For most families, chicken chores are the wife's or children's responsibility. Chickens are usually kept in a separate building called a chicken house or hen house. It is often made of wood with a slanted roof and small doors just large enough for the chickens to get through to go out in a fenced-in pen (chicken yard). The yard is mostly mud, dirt and chicken poop.

The wife might wear overshoes to enter the hen house as it is a messy, smelly place. The Dad or kids are usually responsible for cleaning out the chicken house. They typically wait longer than they should to clean it as it is not a favorite chore, that's for sure!