Chickens and Hens

Chicken welfare: what are the rules to be respected?

Hens are fragile animals, with a mild character and perfect as a pet. All animals that live with humans, however, must see the minimum standards of life respected, in order to spend a peaceful and above all long, healthy existence. Therefore it is good to implement a series of practices aimed at guaranteeing and preserving the welfare of the hens, whether you let them live in your home or choose to keep them in a garden chicken coop.

Domestic garden chicken coops

First of all, hens love to live in the open air, run around free, find themselves some snacks and in general benefit from a constant relationship with the earth. Those who live in apartments should therefore avoid buying laying hens for themselves and instead opt for ornamental species, such as Dutch hen or the Paduan, which are perfect as pets and are able to live with less stress at home. In general, however, it is advisable to choose a hen or more, as a pet or as a farm animal, when you have a garden, even a small one, or in any case an open space where animals can live in close contact with nature. In fact, this is one of the factors that most affects the psychophysical well-being of hens.

However, there are other factors that come into play, especially the type of domestic chicken coop in which it is decided to let the hens sleep. The chicken coop is in fact a potentially dangerous place for these animals, if chosen and treated without knowledge of the facts.

Il first of all, chicken coop must be spacious or in any case its size must be commensurate with the type and numerical quantity of hens that you own. The chicken coops are sold with explicit specification of their capacity, so that each owner can identify the one of the most suitable size for his hens. They range from a minimum of three / four specimens up to twenty, with an offer of chicken coops which is therefore quite vast and varied. Never choose the chicken coop going to the savings though. If you have fifteen hens, a chicken coop with a capacity of ten is not good, as in confined spaces the hens suffer and with consequences that can be very negative.

chicken coop cucciolottaThe clean chicken coop makes the hens happy

In fact, if the hens are forced into confined and promiscuous spaces, they enter a stressful condition that weakens their immune system, exposing them to the risk of contracting potentially lethal diseases. Think about saving some money by choosing one chicken coop smaller than necessary it will end up making you spend that saved money on medicine, if not on other chickens. It is no coincidence that intensive farms stuff poor animals with drugs and antibiotics, precisely because in tight and busy environments the probability of contracting diseases increases exponentially. This is also due to the dirt factor. If the house is not regularly cleaned and sanitized, the hens will be exposed to infections quite serious, which will undermine their health and affect their general well-being. We must therefore opt for easy to disassemble chicken coops, which simplify cleaning operations, and which are built with quality materials, such as to minimize the chances of contagion.

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