Kitchen Scraps

Most vegetables like broccoli, sweetcorn, cabbage, lettuce etc. chickens can eat. However, any potato skins should be boiled in plain water before feeding. Chickens also love mixed corn, maize and wheat, mine adore porridge. Although, you have to make sure your chook's aren't getting to fat!!! To stop this spread the corn across the ground so chickens have to scratch to find it, hang lettuce and broccoli from a feeding pole. For more info on chicken obesity scroll down the page. Chickens especially prone to obesity is the Orpington Buff.

Biology of a Chicken

Annual Moult

Feathers get changed once a year towards the ed of summer over about 6 weeks. During this time the chicken may look pale and unhappy. Some chickens will have a more severe moult than others and look a bit like a pine cone! This can be particularly worrying for new keepers, but it is entirely normal. She may stop laying and won't like being touched. Feathers are 80% protein so make sure they have some ACV and are well fed. They should have a new set of feathers by the end of autumn, chickens won't moult on their first year of life but it will start on their second. Don't be alarmed she may look like a battery hen for a while. In fact battery hens used to be forced into moulting to replenish the condition of egg shells, this was often fatal and has now been banned in Europe.

Brief introduction on breeds

There are over 5o breeds of chickens and they are all individual and unique, Some are rare and pure breeds are mostly only seen in shows. Hybrids are crossbreeds of chickens, they are known for laying a lot of eggs. This is why all battery hens are hybrids. Most lay around 300 eggs per year, they also tend to be a docile breed and one of the most immune to diseases.
If you are rearing chickens for the table, speckledy hybrids are great because they are naturally large and stocky!

Pecking Order

Chickens are flock animal.However, chickens are territorial and they will fight to be leader of the flock. Chickens have always done this, some only come off with minor wounds and some have been pecked to death. But usually it takes an hour for the pecking order to establish, this is why chicken breeders recommend too buy birds that are the same size and age.
If there is a severe problem with the pecking order leave the pecked chicken within sight of others but out of reach.
This is also why I suggest that perches are the same height because otherwise they would fight over the highest one.
unfortunately, one blood has been drawn the 'peckers' become encouraged and develop a taste. Birds are particularly vulnerable to being bullied when moulting or after an accident. If this problem begins to look excessive try some 'anti-pecking' spray by Barrier which has an off putting smell/taste. If this fails, you may wish to separate the bird until she is recovered.

Cleaning

Cleaning needs to be done every day. I recommend coops which have dropping trays because then you can quickly and easily remove droppings from the house. When I do this I also hose down and disinfect the tray.
Remove soiled straw from the nesting box and make sure parasite preventative powder is always present in the coop, especially if it is a wooden one.
Replace the straw or wood shavings with fresh bedding and wipe any dirt away with a scrubber.
If you let your hens roam free, rake the droppings from the garden.
Clean food feeders regularly and check they are full and plenty.
It is recommended you wash the entire coop once a month and the perches every two weeks.
“I make my own disinfectant by mixing 1 part bleach and 1 part fairy liquid with 1o parts of water in a plant sprayer. This is only for use in the coop.”

Exercise

Chickens are very inquisitive and rarely get bored in a free range environment. However, like humans sometimes all they want to do is eat, this is not a problem if you give them enough exercise.
If you haven't got much grass and not a lot of leaves to be rummaged get some woodchips, hang cabbages and mealworms from a feeding station so they have to jump to get it.
Dust Baths are a natural defence for chickens against lice and mites. The chickens will make their own naturally if there is space, or you can prepare a small pit of fine earth or sand. You don't need to train them, in time they will spread dust over themselves with their wings and beaks to give themselves a full on relaxing bath time. Remember they can't dust bath in wet earth so put the dust bath under a sheltered place so it is always available. If you are planning to make a bath for them use something like the lid of a shoe box or a cat litter tray so you can move it from place to place.

A brief starting point on Cockerals

You don’t need a cockerel if you just want eggs for eating. The cockerel fertilises the eggs so you need them for breeding.

Cockerels are the males in the chicken family .They are normally larger and more colourful than hens. Cockerels are the leader s of the flock. Cockerels will make a loud noise when there is a threat and at dawn.

They are very loud and can be disturbing for neighbours so I wouldn’t recommend them in urban places. The ones I've seen are about £100 to buy compared to my chickens
who were £10.00 each.

In my personal experience hens will crouch down when you approach because they suspect you are the cockerel, the leader of the pack.