those extra mothers are also probiotic powerhouse .
My chickens do n’t care them until they ’ve dried out a bit . But then they track down around demonstrate them off as they do with lizard before they gobble them up .
11. Fermented Veggies
Every so often I make afermentthat I do n’t like . Maybe I add too much Carum carvi to Boche or over spice my kimchi . gratefully , my wimp never plain when I give them my slightly imperfect fermented vegetable .
Dose this out a bit each daytime though , so chickens do n’t get surcharge on common salt .
12. Fermented Herbs
I work herbs specifically for my chicken . Just like for veggies , I practice a 2 % table salt solution and ferment for about two weeks for adept , combat-ready bacterial cultures . Prolificherbslike oregano , basil , and lemon balm work great for this .
Again , giving only a little bit a daylight will keep common salt in check . I usually go with about a tablespoon a day for every ten chickens . But this is just my own opinion .
Greens:
Looking for way to get more greens into your confined chickens ’ dieting without more study ? Well , here you go .
13. Weeds
Since I have to do my weeding anyhow , I put all myweedsin a bucketful and toss them to my volaille . They do n’t always eat them all the same daylight , but finally , all the weeds go away .
They love stuff like Lamium amplexicaule , chickweed , dandelion , miners lettuce , upland cress , purslane , bittercress , deadened nettle , nut sedge , and various annual grasses . Theylove weedswith seed heads too .
They also wipe out some dock ( burdock , curly dock ) and amaranth . I ’ve read somewhere that those can be toxic to wimp , but mine has n’t had any issues . They do tend to eat them slowly . So , I consider they naturally regulate their aspiration .
Since anything in the amaranth family is a potential host toblister beetles , I check those leave of absence and blossom carefully before fling them to my flock .
14. Garden Scraps
My chickens get all the root veg acme that I do n’t plan to feed – common beet , turnips , cultivated carrot , rutabaga , etc . They get insect - infested plants I pull from the garden . ( Note , make certain you ID the pest first and confirm they are safe for your chickens ) .
I also serve my ladies all the chard and kale I ca n’t keep up with feeding . Pea greens , bolted cabbage , forbidden lettuce leafage , and moderately much every other gullible affair from the garden goes to my gals .
total to think of it , the only garden gleanings my hens do n’t get are the fleeceable role of nightshade kinsperson plant ( e.g. , tomato , potato , black pepper , and eggplant ) . Oh , and rhubarb leaves and seeds are potential no - atomic number 102 too . My chickens do taste those leaves and seeds while foraging , but they never eat much . So , I skip dish them to my limit great deal .
Protein:
15. Meat Processing Scraps
I am in the camp of the great unwashed who do n’t fee chicken anything from chicken ( e.g. , no feather protein , no chicken processing office ) . That idea just does n’t sit well with me . However , I am also in the camp that does feed my volaille all the part and pieces leftover from process non - poultry farm animal .
My devoid range chickens love nothing more than to hang around eating blood , chunks of pith , viscera , tegument , and every other part of a once live animal when Iprocess . Plus , I usually give them some impudent parts well away from where I am work out just to keep them officious .
Super fresh meat , fertile scraps , and viscera go to my wimp raw . If it ’s more than an 60 minutes or two honest-to-goodness or has been frozen and defrosted , then I cook it .
My theory is that in nature chickens would happily wipe out up a sassy kill that they stumble across . So , why ca n’t they do it on my homestead ?
Truthfully , a hungry crybaby will wipe out just about anything . However , since my laying ladies are otherwise well fed , if I give them something they deem unworthy , they just wo n’t eat it .
16. Maggots and More
Pest dirt ball of all variety make great protein sources for your chickens . maggot , Nipponese beetles , marmorated stink bugs , and eats find in your garden are all great choices for chickens . you could peck these up where you see them in the garden and take them to your chicken for free bonus protein .
On the maggot front , house fly maggot may carry potentially toxic bacterium and disease . But usingsoldier rainfly maggotsis becoming a more vulgar way to raise high - lineament protein for your flock . you could even well cultivate your own at home .
you may bribe pre - made soldier fly finish kits for breed larva . Or , you canmake your ownusing a 5 - gallon bucket , some PVC , and a minuscule inventiveness .
Chicken Litter Hacks
Some hoi polloi have very strong opinions on the subject of chicken litter . I have been narrate more than once that I am some variety of criminal for not using pine shaving as my go - to litter material .
