What the Chook!

You’ve decided a few chooks would be nice….

Once you have decided you would like to keep a few chickens as pets and also to have fresh eggs on a regular basis, you’ll be confronted with many many possible breeds to choose from. Take a little time to find local breeders, go visit them so you can view the adult birds you are considering. You may find you’d like a mixture of chooks, some large, some small, different colourings, different egg colours… the list is long. Pure bred chickens are far more colourfal and varied than hybrids, but you may decide to keep it simple and go for a few hybrid hens all in the same colour and be done with it.

If you main consideration is steady egg production then hybrids are probably for you. They are usually vaccinated also. However, some breeders of pure bred chickens vaccinate also.

Our hybrid hens free ranging

Once you have chosen a breed, how many is a good number to go for? A family of four would do well with 2-3 hens as pets and for egg production. However, not all breeds of hen lay all year round. Many breeds are seasonal egg layers, so be prepared for egg production to drop off considerably in winter months with many hens. The breeder will be able to give you a good idea of how many eggs per year on average your hens should lay.

Many people opt to keep a few more hens and mix things up a little. Having some bantams (small chickens) or a fancy large breed. Each to their own. But be warned, some of the fancy breeds need time and effort in their care and are not as hardy as other breeds and hybrids. Bantams are for the most part lovely pets, but for egg production don’t count on them as prolific egg layers. My Pekins lay on average about 60 small eggs a year, from spring into summer. Then once the breeding season has passed and the days get cooler, egg production drops off till they finally stop laying for the winter. I don’t usually see an egg from them between October to March or April. Personally, I always favour pure breeds as pets and keep the hybrids purely for their egg production.

One of my Pekin bantam chicks in early summer 2007

And no, you don’t need to keep a cock bird to have eggs from hens. Hens on their own without a man will do just fine!

What do you need before you bring your new chickens home?

A decent sized hen house and secure run (preferably made with weld mesh as its far stronger than chicken wire). This should be a comfortable size for the number of chickens you intend to keep. It should have a nest box and the correct size pop hole for the chooks to get in and out of it. If second hand and made of timber its advisable to check it for mites etc and give it a good clean before hand. If new, you may want to give it a coat of something to protect it, but most hen houses seem to be pre-weather proofed these days.

I have gone for all timber chicken housing and have no felt or anything on the roof panels as this invites mites and bugs to come have a party at the expense of your chooks. I find timber easy to maintain and treat. No panels I cannot get to and clean if needed.

Ensure perches are the correct size for your chickens feet. Bantams should not be using the large perches that standard large breed chickens would use. They can’t get their feet round them. Check with the manufacturer as to the perch size you’ll require.

A feeder and drinker. Again, a decent size for the number of chickens. Fresh water is a must for chooks once out of the hen house for the day. Three large hens can drink up to about a litre a day in hot weather. Feed pellets should be on hand all the time for them also.

Bedding - Everyone is different with regards to what they use in the hen house for bedding and on the floor. Some use shavings, others a special dust free bedding, some use straw in the nest boxes… I use dust free shavings on the floor (meant to be better than plain shavings as chooks don’t then breathe in the dust) and a small amount of straw on a small bed of shavings in the nest boxes. I’ve tried just shavings and just straw/hay but they seem to prefer the mix. I put all my shavings down on newspaper sheets and clean them out once a week, more in high summer.

Things you should/could keep in stock for regular care and emergencies

These are all the things I keep in stock to help maintain my chicken flock and for emergency treatment on occasion. Some ermegency items I’ve never needed to use, but keep to hand just in case.

Day to day care

• Poultry feed - layers pellets or mash for grown laying hens
• Apple cider vinegar (ACV) - to add to drinking water to prevent worms. Unrefined from horse feed merchants
• Respite - A tonic made from natural ingredients added to drinking water
• Poultry Spice - A powder you sprinkle on and mix in to chicken feed for general wellbeing.
• Lice/mite powder or mite spray - For chickens and housing. Various ones are available. Research as to what will be best for you and your chooks.
• Syringe or measuring pot - for measuring out quantities
• Grit - chickens needs grit to break down their food. Ensure grit is avaiable at all times, especially if not free ranging.
• Oyster shell (crushed) - part of the diet as helps prevent soft egg shells. Again, keep on hand at all times.

Most of the above can be purchased from your local feed merchant (not pet shop). Respite is available to purchase online.

Emergency/occasional use items

• Flubenvet or other good worming product
• Red mite powder - For treatment and as a repellant.
• Coxoid (emergency only) - If you have an outbreak of coccidiosis in your flock, you will need to treat quickly, so always good to have a bottle in stock.
• Dog clippers or metal file (only if you plan to keep a grown cock bird and therefore will need to trim his spurs on occasion)
• Hibiscrub - I use this as an antibacterial wash on wounds. If in doubt check with your vet before using (available from chemists)
• Surgical spirt and vaseline - for treatment of scaley leg
• Wound powder - for treatment of minor wounds

I’ll expand and include more detail to this list in the coming days.