If you are facing a potential lockdown as a chicken owner, this short article will share 5 things you need to do to prepare yourself and your flock to endure feed store closures, shortages, and long days at home. Here are all my tips for surviving and thriving while chicken keeping during a lockdown:
Chicken Keeping During A Lockdown
This article is written from my personal experience during Covid lockdowns of 2020 and the notes I kept while living on one acre in Magnolia, Texas. I’ll list the things I was glad to have and what I wished I would have had. Let’s get prepared!
1. Get Chicken Feed Now
Feeding your flock is a priority. Whether you use organic or whole seed feeds delivered by Amazon, layer pellets from Tractor Supply or whole seed from a local feed store, you should stock up on the feed and scratch you want to give your hens. Also stock up on meal worms so you have a good source of protein. (Affiliate links.) Chickens can forage to feed themselves in a fenced yard or pasture but having a bit of feed helps ensure they will get enough calories.
2. Prepare for Secure Yard Ranging
The feed stores are likely going to sell out of chicken food which means your girls will probably spend a bit more time free ranging. With everyone home, it will be easy to keep an eye on the hens. If you have wanted to invest in electric poultry netting, now is the time to order it. If hawks are a problem, a spool of fishing line or red yarn zig-zaged overhead all around your yard can make it difficult for a hawk to swoop down on them.
You may need to do some extra tasks, such as fixing broken gate latches that might blow open in the wind, placing large pavers over holes the neighbor’s dog is digging under your fence and add cover for the hens in the form of a large bush or shade cloth. Tend to these tasks now while stores are open. You may also need to clip your hen’s wings (painlessly trim the flight feathers) so they don’t clear the fence to “visit” the neighbor dogs. (Affiliate links.)
3. Ensure Your Hens wIll Have Water
It is unlikely that you will lose water service during lockdown. But if there is a freak storm or disaster that causes loss of running water, skeleton crews may be slower at restoring service. If you would feel better having 24-72 hours worth of water for your flock, buy it while stores have gallon jugs in stock now.
4. Have Chicken First Aid Supplies
Here are the supplies I keep on-hand for tending to my flock’s minor emergencies:
Grandma’s brand molasses (available at grocery stores)
Elderberry syrup (original formula is chicken safe, no night time formulas)
Vetericyn Poultry Spray (for all wounds and flesh injuries)
Blue Kote spray (stops hens from pecking at red, bloody wounds)
Nano Silver in a travel pump spray bottle (very chicken safe, especially for eye wounds)
Bacitracin ointment (safe for use on chickens)
2×2 inch Gauze squares
SafeGuard liquid wormer (directions for chicken use are in this article on cleaner laid eggs)
Epsom salt (to soak an egg bound hen)
VetRx Poultry Remedy (150 year old remedy that uses Balsam, Oregano and Rosemary essential oils)
5. Prepare for Eggs to Sell Out at the Grocery Store
Talk of lockdowns tends to create egg, bread, butter and milk shortages. During the 2020 lockdowns my phone was a chirping, buzzing mess of frequent texts from friends and neighbors asking if I had eggs. Texts for eggs came in all day, every day for weeks on end. Worse, fear of pandemic viruses can translate to a fear of “chicken germs” so eggs and their packaging must be extremely clean and professional looking. Cartons should be brand new and have Federal Safe Handling Instructions appear on the outside of the carton for any eggs sold in the United States. My Etsy shop has stamps that can help keep you legally compliant during a time when there will certainly be extra egg scrutiny. Blank cartons for stamping in bulk can be found here, here, and here or purchased in smaller quantities on Amazon. (Amazon affiliate link.)
Free Egg Wait List Printable PDF!
You will probably need to keep a paper wait list so you can keep track of who gets eggs next. Being organized and setting realistic expectations of when friends, family and neighbors can expect to get eggs from you will help. Since most recipes call for 2 or 3 eggs, selling by the half dozen can help you get eggs into more people’s hands sooner.
>>> Download our Egg Wait List Printable Here! <<<
What Else?
Lockdowns tend to spark chick buying panics. You may decide you want to add to your flock or offer some chicks for sale. An incubator and chick brooding supplies such as a warming plate, chick waterer, brooder, bedding and chick crumbles may prove to be a good investment. This article walks you through how to care for baby chicks from the moment they hatch until they go into the coop and this article walks you through how to hatch using the Nurture Right 360 incubator. (Affiliate links.)
Share Your Experience!
Your knowledge helps others! Please feel free to share your stories and experience with chicken keeping during a lockdown in the comments below!
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