WELCOME GIFTS FROM THE COOP
Keeping chickens at home not only ensures a supply of fresh eggs but some friendly companions in the garden too
ABRISK MARCH WIND is setting the clumps of spring daffodils bobbing. It raises the smell of freshly dug earth from the vegetable beds and the fainter scent of new pale green leaves on the surrounding hawthorn hedge, and tosses the tail feathers of a small flock of chickens in the garden. They bob and cluck as they go, pecking here and there for an insect or blade of grass, then pausing under a clump of shrubs to scratch at the bare ground as if enjoying having crumbly earth rather than winter mud beneath their feet once more.
Familiar sight
A few chickens scratching around have been part of British rural life since the earliest breeds were introduced by the Romans. Chaucer’s 15th century The Canterbury Tales featured the ‘everyday’ tale of the cockerel Chanticleer and the fox, set in a cottage garden. An honesty box of fresh eggs at the farm gate is still a reliable source of cash income on many British farms today.
Chicken keeping moved into town when the gift of a pair of Chinese Cochin hens to Queen Victoria from the Emperor of China sparked ‘poultrymania’. Chicken keepers rushed to cross-breed the traditional British chickens with this new, amazingly large and productive breed. Dozens of chicken breeds were created or ‘improved’, and large poultry shows opened across the country to display them. Even after the craze died down, chicken keeping was still firmly established as a back garden hobby and has seen renewed popularity with the current interest in ‘grow your own’.
“Having chickens just seemed the next step up from growing vegetables,” says Alison Brunton, who keeps a ›
“Snugly and sure, the old hen’s nest is made, Who cackles every morning from her perch To tell the servant girl new eggs are laid”
John Clare, ‘Hen’s Nest’
quartet of hybrid chickens in her back garden in rural Somerset. “Now, I wouldn’t be without them: I love their personalities, and I love just seeing them in the garden. The spare bedroom of our bungalow, which looks out onto the garden, has become our chicken viewing gallery.”
Productive pets
Free-range chickens do make an attractive addition to the garden. Some breeds can be quite strikingly ornamental, such as the Frizzles, which have dramatic curling feathers. Kept as pets, chickens respond well to being handled, with all the benefits of companionship and stress reduction for their keepers. “They all come running when they see us or if they’re called,” says Alison. “They like to be part of anything I’m doing in the garden. I hadn’t expected chickens to be so responsive. They’re much more tame than our guinea pigs.”
Chickens are also productive, yielding a steady supply of eggs for the kitchen during at least nine months of the year. Their rich manure is very good for the garden too. “The garden compost is fantastic since we started putting the chicken manure in it,” observes Alison. “It’s very nitrogen-rich, which helps the compost heap rot down faster, and the vegetables grow better on it.”
Old and new
Both chicken temperament and productivity depend on their breed. These are broadly divided into two types: traditional pure breeds and modern commercial hybrids. Pure breeds have been selected for many different conditions and purposes, leading to great diversity between breeds in size, shape, plumage, productivity, hardiness and temperament. Even egg colour varies from dark brown through to tan, white, speckled, and blue.
Dual-purpose or egg-laying breeds are usually reliable layers, with 150-200 eggs per year, and long-lived, reaching 10 years or older. Many are now rare breeds, due to the fact that they are not kept commercially, which makes them more expensive, and breeders may have a waiting list.
Many pure breeds have both a standard form, weighing 4lb (2kg) or more, and a miniature or bantam form, weighing less than 2lb (1kg). There are also some small, bantam-only breeds, such as Sebright and Pekin. These need less space, so suit smaller gardens, but can be flighty. They lay well, although the eggs are much smaller.
Modern hybrid chickens are fast growing and highly productive, but tend to have shorter lifespans of five to six years. They are typically docile and friendly, but rarely make good mothers, and chicks are not true to type. Hybrids are readily available and are the cheapest choice for chickens.
Accommodation
All chickens need secure housing overnight and to shelter them from bad weather and predators. The chicken coop also provides a safe, darkened space for egg laying. The size of ›
coop required will depend on the number of chickens and their size: larger breeds, such as Orpingtons, need at least 40cm2 of floor space and 12in (30cm) perch length per bird, while bantams need only 20cm2 of floor space and 8in (20cm) perch length. Chicken coops are usually advertised for a specified number of birds, but this is usually the maximum, and a slightly larger coop will give them a more comfortable living space.
