A Basic Guide To Caring For Your
New Chickens
Chicken House Poultry
Redlynch Farm Main Road
Stickney PE22 8EQ
Telephone
Sharon 07547 116612, Mark 07834 618242
Email markburrows@madasafish.com
Website http://chickenhousepoultry.com
Poultry Resource Site
http://keepingchickensandpoultry.com
Find Us On Facebook
www.facebook.com/ilovekeepingchickens
Contents
INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 1
WATER ..................................................................................................................................... 1
FOOD ......................................................................................................................................... 1
TREATS .................................................................................................................................... 1
GRIT .......................................................................................................................................... 2
WINTER FEEDING .................................................................................................................. 2
HOUSING.................................................................................................................................. 2
OUTDOOR AREA .................................................................................................................... 3
FENCING .................................................................................................................................. 4
INTRODUCING NEW CHICKENS TO AN EXISTING FLOCK .......................................... 4
HEALTH.................................................................................................................................... 4
PARASITES .............................................................................................................................. 4
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR EGG-LAYING HENS ............................................. 5
INTRODUCTION
This guide is intended to give you the basic information you need to get started keeping
chickens. Some of the information is pertinent to the UK and some things may differ in other
parts of the world.
If in doubt please feel free to contact us and we will try our best to help you, or visit our new
site below.
For more information please visit our brand new resource site at
http://keepingchickensandpoultry.com (launching March/April 2014)
WATER
Chickens will drink about 500mls of water during the day and will drink a lot more when the
weather is warm. Fresh water is very important as the hens need a certain amount of it for egg
production. The rule is, “if you don’t fancy drinking it, don’t expect your birds to.” Drinks
containers should be cleaned and disinfected regularly and the water replaced with fresh on a
daily basis.
FOOD
It is illegal to feed chickens kitchen scraps, meat, eggs, animal bi-products, or any food that
has been via your kitchen or allow them access to any of the above. This applies to the
domestic keeper as well as the commercial industry and regardless of whether the eggs are
sold or not. More information can be found at http://www.defra.gov.uk/ahvla-en/diseasecontrol
It is very important to feed your hens the correct diet from day one. Their main diet should be
layers pellets. These contain all the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals in the correct quantities
to enable the hens to have a long and productive life. A feeder should be provided and topped
up daily so the hens can eat as and when they need to. They will not over eat or get fat on
layers pellets and will only take what they need.
Do not use any feed containing corn, maize, and wheat in place of, or mix with, layers pellets.
Chickens will gorge themselves on this type of feed in preference to any other feed. The corn
based feed is not healthy for them as they will be missing out on essential nutrition and will
gain excess weight. A fat hen will not lay eggs and this will also shorten her lifespan.
Just because poultry outlets sell this type of feed it does not mean it is good for chickens!
TREATS
Treats for chickens can include fresh fruit and veg. Cabbage and other greens are good for
them and will deepen the colour of the yolk. Lettuce holds very little nutrition for hens and in
large amounts can upset the nutritional balance of their diet.
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Never feed them bread, pasta, cakes, biscuits, or crisps. All these foods contain hidden salt
and chickens have a very low tolerance to salt. Also, these types of food can get stuck in the
crop and cause an impacted crop.
Always give treats as late in the afternoon as possible so that they will eat their essential
amount of layers pellets during the day without upsetting their nutritional balance.
DO NOT GIVE ANY FEED CONTAINING CORN TO CHICKENS UNDER THE
AGE OF 24WEEKS. Young birds have an immature digestive system leading to great
difficulty digesting it. This can lead to an impacted crop and is very often fatal. Long grass
and straw can also cause this condition, so keep the grass short in the chicken area, and use
wood shavings for nest boxes and bedding.
GRIT
You will need to provide mixed poultry grit for the hens digestion which provides calcium
for their bones and egg shell production. They will soon deplete the ground they are on, so
always supply extra.
We sell 2kg of mixed grit for £1.
WINTER FEEDING
Hens do eat slightly more in the colder months as they use more energy keeping warm.
This is the only time of the year mixed poultry corn can be given and should only ever be
used as a winter scratch feed. A small handful per bird is sufficient and should be thrown
onto the ground for them to scratch about for it. Do this as late in the afternoon as possible
and it will help to keep them warm overnight.
Chickens also like to scratch the ground to search for seeds, roots, and insects. Feeders should
be cleaned and disinfected at least once a week.
