Chicken Keeping Basics; for Beginners

If you're thinking of keeping chickens for the first time, then hopefully this will prepare you for that.

Chickens are flock animals, which means they are sociable birds and need companionship. So it's not a good idea to get just one chicken. It's often recommended to keep three as a minimum, because if you only have two and something happens to one of them, then the other one can pine away and literally die of loneliness.

Before they arrive you may want to have their coop ready. A coop is their home where they will sleep and shelter from the weather. It doesn't have to be fully enclosed, in fact air circulation is a must, but you may want to have it so that they can be shut in for at least a few days until they learn where their new home is. The coop will need at least one nest box per four chickens and a roost.

A nest box is a cozy, enclosed, private area where they can lay their eggs. This can be lined with something they can make a little hollow in to comfortably rest and lay. We use straw as it is fairly inexpensive, but some prefer wood shavings which are a little more costly, but are apparently less likely to be homely for chicken lice or mites and less prone to mould. You could also use purpose made nest box liners, rice hulls or shredded paper/cardboard.

A roost is a perch where chickens can get up off the floor at night to sleep. It's generally recommended that these be higher than the nest boxes to discourage them sleeping in them, as when chickens sleep, they also poop and you probably don't want them laying eggs in that! The height of the roost is not too important unless you have a heavy breed of chicken; in which case you might want to avoid setting it too high so they don't hurt themselves jumping down when they are mature adults. You'll also know it's too high of they are struggling to jump up to it.

The next decision is will you have a run or will they range the garden? Either way, you should probably consider whether predator proofing is needed. It depends where you live as to what predators you might have. Just remember that even cats and dogs find chicken a tasty meal and rats will take chicks and can even have a go at larger chickens, biting at their legs. Some wild land predators are foxes, raccoons, weasels, stoats and in some places bears. Then from the air you might have hawks or eagles. If you live in an urban area, don't assume you won't get any predators, they are there even if you don't usually see them. Foxes are renowned for getting into urban gardens and can and will jump a typical 5 foot garden fence.

When starting out it’s probably best to purchase a complete balanced feed and then as you get a better idea of what other foods you have available start to replace some of it with that. As long as you have laying hens then go for a layer feed, however growing chickens shouldn't have that as it will be too high in calcium and not high enough in protein. A grower feed would be better if you acquire young chickens.

Chickens are omnivores, so apart from chocolate they can pretty much each most of what we eat as treats. They will also forage, if they are able, eating grass, weeds, bugs and countless other little things that they spot and we never see. Two things to make sure they always have on hand are free choice shell grit or oyster shell, for laying hens, and standard grit for their digestion. Depending on the soil in your garden it may be gritty enough for them to get what they need from that, otherwise look into adding it.

Access to clean water throughout the day is essential. Laying hens in particular use a lot to form their eggs and on hot days in particular it will disappear very quickly.

One more thing to consider housing wise is access to a dust bath. A dust bath is their version of our water bath. It is important for their hygiene, helping to absorb excess oils and to keep mites and lice at bay. If they have access to the outdoors they will probably find their own places to dust bathe, but if you are restricted in space you may need to provide some sort of box with sand or dirt for them to use.

Depending on where you choose to buy hens it could be helpful to know what young ones are called as experienced people have a tendency to use those terms and forget that when we are newbies we may not have heard them before. A young female is called a pullet and a mature one at over a year old is a hen. Males you may be more familiar with as a young one is a cockerel and a mature one a cock, usually referred to as a rooster these days since we've started using that word for something else!

So enjoy your chickens, you might be surprised at what characters they are and you're bound to learn lots more as you gain experience.

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Here is another post you might find useful if you're hoping to keep chickens, because unfortunately predators are a reality:
https://steemit.com/homesteading/@minismallholding/an-early-morning-visitor

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