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Keeping Chickens   Coops & Runs  

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Keeping chickens is a great hobby. it is fun, relaxing and entertaining. You also have the bonus of fresh eggs every day, free manure and a great topic of conversation !

Housing

  You can spend as much or as little as you like on housing for chickens. Some people prefer to dedicate a whole shed to them, while others house them in specially designed chicken arks or coops.

An outdoor run is essential, as chickens love nothing more than foraging for worms and grubs.

This can be an enclosed run similar to what you would use for a rabbit or guinea pig, or a fenced in area. The recommended height for this would be about 4 feet high. This will keep most birds in, however some breeds are very flighty (such as the leghorn and white star), and you may need to clip one wing. This does not hurt the chickens and by only clipping one wing, you throw the chicken off balance which means it can’t take off.

Cockerels or not ?  

You don’t need a cockerel for your hens to lay eggs, and if you live in a built up area it’s probably not a good idea as your neighbours may not appreciate an early alarm call !

However if you wish to hatch your eggs under a broody hen or in an incubator, you will need a cockerel.

One cockerel will quite happily service up to 10 hens, giving you lots of fertile eggs.

They can have great character and are known for keeping the hens in order. However , do not keep 2 or more cockerels together unless they have grown up together or they will fight.

Feeding

Chickens do not cost a lot to feed. They can be fed on layers pellets or mash , preferably in the morning in a covered feeder. Once they have had their fill you can feed wheat or corn scattered across the grass in the afternoon. Chickens also enjoy greens such as cabbage, and kitchen scraps like bread or cereals.

Drinking

Chickens need to have a constant supply of fresh clean drinking water available at all times.

There are many drinkers available on the market , we find that the ones you can hang up are the best as they don’t get mucky so quickly.

Drinkers should be washed out regularly to avoid diseases .

Grit

Chickens should always have access to grit , either in their diet or separately . This is vital as it provides calcium to give the eggs good strong shells.

Cleaning

The hen house floor can be covered in dust free shavings or dry straw. This should be changed weekly , but obviously the more birds you have , the more often it will need changing.

You can use the waste as plant manure , but it’s best to leave it to rest a while as fresh manure can be too strong for your plants .

A clean house is so important in the fight against pests and diseases which are easily avoided with good hygiene practices.

Moulting

Do not be alarmed if your chickens start to lose their feathers !

Once a year they will moult . During this time they may go off lay and seem down in the dumps .

Within a few weeks or so they will have a brand new plumage and be as right as rain again .

Now is a good time to give an all round vitamin supplement , but you can do this all year round anyway if you wish.

P ecking order

You will notice that certain birds in the flock are more dominant and bossy than the others .

This is natural among chickens and you may notice it more if you introduce new birds into the flock . The older birds may pick on the newer one/s , sometimes so much so that you have to isolate one or two .

Many people will isolate the new birds , but we have found that if you isolate the bully , they hate being away from the others so much that after 2 days or so they will happily go back into the flock and play nicely from then on !

Health

Generally if you follow good hygiene practices , there is not too much to worry about with chickens .

Things to watch for are ;

A messy tail end

Sticky eyes or beak

General lethargy

Lack of appetite

Runny droppings

If you are worried about any of these things you can consult a vet , and there is a wealth of information on the internet and in books and libraries where you can try to solve the problem .

Enjoy your chickens !  

The most important thing to rember is to enjoy your chickens.

They will entertain you for hours and many of them become quite tame and will come and peck your boots at feeding time or try to perch on your knee if you are knelt down.