For more information please visit our brand new resource site at
http://keepingchickensandpoultry.com (launching March/April 2014)
HOUSING
The coop needs to be dry and well ventilated. The floor should be covered with wood
shavings (animal grade) which must be cleaned out at least once a week. Do not use hay as it
contains mould spores when damp and damaging dust particles when dry. Straw can be a
haven for Red mite so if using straw you will need to use Red Stop Solution in the drinking
water.
The coop needs to be sprayed once a week throughout the year after cleaning with either
Poultry Shield or Smite followed by Diatom powder all inside the coop, including the nest
boxes.
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A Red mite infestation can rapidly build up causing anaemia in the hens and death can follow
in a very short space of time.
We sell Red Mite control products here at Chicken House Poultry
http://chickenhousepoultry.com
Chickens like to forage, dust bathe and preen their feathers. Materials such as wood shavings,
dry sand or wood ash should be supplied whenever the birds can't do this outside in dry soil.
Cat litter trays and old wooden drawers are excellent for this purpose (the larger the better).
Adding Diatom powder to their dust bathing area will help to keep numbers of lice, ticks, and
mites lower.
There should be plenty of space in the house for chickens to move around, exercise, and
stretch their wings. As a rough guide, 12 square metres of floor area should be enough for up
to 30 birds.
Chickens need perches to roost on at night. These should be lengths of wooden batten, around
3 to 5cm wide with rounded edges, but not completely round. For example, “broom handles”
can damage the hen’s feet. There should be enough perching space for all the chickens to
comfortably roost at the same time, and enough space between perches to allow them get up
and down without injury. Perch height should be adjusted to suit the size of the birds.
The entrance (pop hole) to the house should be big enough to allow chickens to pass through
without difficulty and without having to crouch down. Providing more than one entrance can
help to avoid bullying and encourage all chickens to go in and out.
For more information please visit our brand new resource site at
http://keepingchickensandpoultry.com (launching March/April 2014)
OUTDOOR AREA
If your birds are kept in an enclosed run, make sure there is plenty of room for them to move
freely about. You can provide amusement for them by hanging some greens (just out of their
reach), old CD’s and budgie mirrors. A small pile of twigs will become a climbing frame and
home for insects that chickens love.
Chickens have a low boredom threshold. If the run is not large enough or they are not
allowed to free range for part of the day, feather pecking can appear and is almost impossible
to cure.
The outdoor area needs to be large enough so that it can be divided up if necessary, to allow
chickens to roam on good pasture every day while other parts recover.
There should be overhead shelter, such as small trees or a purpose-built shelter, and places to
perch. These will help to provide protection from sun, bad weather, and predators, and
encourage the chickens to explore. Chickens like dry soil areas to dust bathe in. If you can,
put an overhead shelter over the dust bathing area so the chickens can use it all year round.
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If feed is provided outside make sure it is sheltered so it does not become wet and care must
be taken not to attract wild birds or vermin. Never scatter feed on the ground for them and
clear up spilled feed as soon as you see it.
Feed should be removed at night to a secure place where rodents cannot get to it. Replace the
feeder and clean water the following morning when you let the chickens out.
FENCING
Fences should be well-maintained, provide protection against predators, and designed to
ensure the birds cannot escape but do not become trapped or injured.
INTRODUCING NEW CHICKENS TO AN EXISTING FLOCK
The best time to introduce your new chickens is at night after your other birds have gone to
roost. This can help to reduce bullying but may not stop it from happening. All birds can then
be let out together in the morning. You will need to keep a close eye on them for a few days
to ensure that the bullying does not get out of hand. It is always handy to have a spare pen or
somewhere else to separate the main offender, usually the one at the top of the pecking order.
We recommend that you introduce at least two or more hens at a time as it effectively divides
the bullying. Also ensure that your coop and run are large enough to accommodate all the
birds and for your new birds to escape from the worst of the bullying.
Alternatively, and probably the best solution, is to have a separate coop and run alongside
your other hens so they can see each other, but not come to any harm. They will then
gradually become accustomed to each other without any damage occurring to your new hens.
HEALTH
Healthy birds are bright-eyed, alert, and interested. Signs of poor health include:
hunched posture
head tucked under the wing
reluctance to move
hiding in corners
Please consult your vet if you are concerned about your hen’s health.
It is also advisable to have somewhere safe to isolate a hen when you need to, at some point
you will need to do this.
PARASITES
Lice are 2 to 3mm in size and can be found all over the body with eggs around the shafts of
the feathers. The best place to spot lice is around the vent area. It is a good idea to have some
Diatom or louse powder to hand for when this problem occurs as it can make the hens
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miserable in a short space of time, you may also get a drop in egg numbers. Dust all the hens
all over with the powder and repeat twice every four days.
Red mites are not the red spiders you see outside in the daylight!
