KEEPING CHEERFUL CHOOKS
FRIENDS FOR YOUR CHICKENS
Hens are social animals and need companionship, so ensure you have at least three birds in your flock.
A SAFE COOP FOR NIGHT-TIME
Your chicken coop can be beautiful or basic, but it must provide a dry place that keeps your girls out of the wind and rain. It should be fully enclosed and able to be shut tight against any night-time predators. And it needs sturdy, wide perches for the chickens to roost on at night.
NESTING BOXES
Have about one nest box for every four birds. The best spot is inside the coop. Chickens like to lay in a dark corner, so provide them with space that is dark, dry and cosy, and easily accessible (from a back hatch, perhaps?) for egg collection.
REGULAR CLEANING REGIMEN
Cleaning out the coop regularly keeps pests and diseases at bay while ensuring you collect your yield of manure. You could go with a slatted floor where the poop falls through and you rake it out from underneath regularly, or a solid floor with a layer of sawdust or straw that is cleaned out every month, or some other system. You could also use a portable chicken tractor to move the coop around so their manure is not concentrated in one spot.
DAYTIME PEN FOR ROAMING
Chickens need a place to stretch their wings. They can be surprisingly destructive to many plants that you’d rather they didn’t attack, so don’t give them a free run of your vegie patch. Start with a secure pen attached to the coop, with at least one square metre (3 to 4 square feet) per chicken. Allow your chickens free access between the coop and pen during the day.
GOOD FOOD AND CLEAN WATER
Good food is critical – a laying hen needs a lot of energy and protein to produce an egg almost every day. Feed all your kitchen scraps and garden weeds to your chickens, but don’t expect them to give you lots of eggs on scraps alone! A high-quality, organic, commercial laying pellet is a good choice to ensure your girls get all the protein, vitamins and minerals they need. Automatic waterers are a good idea, too, to keep their water clean and always available. These can be simple and super-cheap.
DUST BATHS
Chickens love a regular dust bath to keep their feathers clean and healthy, and prevent mite build-up on their bodies and legs. If there’s an extra-dry area in your chickens’ run, you’ll see them doing this. Choose a dry and sunny spot in the run and add a barrowload of sandy soil. You can also add powdered charcoal, fine rock dust or food-grade diatomaceous earth.
SHELL GRIT
Chickens don’t have teeth, so they need some shell grit to help their gizzards grind up food. It also gives them calcium. They won’t go through this quickly, but it is essential to their diet.