Housing The
more space you can give your chickens the better, bearing in mind your
chickens will spend most of their day outside in the run and only a small
amount of time in the nest box to lay their eggs and then at night to sleep
on the perch. The rest of the time
they are outside in their run or garden. A
chicken needs at least 6-8 inches of perch space each, with the perching
being approximately 2 inches in diameter, with no sharp right angled
edges. Your chicken house must also
have a nest box (the ratio is 1 nest box to 4 birds) in which you put either
wood shavings or straw. Hay and
sawdust is not recommended as they can contain a lot of dust, which over time
will cause your birds respiratory problems. There must be adequate ventilation in your
chicken house too. You
must clean your chicken house out every week, and when the heat of the Spring
starts until the late Autumn, you must use Red Mite powders/solutions every
week to deter red mite that love to live in the cracks and crevices of your
chicken coop. The
most important thing of all is to ensure your chicken house is as fox proof
as you can possibly make it. Always
ensure you shut your chickens away at night by closing the pop hole, and if
you let you birds out in the garden always be with them, as Mr Fox is waiting
for you to “pop in for a cup of tea”, and will strike quickly and devastate
your flock. A strong bolt on the door
is a good thing too. Feeding Feed
your birds with good quality Layers Pellets or Layers Mash, this has all the
vitamins and nutrients for a chicken’s long life and maximum egg
production. You can also supplement
their diet with vegetable scraps from the kitchen, including apples, apple
cores, greens, tomatoes etc. They love
warm potato peelings, but they must be cooked (potato peelings with eyes are
poisonous). Pasta and rice are also
enjoyed plus small amounts of bread.
Lettuce in large quantities should be avoided as it is approximately
95% water, with no great nutritional goodness. No meat should be given to your birds. Too many greens will give them diarrhoea. Ensure
you give your birds grit and oystershell, the grit
will act as their teeth and grind down the feed that they eat, and the
oystershell will dissolve in their gullet and give calcium for their own
bodies, as well as to strengthen the eggs shells they produce. Mixed
corn or wheat is adored, a treat you can give them by sprinkling it on the
ground (doing your Farmer Giles impression!), or putting it in your hand and
offering it to them. They will love
you forever… Access
to fresh grass (not grass cuttings) is also advised. Very long grass must be avoided as this can
develop into a hard ball inside their crop and your chicken will get impacted
crop. Always
remember the ‘goodness you feed to your chickens’ the ‘goodness you get
out’. You are the ones going to eat
the lovely eggs that you girls produce, so give them good quality
feed/produce. Frequently Asked Questions Do chickens bite? No,
chickens tentatively peck. Don’t forget the chicken’s beak is like their
hand, they use it to hold onto things, and to eat with. They love to peck/explore new things,
especially sparkly things like rings and bracelets. Painted toe nails (enter at your
peril!). They will gently peck at
anything to see what it is, and to see if it is edible. As with any animal, if you treat it with
the respect it deserves, they will love you forever. How much food should I give them? Fill
up your feeder with layers pellets or layers mash,
never let the feeder run dry. Chickens
will not over eat on layers pellets/mash.
Mix a small amount of oystershell and grit in with your pellets/mash. Treats/’sweeties’ such as corn, vegetable
scraps etc, should be given in the afternoon,
ensuring that the chickens have had a good quantity of their layers
pellets/mash before filling them up with the ‘sweeties’ they so adore. Fresh water should always be available
during the day. Do I put food/water in the chicken
coop at night? Chickens
do not have a night light that they can turn on and have a midnight
feast! Once a chicken has gone to bed,
it has literally gone to bed. If there
is enough space in the coop, keep the feeder in there permanently, this will
reduce the amount of vermin the feed will attract. The water can be kept either inside or
outside, again it just depends on the space within the house itself. How do I introduce new hens to an
existing flock? This
is never easy, but if done correctly, the squabbling will soon be over, and
once the new pecking order has been established peace, not war, will
reign. You must never introduce a
single hen to a flock of established birds, unless you have only one original
hen. It
is best to introduce your birds at night, once your existing girls have gone
to bed, you then introduce your new girls by putting them in between the old
girls on the perch, so that they get used to the smell of one another, and
then in the morning they need to get used to ‘sharing’ and the looks of the
new birds too. Having a temporary
feeder and drinker positioned where your new girls feel most secure for a few
days, is recommended, just to ensure the new birds get enough food and water
until the new pecking order is established. Or
you can put your new hens in a separate run, so that both sets of hens can
see one another, and after a few weeks let them roam in your garden together
and they will soon become one flock. The
last option is to remove the hen causing the most problems for a week or
so. The flock will have established
its pecking order, and then you add the original hen back into the main flock, the pecking order will change but settle quite
quickly to harmony. Chickens poo, and its different
consistencies/colours A
lovely topic… Moving chickens to a new environment is stressful for them, and
the consistency of their poo can change/vary especially at this time. Chicken poo at the best of times varies
quite a lot, sometimes it is solid and compact, other times it is runny,
smelly or yellow all of this is perfectly normal. However if the poo from the same chicken is
constantly out of sorts, I always recommend either Apple Cider Vinegar or Vermex (wormer) is added to their water. Don’t forget too much greenstuff,
out of date feed, mouldy feed, stress, etc, will give
them the runs too. The first eggs are small!?! Generally,
within the first few weeks of your chickens laying eggs, the eggs will be
small. Over the coming months the eggs
will increase in size and depending on the breed of bird will at least increase
(assuming they are large fowl), to a medium, large, and possibly extra large egg.
Wow, an egg worth fighting over at breakfast! Do I need a cockerel for the hens
to produce lots of eggs? You
only need a cockerel if you wish to have fertile eggs and produce young
chicks. Having a cockerel will not
make the hens produce more eggs. What do I take my new hens home in? A
cat carrier or cardboard box is an ideal means of transportation. Just ensure there are ventilation holes in
the box, and preferably a little bit of straw for your new girls to snuggle
down into on their journey. The box
can be about the size of a crisp box, but must be at least 18 inches
tall. You do not need an individual
box per bird. Can I mix the breeds/colours? Yes,
but what you must remember is that they must be all the same ‘size’,
otherwise bullying will occur.
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