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Backyard Chicken Starter Kit 🐔
18
items Everything we actually use to keep our backyard flock happy and laying on our Texas micro-homestead, from coop setup to feed, water, and flock first aid. I put this list together for anyone starting out with backyard chickens, because I remember how ...
Sections
3
Coop and Setup
Feed, Water and Supplements
Flock Health and Bedding
Coop and Setup
Our coop setup; roomy and easy to clean. It's the home base for our flock, so having a coop with room to move makes daily chores simpler.
Producer's Pride Sentinel Chicken Coop
Keeps feed off the ground and out of the bedding. It's a feeder and waterer set, so the girls get both in one tidy setup that holds a good amount.
Twin Cup Chicken Waterer & Feeder Set 10lbs/2Gal
Fill it once and stop worrying for days. It holds 2 gallons, so I don't have to refill constantly when we're busy.
Rugged Ranch 2-Gallon Poultry Waterers for Chicken
A must for those rare Texas freezes. It's a waterer with a heating element, so the water doesn't turn to ice on a cold morning.
Heated Poultry Waterer
These red flashing lights give me some peace of mind at night for the coop. They're solar powered and come as a 4-pack, so I can set them around the run near Dallas.
Solar Predator Deterrent Lights, 4-Pack
Our Texas summers are no joke, so I wanted better airflow for the coop. This is a solar-powered exhaust fan kit made for chicken coops, so it doesn't need an outlet.
DC House 20W Solar Exhaust Fan Kit
Our girls love having extra room to roam safely outside the coop. This is a large walk-in metal chicken run with a waterproof cover, so I can step inside to do chores.
UGGUO Walk-In Metal Chicken Run
I wanted to automate a few little chores around the coop. This is a programmable 12V timer switch with an LCD display, and the listing says it works for things like coop doors.
JVR 12V Programmable Timer Switch
Feed, Water and Supplements
Our summer heat lifesaver in their water. It's a powder electrolyte I mix into their water on hot Texas days.
Free choice so they can digest everything properly. I keep a big 25-lb bag on hand so the hens can help themselves whenever they need it.
MANNA PRO Poultry Grit Supplement, 25-lb bag
Strong shells, happy hens. It's a calcium supplement I offer on the side, and the 50 lb bag lasts a good while for our flock.
Manna Pro Oyster Shell Poultry Treats, 50 lb.
Our summer heat lifesaver in their water.
Manna Pro Hydro-Hen Poultry Electrolyte
Their favorite treat; they come running. It's an organic scratch grain mix, so I toss it out as a fun snack and enjoy watching them scratch around.
Cluck & Co. Organic Scratch Grain Mix Chicken Treats
Perfect for chicks and broody hens. It's a 1 quart jar that screws onto a base, which makes it a simple waterer for smaller birds.
Little Giant® Screw-On Poultry Jar | 1 Quart
My girls go wild for these dried black soldier fly larvae as a treat. It's a 5 lb bag, so it lasts a good while for our little flock here near Dallas.
I Love Worms Dried Black Soldier Fly Larvae, 5 lb
Flock Health and Bedding
First thing I grab for pecks and scrapes. It's a spray made for poultry, so it's easy to keep in my flock first aid kit.
Vetericyn Plus Poultry Wound Care Spray
Soft, absorbent, and smells clean. I use these pine shavings as bedding in the coop, and the big 8 cu. ft. bag goes a long way.
Tractor Supply Flake Premium Pine Shavings, 8 cu. ft.
Sprinkle it in the coop to keep odor down. It's a 25 lb bag of granules that I scatter over the bedding as part of regular coop cleaning.
Sweet PDZ Stall Refresher Odor Eliminator, 25 lb.
Dust bathing is one of my hens' favorite pastimes. This is an all-natural volcanic ash dust bath in a 5.5 lb container, made in the USA.
Billy Buckskin Volcanic Ash Dust Bath, 5.5 lb