To that I say , what did multitude do before there were plastic - wrapped pine shavings to be buy at the farm supplying computer storage ? Well , I can give you a few answers that will write you money and also not do any mortal harm to your happy hen .
17. Don’t Use Litter
Yep , you translate that rightfulness . I do n’t use bedding material in my chicken cage . Well , I do put a fistful of stubble or hay in my nest box . But , I do n’t cover the story .
Instead , once a week , I use a flat coon to tease bind on stuff from my floor board . Then I utilize a ling and dustpan to traverse it up into a bucket for composting .
Think I am crazy ? I cognize a 50 + yr “ rockstar ” wimp keeper who has never used litter ( or even cleaned his coop ) . or else , he apprehend out the shite he want from the storey of his coop when he put his garden to seam for the wintertime . By spring , the dung are aged in the garden beds and quick for habit .
As long as you free range your wimp during the day and have right public discussion , lading of bedding are not necessary for good chicken health .
18. Local, Cheap, with Less Plastic
Pine shavings go on sale for $ 5 a big money where I survive . That ’s a respectable price . Personally , though , I do n’t buy them because they come in plastic .
If you want do want to use bedding ( for instance , for compost purposes ) , please deal local , cheap options , that do n’t come envelop in credit card . Our share environment will give thanks you !
topically cut pale yellow Bale also cost about $ 5 - 6 each . Plus they add up with ready to hand bale ties that you’re able to reuse in other projects . A drinking straw Basel typically lasts me twice as long as pine shavings for the same price , and it compost faster .
Hay Basel also work . They run to be a snatch more expensive . Plus they may bear repeated weeds . So , utilise caution when composting hay bedding material for yearly garden utilization .
When I work in an office , I carted home all the shredded paper for homestead enjoyment . That stuff is fantastic for all sorts of things from volaille bedding material to worm solid food and more . If you have access to used office newspaper and a shredder , I extremely urge using it as litter .
Local baseball bat John Mill often have pine needle for bulk purchase or even free pick up . Plus , in a serious pinch , you’re able to also utilise sawdust from untreated wood .
I have used this in mynest boxes(when I get some for free ) since Gallus gallus do n’t come up in those much . I also damp the sawdust to keep it from being dust-covered . I deepen it at the first signs of mold , though this seldom happens .
poulet did germinate in the jungle and do exceptionally well in forest landscape . So , leaf , hardwood , and miscellaneous woodland material mulches also work well .
public utility companies will often overleap this material at your house for loose , during yearly tree clipping . It also hot composts quite well if you layer it about a substructure deep . As such , it can be used to keep water buckets from freezing and warm late - molting chickens .
Nest Area Hacks
I ca n’t secern you how many 100 of posts I ’ve say onnest boxesalone . All the different styles and iterations out there are astonishing . What ’s even more astonishing are all the reason people choose those various trend .
accuracy is though , all you need is a cozy , semi - private chicken - sized place that is easygoing for you to keep clean . If your crybaby feel secure and want to lie in their eggs in the nesting area you provide , you wo n’t have to go on an Easter egg hunt every Clarence Day of the year .
19. No Cost Curtains
The first time I see curtains in a Gallus gallus henhouse , I thought those citizenry must be disturbed . Now I get it . Chickens do appreciate some secrecy while laying .
So , I utilise a staple gun and empty 50 - Cypriot pound feed chemise to attach as curtains in my nesting area . If they get too dirty , I pull them off ( making sure to take in all the staples ) . Then I put up some newfangled provender sacks .
20. The More the Merrier
Chickens also know to deal nest boxes . No matter how small I tried to make my nest box , I inevitably ground two chickens crammed into one corner . Often , this resulted in broken eggs .
Now , I make my nest boxes bigger . An previous plastic tote bag , a galvanized garden bucket , a cut tympan , or busted trash can on its side , and more all make corking nest box from a crybaby position .
Using re - aim 5 - gallon pail also sour . They have circular side of meat which makes them given to wander . A couple of big rocks placed strategically on each side will agree them in shoes .
Conclusion
Hopefully these abject to no cost chicken care hack have inspired you to practice what you already have to render bully care to your volaille flock for less . swear me , you ’ll spend enough onbuilding a cage , establish fence , andbuying feedthat there ’s no reason not to salve when you may .
Also , work out your ingenuity and using what you already have is a critical homesteading acquisition . Practice it whenever you’re able to . When in dubiousness , necessitate yourself what would MacGyver do ?
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