Fun Names for Chickens & Helpful Tips for First-Time Chicken Owners

Are you entertaining the idea of becoming a chicken owner? Or maybe, you’ve already decided to start this new journey. Either way, we’re here to share with you fun names for chickens and tips that are sure to help every new chicken owner. Learn about proper chicken diet, local ordinance, investment and so much more!

From naming your new chicks to getting their new home ready, there’s a lot to know about chickens. And, it’s all worth it because raising and caring for chickens is such an exciting and rewarding experience!

Funny Chicken Names

First things first! Naming your chickens is a part of the fun of being a chicken owner. From fun chicken names to ideas that may spark your imagination to create your own, we want to help you come up with the perfect name for your new chickens!

Here are some of our favorite names for chickens!

• Big Bird
• Birdie
• Chicken Little
• Chirpy
• Dixie Chick
• Doodle
• Flappy
• Fluffy
• Goldilocks
• Henny
• Honey
• Squeaks
• Tweet

Check out these rhyming chicken names for siblings or the inseparable pair!

• Dixie and Pixie
• Fox and Sox
• Honey and Sunny
• Penny and Henny 
• Sweety and Tweety

Did you know chickens can even learn their own name? How fun! The more you call your chicken by their name, they’ll eventually be able to recognize it. Did you know chickens have the intelligence of a 3-4 year old?! Pretty neat. They also can recognized up to 100 faces.

First-Time Chicken Owners Tips & Tricks

Now that you’ve got some ideas for fun names for chickens, let’s take a look at some other things to know as a first-time chicken owner. There’s a lot to know about raising and caring for chickens. Here are some of our top tips!

Check your local ordinance.

While most towns do allow chickens, it’s always a good idea to confirm this. Check your city’s code to find out if you can keep chickens and if there’s a limit on how many. There also may be a restriction on roosters and how many you can have. Our town allows 1 rooster per acre regardless on if you have neighbors or not.

Consider the investment.

While there are many things first-time chicken owners can invest in, these are some of the most important things you’ll need to purchase.

• A chicken coop
• Chicken Waterers
• Chicken Feeders and food
• Roosts
• Chicken Bedding
• Nesting box
• Chicken Wire
• Chicken First-aid Kit

And, of course, keep in mind that vet care may be a necessary investment.

Understand different breeds.

There are a variety of chicken breeds to choose from. These include standard, bantam, exotic, and heritage breeds. Traits such as personality, physical appearance, and egg-laying capacity vary by breed.

With that said, you’ll want to consider a few things when choosing a breed. These include how much space you have, what your goals are with raising chickens, etc. For example, you’ll want good, hearty laying hens if you’re looking to produce eggs and broiler chickens if you want meat. If you don’t care about either, there are many different novelty chicken breed options

There are many different breeds of chicken. You can check out an extensive list here! 

Ensure you have space for a chicken coop.

One of the most important aspects of raising chickens is having enough space. This may mean reworking the space in your yard. A chicken’s size determines how much space it will need, but will vary from 2-10 square feet.

And, of course, you’ll need the coop and run once you figure out space. The chicken coop is an enclosed space where the chicken sleeps and lays eggs. The run is a secured outdoor area where your chickens can hang out. The run should always, always, always have a covered part to it to protect your flock from predators and weather. The entire run does not need to be covered but a minimum of 25% to ensure the chickens stay safe and dry.

Understand how to care for your chicken(s).

One of the best parts about being a new chicken owner, aside from how cute they are and the benefits of raising chicks, is how easy they are to care for. With that said, there are some things to know to make sure they’re properly cared for.

Feeding 

As mentioned, you’ll need feeders and waterers for your chickens. If you’re bringing home older chickens, you may want to stick with the same watering and feeding system that they’re used to.

Chickens should always have fresh, clean water available. It must be changed daily, especially during the warmer months when algae can occur. As for food, chickens eat a variety of things. A chicken diet should be well-balanced and consist of grains, vegetables, and fruits. They’ll also eat outdoor creatures like worms and bugs if you let them free range.

The type of feed will depend on your flock. You can start with grower feed for chicks and work your way up to layer feed. However, if you have roosters, you must not feed him layer feed as it has too much calcium that can eventually kill him. We recommend an all-flock feed for mixed flocks which provides just enough calcium for the hens but not too much to cause your rooster to become ill.

Clean-up

For easy clean-up, we recommend you maintain your chickens’ coop as often as possible. Most chicken owners prefer a coop with easy access to make this process as simple as possible.  

Frequent cleaning tasks include:

• Scoop up chicken droppings.
• Clean feeders and waterers.
• Collect eggs.
• Replace nesting materials.

Regular, but less frequent cleaning tasks include:

• Do a full cleaning of nesting materials, feathers, dirt, and droppings.
• Wipe down all hard surfaces.

Healthcare

Having a chicken first-aid kit is essential for every chicken owner. Chickens are bound to suffer from an injury or illness at some point in their life, so having a well-supplied first aid kit can come in very handy.

Check out our full list of contents for your chicken first aid kit!

Bedtime

Generally, chickens will willingly go into their coop after sunset. If not, make sure their coop is a cozy place that’s clean and dry. You can also encourage them with a fruit or veggie treat. To ensure safety at night, you’ll want to make sure you have a way to lock up their coop at bedtime.

If you have recently put chicks out into their coop and run, they made need encouragement the first couple of weeks to go to bed in the coop, but they will eventually get the hang of things. It’s like riding a bike, once they learn, they never forget!

Key Takeaways

Raising chickens is such a fun experience and they’re fairly easy to care for! We hope we’ve helped you get inspired with fun names for chickens and tips to start your journey as a first-time chicken owner.

If you’re looking for fun products for chicken lovers, check out Crafty Chicken Company’s shop!

Do you have any questions or tips to add to our list? If so, leave a comment below!