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  • Want to make your chickens happy? Throw a corncob into their enclosure.
     

  • Spread food all over their territory. A chicken has to stay occupied and having to look around for food is a great passtime.
     

  • A layer of shredded bark prevents wet feet and mud.

Chicken Tips:

Chickens

Chickens in the garden are an absolute joy, for so many reasons.

 

They are social birds, more intelligent than you would give them credit for, fun to watch, great if you have children around and they perform a set of duties in and around your garden that makes them quite useful to have about.

There are many good reasons to keep chickens:
 

  • They are expert waste handlers. They eat most of your organic kitchen and garden waste and they do it for free.

  • Caring for chickens is not difficult at all and even young children can help. It teaches them to handle and respect animals, how nature works and responsibility.

  • Chickens are quite cheap. Some special breeds might cost a little more upon purchase, but all chickens are very cheap to care for.

  • Fresh, free-range eggs, all year round. Enough said.

  • Chickens produce free manure, which can be used, together with compost, in the (vegetable) garden.

  • Depending on your garden, you can allow them to roam free, so they can aid you with snail and weed control.

  • Even with limited space, you can still keep chickens. The rule here is, ironically, the larger the breed, the less space it needs.

 

Yet, you also have to know:

 

  • Chickens are social animals, so you will need to keep at least two birds. Three is ideal for a moderate family.

  • Chickens are birds and they do fly. Be prepared to learn how to clip them, or build a enclosed coop.

  • If you decide to keep a rooster (which is not really necessary to keep chickens), you might want to talk that plan through with your neighbours first.

  • Be prepared to visit your chickens at least once a day. They need to be fed and watered and eggs need to be collected.

 

There are many breeds and varieties of chickens, and you need to think about which chickens you’ll be adopting. Chickens can be divided in two broad categories: the ones you keep for the eggs, the ones you keep for the meat (I know it’s a generalization, but it makes things easy). This choice comes with a few consequences though. The smaller breeds, often good at laying eggs, will need more space and a higher fence. The larger, heavier breeds known for their meat, often need less space and don’t fly as high.

Chickens are best bought in spring, when they are about 18 -20 weeks old. You can raise them from chicks as well, but you never know for certain you won’t be adopting a rooster if you do.

Housing
 

Chickens ideally roam about a free range garden, but not everyone has that luxury (I know I don’t) They still need some space though. The outside area is roughly calculated: 2-5 square metres for each chicken. The smaller breeds need more running space, the larger breeds are satisfied with a little less. Two squares metres per chicken is a minimum though.

The chicken coop itself needs to be about 1 metre x 75 centimetres large for three medium-sized chickens. You might need a bigger one if you opt for the larger breeds. It needs to be at least 80-90 centimetres high.

 

Make sure it is well ventilated, but not drafty. It’s best to place the entrance south- or eastwards to prevent the main winds from blowing right through the coop. It needs to be rainproof and it’s always commendable if you can open a panel or the roof to easily clean out the coop.

 

You can try to grow some grass inside the chicken pen, but if it’s enclosed, chances are the chickens will eradicate that lawn within two weeks. I often opt for a layer of mulched bark, to keep the enclosure from turning into a muddy pool, especially in winter. Bushes are often a great addition to your enclosure: they offer the chickens shade when the sun is high. I have planted elderberry bushes, which I trim to keep them relatively compact, in our enclosure.

 

Make sure the whole is predator-proof. If your area has foxes or members of the weasel-family about, you might want to use hardwire, both for the enclosure, as dug in in a small trench all around the enclosure. Foxlights and other deterrents can work as well.

Interior decoration
 

Inside your coop, start with a layer of absorbing material. I often use a mix of birch shavings and sawdust on the floor of our coop. You will also need some nesting material, mostly hay, for your chickens to lay their eggs in.

 

A coop also needs a place to sleep. This is often a raised stick inside the coop. Make it rectangular, so the chickens can curl their claws around it easily for grip. If you have trees about, make sure you force the chickens to sleep indoors for the first few nights, if not, they will certainly fly up in the tree to sleep. And once they’ve learned to do so, you’ll never get them to sleep anywhere else.

 

Feeding
 

If you want to keep your chickens in good health, their basic diet should start with a daily portion of grain. There are hundreds of different types and mixtures you can find in pet stores. I simply give them an all-around grain mix. On top of that, you can give them the organic waste of both kitchen and garden. Having to scratch about between plants and soil for their food keeps chickens happy and healthy.

 

What exactly chickens should/should not have, is an ongoing and serious debate amongst people who have chickens. I’ll give you my list of whats & what not’s, but don’t be surprised if you hear someone say they do it differently.

 

What do the chickens get:

  • any waste of fruit and vegetables

  • stale bread

  • kitchen waste: vegetables, boiled potatoes, rice, soup, pasta, …

  • garden waste: weeds, finely mulched lawn, …

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What don’t we give our chickens:

  • meat

  • anything too spicy or salted

  • fish

  • banana, orange or lemon peels

  • anything that has got mould on it
     

Chickens know very well what is poisonous and what not. If they stay away from it, you know what not to introduce the next time. In winter time, I often give them a handful of mealworms, to keep their fat reserves up.

 

Chickens also need a daily supply of fresh water. On top of that, you need to introduce a supply of grit. Chickens don’t have teeth after all, and need the grit to finely grind their food. You can find grit mixes in each pet shop, often combined with extra calcium for a strong, healthy egg-shell.

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