A beginner’s guide to raising backyard chickens.
Posted on Sunday 24th June 2018
So, you’ve decided you want to raise your own backyard chickens.
Or, possibly trying to convince a partner, parent or housemate that it would be an excellent idea, and you’re preparing yourself with all the information to get started.
There are plenty of benefits to having chooks, whether it’s daily fresh eggs or a family pet, but remember all good things take work.
Check any regulations about backyard chickens.
Unfortunately, bringing home some little chicks aren’t as easy as a puppy. Wherever you are living, there are likely to be council regulations or state laws that control the number of chickens depending on the size of your premises.
Backyard chickens take a bit more consideration than some other pets.
The Brisbane City Council prescribes that you can have a maximum of 20 chickens if your household premises are 800 square metres or more. Anything smaller than that means you can only have six chickens.
Any housing for your chickens must be at least one metre back from a fence, and unfortunately, if you’re in a residential area, roosters aren’t permitted.
What types of chickens should you buy?
Depending on what you want to get chickens for, it will change the type of breed you will choose.
Some of the most popular breeds are Lowman Brown, White Leghorn, Rhode Island Red, and Isabrown.
If you’re looking for chickens that produce plenty of eggs, then you may want to look at the cross breeds. They include the ISA Brown, Hi-Sex Brown and Hyline Brown, which can produce over 300 eggs per year, according to Barastoc.
We also recommend that when you’re looking for a seller, you purchase from a reputable person or company. Don’t be afraid to look in the classified sections of newspapers for recognised breeders.
You can easily check the newspaper classifieds for sellers.
Equipment to get you started.
As we said earlier, not all good things come easy, and so there is a bit of prep work you will need to do before bringing your chickens home.
First, you need to think about a hen house and where they are going to live. You can try building one by yourself, or there are plenty to buy out there.
What’s important to remember is the recommended sizing requirements for hen houses. You should allow about 0.37 square metres of space for each hen. Also, check in with any legislation, council requirements and welfare organisations that regulate the sizing requirements.
All the time, the hen house and additional equipment must be clean. Before the chickens arrive, scrub and sanitise the environment where they will live. Remove any manure or litter from previous animals, including chickens that have lived there before. If you have decided on a dirt floor for the hens, you will need to work even harder ensure the ground isn’t contaminated with bacteria or viruses.
Make sure the hen house is clean.
Once you have the hen house sorted, a feeder (preferably metal) and drinkers for the chickens is a must. You can also consider if you want to have perches or nests filled with wood shavings or straw for your soon-to-be pet.
Creating the perfect hen house.
Unfortunately, simply setting up a hen house isn’t the end of the story to housing your precious chickens. There are a variety of conditions that promote better health and egg laying.
The hen house must be protective against the weather, and it’s really important there aren’t any leakages in there that let the rain slip through. While saying that it’s imperative the house is ventilated to let the air come in.
To raise hens that lay plenty of eggs, they should have a minimum of 15 hours of light per day and
They also need to be protected against potential predators, including rats (who could carry diseases), cat, and foxes.
If you have newborn chicks, then they need to be kept somewhere else for three weeks in a heated environment. After a few days, the enclosure can be cooler, and once they reach about five to six weeks, then they can live in a normal temperature. If you are keeping chicks from the day they hatch, we recommend you read more on the perfect conditions here.
What do you feed them?
Once the shelter is sorted, the next thing to solve is what they eat. Just like humans they need nutritious food that is full of protein and energy, vitamins, minerals, and calcium.
Chickens need a plenty of different things in their diet.
That may sound hard to weave all those things into a hen’s diet, but they can all be achieved with the right chicken feed we sell. Whether it’s Barastock, Kewpie or Avigrain we stock it and will be perfect for your pet chickens.
You can also feed them different green feed and scraps, alongside the proper feed.
Keeping your chickens healthy.
The truth is, just like all other animals, your chickens can be exposed to nasty things out there. It should be a priority of all chicken owners to keep their pets healthy and happy.
The most common health concern is worms, which live in the intestine of the bird. Symptoms if your hen or flock have worms include wasting, reduced egg production, and loss of their good condition. If your chickens do have worms, we have some treatments that can help them in no time.
Others things your chickens are susceptible to are coccidiosis and external parasites, such as lice, ticks and mites. All birds should be kept on a vaccination schedule that we can provide for you.
To prevent all of this from having in the first place, ensure your chickens don’t live in damp conditions. That only makes things worse.
From the very beginning of their life, make sure they are healthy and safe.
Also, if you are bringing new chickens in then keep them away from your older hens to ensure there’s not spread of any infections (if there are any).
How do you know the eggs are good quality?
So, if you’ve made it this far and your chickens are finally laying eggs, then you want to know the factors that impact the quality.
Good eggs generally look clean, well-formed and have uncracked shells. A broken shell means that bacteria have had the chance to leak in.
Don’t worry if there are some blood stains on the exterior of the shell: it doesn’t mean your eggs are bad. Some younger birds will produce blood stains on the eggs, as well as older birds that have laid double yolks.
Another thing to not worry about is the yolk colour. There’s no nutritional difference between a paler yellow yolk and something that is darker in colour. Most differences in colours will be impacted by what you feed the chickens.
Once you’ve collected the eggs, and if you don’t eat them straight away, pop them in the fridge. Storing eggs in the fridge keep them fresh for longer. Fact: an egg that has been kept in the fridge for three weeks has the same freshness as one that’s been kept at room temperature for three days.
Raising chickens is always a rewarding experience. It may sound like hard word but at Farmcraft, we can help you throughout the entire process.
Good luck!
