The Maintenance Of Chicken: How To Start Keeping Chickens At Urban Areas

The Maintenance Of Chicken  –  Actually, breeding chicken is easy and lots of fun. Besides, raising chicken has many advantages. 

Nowadays raising chicken in the city is not restricted anymore and chickens are not only seen pecking and scratching in the countryside, surrounded by vast open spaces.

In some cities, the regulation of raising chickens are different.

Sometimes raising chicken in an urban area is restricted by local law, the naughty neighborhood. Also, the limitation of raising chicken of just a few hen.

But, this is the challenge of raising chicken in the city besides the predator that lurks your chicken. 

Keeping chicken is easy but we also need to look after. Just like a pet and other animals, chicken also needs more attention.

Then can I have chickens as pets? Keeping chicken is not only a hobby, but we can use them as pet companion that heals your stress.

Before starting breed or keep chicken, you must know what types of chicken that is suitable for you. Also, you must know how to the maintenance of chicken. Then let’s check this out! 

What should I know about keeping the chicken in Urban Area? 

If you are looking after chickens for the first time. Then, before you start keeping chicken then you must check the regulation of keeping the chicken.

Because some regions have strict rules for keeping a chicken. Some regions only allow to keep several hens but for the rooster is not allowed.

Actually chicken is a quite friendly. Eve, it can be a great way to teach children about responsibility and how to care for living things.

But the regulation is the most important because the chickens also have to be maintained in accordance with the guidelines of the policy.

Here the example of the regulation from the Brisbane City Council. The rules of keeping chickens in the urban areas : 

• If the total area of your residence is less than 800m2, then you can keep a maximum is 6 chickens. 
• NO roosters on residential properties
• Coops must be 1m from any dividing fences in the backyard
• Clear up the chickens waste from the backyard 
• Always give your chicken Fresh food and water 
• Take precautions to keep pests at bay i.e. storing food in tight containers so the chicken can be healthy.

But the in every countries region has different rules for maintenance of chicken. So better if you check the local council to know the local laws preventing you from keeping poultry.

Also, you must check how many limitations allowed you to keep the chicken and what chicken that is allowed by the local.

Sometimes there are laws about certain properties that prevent people from raising livestock. So check the law before going too far in raising chickens.

What is the next?

The next step is choosing the chicken and preparing the chicken coop care. Afterwards, you must decide what stage/age of chicken you would like to acquire.

For the newbie, the best choice is using the chicks instead of the hens, or mature chicken or hatching eggs.

Because the chicks are cheaper than the adult. Then how to look after baby chickens? You can use a box for your chicks coop and keep the chicken warm inside.

Also, you should give food, water, security, and keep the box cleanliness. So the chicken can stay healthy. 

There is two option box that you can use for your chicks coop. The box depends on the number of chickens.

Then the chicken coop care must set-up with the big cardboard box or a plywood box, then filling with pine shavings, feeder, waterer, and a heat lamp. This is a really affordable and simple way.  

Usually, there are many varieties of chicks that you can keep in an urban area.

You can keep some chicken based on the meat, laying eggs, or just for fun like an ornamental chicken. Also, you must consider your time to take care them. 

How Maintenance Of Chicken in Urban Area

When your chicken is growing up, then move them into the larger coop. So, you must have a larger coop that comfortable.

Then, for an adult chicken, you can create your own coop instead to buy the new one. But if you don’t have a lot of time to create your own chicken coop, you can buy from the second hand.

The coop is important to build in order to breed hens and cocks. You do not need the fancy coop that costs you much money.

It is because the basic purpose of a chicken coop is to protect chickens from bad weather – heat, cold, wind and rain and secure them from predators that lurk on them.

Even, the chicken has a coop is good to keep free-range your chickens at all possible. You know, it is because chicken love to be free.

So, when building the coop you must consider several things such as the place to roost, nesting boxes (for layers) and room to move around.

When your chicken starts laying eggs it needs more some of the tasks to tend daily and monthly. This task will make your hen happy, healthy and safe.

Then how to take care of egg-laying chickens?

Here is routine that you have to do to taking care of egg-laying chickens :

• We should check, refill, and clean the water in order to make sure your chicken has a clean supply water. We know that chicken does not like dirty water. 
• Feed chickens regularly. Feed your chicken as necessary and don’t give them too much food. The chicken also needs a supplement, so they can always go broody and healthy. 
• Collect eggs. Proper collection of chicken eggs is important for the health of eggs and chickens.
• Spend some time with the flock observing them ensure they look healthy. 

After the daily routine, There is also a monthly task of taking care The egg-laying chickens. Let’s check it!

• Manage the bed. If you are living in a city or in the suburbs, you should replace the bed in the cage at least monthly. It aims to keep the chicken coop clean and tidy. So your neighborhood would not complain. 
• Then, pay attention to the freshen nest boxes. When the bed in the nest box becomes dirty with dirt or cracked eggs, grab the wet or dirty part and replace with fresh bedding material. It helps to keep your chickens lying in the nest box, and also makes cleaning egg work easier.
• Clean and sanitize waterers. Clen it with the dish soap then scrub until clean and wash it with the warm water then rinse well. 

That’s all the point that you must consider when Maintenance Of Chicken in Urban Area. 

Another important is how to care for chickens for eggs. Actually, everyone wants fresh and clean chicken eggs. So, here’s the step of cleaning the chicken eggs :

• Collecting the eggs. The first is gathering the eggs as often as possible. You can manage to collect eggs twice a day.

  Then, make sure the eggs that you gather are clean as possible. It is to preventing eat their eggs. So, you must always take care the eggs often.
  
  

  

• Cleaning Chicken Eggs. The aims of cleaning eggs are to avoid the disease that occurs from the dirty eggs. There are two basic methods of cleaning chicken eggs: dry cleaning and wet cleaning.

  Usually, dry cleaning is a better choice rather than wet cleaning because it does not leave the natural protective layer of antibacterial on the eggshell.

  Wet cleaning may be necessary. If the egg is very dirty or there is an egg yolk attached to the shell, by washing the egg under warm water that flows from the tap.

  Water should be warmer than egg temperature but not hot. Dry each egg with a paper towel, and insert it into a clean or open carton or wire rack. 

• Tips for Storing Eggs. The eggs can be saved in the refrigerator and it can last until one month after the collection days.

  Also, the eggs can be packaged and sold them in the market. This is one of the opportunity business.  

What Is The  Benefit Of Maintenance Of Chicken In Urban Area

There are many benefits Maintenance Of Chicken In Urban Area.  The benefit of keeping in the urban area such as :

• The Organic fertilizer, The Chicken manure is an excellent source of fertilizer for both the lawn and garden. We can use it as the compose and composting chicken manure is a friendly way to change organic residues such as chicken waste. 
• The Natural Pest Control. Chicken loves to eat Flies, mosquito, insects, bugs so this is best for your plants keep growing as nature intended. 
• The Fresh Eggs. The fresh eggs can be used as daily meals companion also it can be a new opportunity for business. 
• The Fresh meat. Besides the eggs, the meet also can be the main course when family gathering or just daily consumption.
• Pet Companion. Chicken is human-friendly and easy to take care.

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