They are a lot smaller and are brown or grey until they have blood meal. They live in crevices
within the coop and will crawl onto the chickens to feed while they are roosting. After the
mites have had their blood meal they return to their hiding places. The problem can become
serious very quickly and prompt action needs to be taken as the hens will become anaemic
and very poorly in a short space of time. We now use Red Stop Solution (now on sale here
or from our website http://chickenhousepoultry.com) in the drinking water along with
Poultry Shield or Smite and Diatom powder every week after cleaning. Every square inch
of the house has to be sprayed paying particular attention to small cracks and crevices. Red
mite will also hide in the feeders and drinkers, hence the need for regular cleaning,
disinfecting, and checking for these parasites.
Diatom powder is a 100% natural product and is excellent as a preventative and killer of red
mite. Liberally dust the perches, holders and nest boxes with Diatom once a week when you
clean the house. Because Diatom is a natural product it can be used on the hens themselves if
they have lice or fleas and works by desiccating the outer shell of the parasite. Food grade
Diatom can also be mixed with their food at the rate of 5% to aid with internal parasitic
worms.
Pleased be warned: do not rely on powders alone as you can still have red mite in the coop. It
is impossible to get the powder into all the crevices where red mite hide and breed, hence the
need for spraying.
Chickens need worming at least three times a year. Flubenvet is a powder you can buy from
a vet or online and will also kill Gape worm. Just mix with the layers pellets for seven days. I
use a few teaspoons of vegetable oil to help the powder stick to the pellets. There is no egg
withdrawal period with Flubenvet and it is the only wormer licensed for poultry.
The Marriage feed company do layers pellets with Flubenvet added, so this can be an easier
option for most people. We order ours online from www.farmandpetplace.co.uk
For more information please visit our brand new resource site at
http://keepingchickensandpoultry.com (launching March/April 2014)
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR EGG-LAYING HENS
Hens need quiet nest boxes so they can perform laying behaviours where they feel safe.
Boxes should be draught-free and lined with clean wood shavings. If nesting material
becomes soiled it should be removed as soon as possible and replaced, you do not want your
eggs to be laid in soiled nesting. If you find that your hens are roosting in the nest boxes,
deny them access at night. Something as cheap as a bit of cardboard placed in front of the
nest box will do the trick. This can be removed in the morning when you let the chickens out.
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When you bring your new hens home it is advisable to keep them in an enclosed run for a
week or two so they become accustomed to their new surroundings. They may also need to
be taught to perch at night otherwise they may huddle together on top of each other, which
can result in suffocation. Just place them one by one onto the perches after dark and they will
not move. You may have to do this for a few nights.
Please remember to lock your hens away at night after they have gone to roost, they rely on
you to keep them safe.
It is advisable to have a trio of hens rather than two, because if something unfortunate
happens to one of them a hen is not left on her own. They like company of their own kind and
can become very depressed if left on their own. They can even lose the will to live.
Your hens will start to lay eggs approximately between the ages of 20 to 26 weeks of age,
although the Columbine can be as late as 30 weeks. Hens are very individual and will not all
start to lay at the same time, even if they are of the same breed. Their first eggs will be small
(pullet eggs) but as the hen matures the eggs will get larger. Sometimes you may get a blip in
the system like a double yolk egg or a soft shelled egg, this is nothing to worry about; it is
just the hen’s immature reproductive system trying to get into the swing of things. Everything
should settle down within 8 to 10 weeks.
Hens can turn broody during the spring and summer. If you have a problem with a broody
hen please call us for advice.
This guide is very basic, but if you want to learn more about chickens, Mark’s book, So You
Really Want to Start Keeping Chickens is available here at £7.95 and will guide you
through the early days of your new hobby. The book is also available from Amazon, either in
paperback form or kindle version.
We also have a shop where you can purchase everything you need for your chickens.
I hope you found this guide useful. If you would like more detailed, premium information,
together with a fantastic forum and chicken chat room, plus lots of other content and features
with everything you want to know about keeping happy, healthy hens all in one convenient
place, then please visit our brand new site (launching March/April 2014)
http://keepingchickensandpoultry.com
Kind Regards
Sharon and Mark
Tel: Sharon 07547116612 or Mark 07834618242 or contact us at
Email markburrows@madasafish.com
http://chickenhousepoultry.com
http://keepingchickensandpoultry.com
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http://www.facebook.com/ilovekeepingchickens - Our Facebook page for all chicken
enthusiasts. Post photos and have all your questions answered by myself or Mark.
This basic guide booklet is subject to copyright regulations
Copyright 2014 Chicken House Poultry
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