The chicken coop can be a free-standing ‘house’ or a mobile ‘ark’, with attached run. Wood is most common, but some solid plastic coops are also available. These are easier to clean and do not need annual repainting, but are not available in as many sizes. Arks are placed on a lawn and moved regularly to give the chickens access to fresh grass. Free-standing coops are better on gravel or woodchip, which will not be turned to mud in winter by frequent trampling. Whether stationary or mobile, the coop should be in a sheltered, ideally sunny, position, with the entrance ‘pop-hole’ facing away from the prevailing wind. Damp hollows or frost pockets are best avoided.
Inside the coop, chickens need perches to roost on overnight, typically made of a ¾in (2cm) square wooden bar, rounded on the top edges to give a comfortable grip and positioned 8in (20cm) above the ground. The floor is covered with a thin layer of chopped straw or similar short-chop bedding, usually sold for horses. Fresh water should be available at all times, from a reservoir ‘drinker’, which can be filled daily, along with some poultry grit in an open bowl.
“Before the Barn-Door crowing, The Cock by hens attended, His Eyes around him throwing, Stands for a while suspended: Then One he singles from the Crew, And cheers the happy Hen; With how do you do, and how do you do, And how do you do again”
John Gay, The Beggar’s Opera
Laying hens also need a nest box, of approximately 5in2 (30cm2), inside the coop, to lay their eggs in. Many coop designs have built-in nest boxes, with access from outside to collect the eggs. Alternatively, a cardboard box, with one side cut low for access, can be placed in the darkest corner of the coop and filled with straw to encourage the chickens to nest.
Out in the garden
Chickens need plenty of space to exercise and forage, but if totally free-ranging, they are very vulnerable to foxes and similar predators. The best protection is an enclosed run, with weld-mesh sides and a roof. Some chicken keepers have a larger area, fenced with purpose-designed electric poultry netting, which works as a harmless deterrent to foxes. “We did start with having the chickens loose, but they just went everywhere and scratched up all the vegetables,” says Alison. “They have a lot of freedom: the run includes the lawn, some shrubs, and round the compost bins.”
Chickens will find plenty of amusement pecking about a run, but also enjoy having a few playthings. “Ours have an old tree stump and a saw horse, with a drinker hanging from it, which they like to jump up onto, and a wooden box we empty any weeds or green waste from the vegetable garden into, for them to peck through,” explains Alison.
Food and treats
Adult chickens require 3½-4oz (100-120g) of layers pellets daily, depending on the age and size of the birds. Young chicks are fed on chick crumbs from day-old to eight weeks, when they are weaned onto adult pellets. Feed is served in
hopper feeders, from which the birds can help themselves. “Our chickens have pellets in the morning, then a little mixed grain before bed,” says Alison. “I keep their feed in the garage, in a water-tight plastic bin so that it remains dry and rodent-proof.”
Grain-based treats for chickens are also available and even include hen popcorn. These should be limited to one tablespoon per day, to avoid digestive upsets. Chickens also love leafy vegetables, such as cabbage leaves and spinach. But these must come from the garden, not the kitchen, as feeding kitchen scraps to poultry is now illegal.
Living with chickens
On a daily basis, chickens need to be fed and watered, and shut in at night. The chicken coop can be cleaned out weekly or managed on a deep litter system, where the bedding is topped up every few days and cleaned out once or twice a year. Thoroughly scrubbing out the coop with disinfectant during the summer prevents any parasite build-up.
Chickens will keep themselves preened and clean with dust baths. In winter, if garden soil is not available for a prolonged time, they will need a box of sand or dry soil put in the run to ‘bathe’ in. All chickens over one year old moult annually, during late summer and early autumn.
Most chickens walk rather than fly, but some individuals can be more adventurous. “One of our first chickens liked to fly into the field next door, so we had to clip her wings,” recalls Alison. This simply involves trimming the ends of the flight feathers on one wing, so the chicken cannot get enough lift to fly. The feather cutting does not hurt the bird but it needs to be repeated annually after the moult. Wing clipping should be discussed with a vet first, to establish a method that is functional, safe and aesthetically appealing for both owner and bird.
Fresh eggs
With or without a cockerel, hens begin to lay eggs at six to eight months old, known as point-of-lay age. Commercial hybrids will lay more than 300 eggs per year, while some ornamental breeds, such as Cochins, produce only 80-100. “We have hybrids, so we mostly have four fresh eggs a day,” says Alison. Apart from the youngest hens, which will lay throughout their first winter, egg laying is seasonal. The hens begin to lay as light levels increase in spring, and they pause in midwinter when the days are shortest.
Eggs are collected daily, so the hens do not ‘go broody’ and start sitting on a clutch to hatch them. They will keep for up to three weeks in a fridge. “They don’t last that long in this house, though,” laughs Alison. “They taste fantastic, so we eat lots and still give some away to friends and family.”