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Taking care of chickens is about more than just getting a coop set up and feeding them every day. Not only do you have to take care of chickens’ most obvious needs, such as movement, cleanliness, and sustenance, but you also have to prepare the chickens for each new season. New conditions come as the season changes, and since your chickens are outside, you have to protect them from those conditions.
As we start to transition into fall, here are 8 fall chicken coop preparations you need to make before it’s too late and your flock suffers.
The most straightforward preparation you can make is to clean the coop. Regular cleaning is important all year round, but the change of the season is the perfect time to deep clean.
Do all the things you probably do every week or so. Clean out the food containers, change out any bedding that’s present, spray off dirt and debris, etc.
However, you should take things one step further.
Use a mild soap and water to scrub the roof, clean your mobile chicken coop’s bars, and make sure to clean out the mechanical parts of your mobile chicken coop.
Not only does this create a better environment for the chickens, but it also helps prolong your coop’s lifespan, as well.
As fall settles in, the temperature is going to drop. It might not be winter with extremely low temperatures yet, but the change is substantial enough to warrant adding some insulation to your coop.
This is fairly simple. Make sure you add straw or other bedding material to the coop, and if the climate is particularly harsh in your region, use more substantial methods to block wind and other problematic weather conditions.
Try to provide enough to deal with the fall temperature drop without going too far.
While it’s not quite winter, and the most extreme weather is likely a few months off, this is the perfect time to check the integrity of the coop.
You don’t want to let a small issue go unnoticed until the winter season starts. That small issue can become a bigger one, and it’ll be much more difficult to handle it in the freezing winter than it is during a calm fall transition.
Check to make sure there are no tears in your mobile coop’s roof, wheels are in good shape, the mechanical parts are functioning properly, and all the coop accessories are free of damage.
Consider this part of fall prep to also be a little bit of winter prep, as well. You’ll have more time in comfortable weather to order parts, make repairs, and do anything else before harsh weather hits.
One of the key benefits of our mobile chicken coops is that you can easily move them around. This helps a lot with seasonal changes.
You know the temperature is going to drop, and the land is going to start changing. So, you can look for a spot on your property that is warmer, not likely to gather tons of leaves when the trees shed, and is more likely to provide a good spot for the chickens in the new weather conditions.
You might want to move the coop closer to your home for easier access or an available heat source, get it away from trees, etc. The exact details will vary due to everyone’s property being unique.
If you’re using a ventilation system and closing in your coop, now is the time to make sure that the ventilation system is in good shape.
As the colder weather moves in, late-night freezes and similar issues can cause problems if the ventilation system isn’t functioning properly.
This isn’t a problem for all chicken keepers, but if it applies to you, it is important.
Predators are always an issue with chicken coops, so it’s important to protect your chickens from predators by having strong measures in place. As fall comes around, some predators can get a little more active while they prepare for winter.
Take some time to go over all your anti-predator measures and ensure that they’re working just fine. Whether that means checking fences for holes, fixing issues with the coop itself, ensuring your farm dogs are in good shape to protect the coop, or anything else.
This will depend on where you’re raising your chickens and the types of predators that are around, but it’s always a good idea to do a check.
Your flock will start molting in the fall, and that will happen for up to twelve weeks. Preparing for this requires you to increase the protein in the feed you’re providing. Load your coop up with more protein-rich options at each feeding to give your chickens what they need to molt properly.
Beyond changing the diet of the chickens, you should also prepare to put in more cleaning and maintenance work. Clearing the coop of feathers, monitoring the chickens for health issues, and similar tasks need to be maintained through the molting period.
Finally, it’s a good idea to acknowledge your future preparations and get them ready ahead of time.
You don’t need to implement winter preps right now. The goal is to determine what you’ll need to do in a few months based on your preps now, get your materials together, and plan out how you’ll implement them later.
Like we said earlier, the calmer weather of fall is easier to work in. If you get your figure out what you’ll need to improve for winter now, you’ll be able to handle the winter preps more effectively later.
Most of the fall chicken coop preparations we listed here are a lot easier to handle when you have a mobile chicken coop.
Make your life easier and provide a better environment for your flock with a mobile coop from Chicken Ranger.
We offer high-quality mobile chicken coops in three dimensions - 6x8, 10x12, and 12x12, so every chicken keeper can find a coop that truly fits their needs.
Contact us today and let’s find the perfect coop for your flock!