Chicken Keepers. The Home Of Chicken & Poultry Keeping Advice

Chickens are omnivores  which basically means they eat most things found naturally although certain foods should be avoided. They love berries, seeds, green leafed vegetables, insects, worms, meat in general (cooked or raw) fat.

If you keep chickens in apen where they are 99% dependent on you to provide them with food and water you need to treat their diet like you would of a child, what I mean by this is that you should:

1) Avoid giving them too many fatty foods

2) Make sure they have a varied diet – the same thing every day will lead to boredom and then that si when they will start picking on each other

3) Avoid having food plentiful 24 hours a day. This is not a major issue but it is better if you have teh time, to have set hours of teh day when the food is available. A rule of thumb is 2 hours in the morning – one hour in the afternoon then one hour before bed. if you do this you should ensure there is a pecking block available so they have something to keep them entertained without filling them up.

4) In winter – mix some of their Layers Mash with hot water (make sure it is not boiling when you give it them) as this makes a sort of “chicken porridge” and they love it! It also keeps their diet from being too boring of you can serve them food in different forms even if it is the same sort of food.

5) Ensure you give them the correct vitamin and mineral supplements once a month to ward of colds and diseases. They will not be able to get all The nutrients they require if they do not have teh ability to peck at wild foods so you need to help theme in this area. (just as we humans do without own vitamin tablets!)

This, in my view, is the best mash you can buy. My chickens prefer thsi mash over any other type and I have tried most types. It is full of most fo what they need to keep healthy. I buy mine in 25kg bags and keep them in a dry place. You must not really buy more than you can use within 6 months as the older it is, the more goodness leaches out of it. You can buy Layers Mash from tehse recomemnded sources:

Pelleted Feed

I am not a fan of pellets although some chicken fanciers swear by it. My birds tend to sprinkle it all over the place and only eat a small amount. One good way to serve it is with hot water to create the “porridge” effect mentioned above. See how you get on. Below are some suppliers I can recommend:

Now every chicken loves a bit of corn! trouble is they get full on it and then have no room for other things. If you give them corn as part fo a varied diet, make sure is has no signs of mould as this can make the birds ill. (it just looks mouldy of it is off and smells a bit fusty). Apart from simply giving to them in a bowl, it is good to sprinkle small amounts in the undergrowth to give them some fun in scratching about for it (don’t do mor ethan a handful or they may not find all of it and it will likely grow or worse, attract rats and mice)

These are really good as they serve a dual purpose

It generally is Ok to give your chickens some of the leftovers from household food, but there are some common sense things to consider – and also a few things you should know that are not obvious:

1) Chickens generally do not eat or like raw potato pealings – but they love them cooked and also left over mashed potatoes.

2) Fatty bits from pork chops and beef steaks cut into small pieces wil have your chickns acting like teh very Tyrannosaurus Rex they are descended from (and yes, they are most like T-rex in their DNA structure if you did not know – thus proving the link between birds and dinosaurs. Which is probably one reason they love animal fat and meats.

3) Any cooked greens and veg are generally OK – always remove food that has not been eaten within a couple of days.

4) Shelfish (mussels, prawns) they love but make sure it is not off. if your would not eat it, nor should they.

5) Fish they are not so keen on and is likely to be left.

6) Spagetti (and all pasta) if you want to see some fun, give your chucks a bowl of plain boiled spagetti! It is hilarious! They absolutely love it and will chase round the garden with bits. I am sure they think they are white worms. They also love pasta and it is Ok for them to eat. But like all things in life, in moderation.

Red Mite Problems

Over the last few years we have had largely mild winters, this causes Red Mites to survive and thrive. Thus making chickens very susceptible to Red Mite infestations. When it does get cold, Red Mites curl up into a ball, if it stays cold (freezing) then they die, if not then they spring back into live as soon as the temperature rises to spring like conditions, they come back to life and breed. It is the young (5-7 year olds) that cause the most problems with Chickens b but did you know that they also spread to most domestic pets and caged birds? If you have chickens, you MUST do regular treatments to eradicate Red Mites.

So how do you know if your chickens have Red Mite problems? It is actually very easy to tell as you will notice two things, firstly your egg production will start to go down as the chickens need to replace the lost blood taken by the Red Mites (which means less energy to produce eggs) and secondly, the chickens will start to peck each other where they see the infestation on the chickens, usually just at the base of the birds tail feathers. At this point the problem is likely to be causing stress and is getting serious. Keep a close eye out for any pecking behavior and also any bald, bloody patches appearing on your birds.

The most effective cure I have used are Diatoms, they are the calcium shells from millions of tiny crustaceans. Diatoms come in a powder like form (white) – the ones I have had smell slightly of licorice. The way to use them is to sprinkle them all over the floor of your coop. It is important to make sure the coop is cleaned out – and dry. The diatoms don’t work well if damp as the treatment relies on the tiny fragments of shell to pierce the skins of the Red Mites – and thus kill them.

They will continue to work as long as they are in the coop so don’t clean them out once they are in their. Also – sprinkle the perches every week for total treatment.

Where to buy Diatoms. You can get diatoms from many good poultry suppliers – I can recommend Ron who runs WorldWidePoultry, he will send you in the post, the powder and instructions. He does not have a website so below is his contact details

Ron

WorldWide Poultry

Lodge Farm

Lodge Lane

Beaulieu

New Forest

Hampshire

SO42 7XP

01590 616381

The best chickens to keep are those that best suit your personal purposes. It really does depend whether you want the chicken to produce meat, eggs or be a good show bird. Some types of chickens are also easier to keep cooped up in a back yard than others. Yet other types make better pets for children or can tolerate more handling by humans.

In terms of being high producers of eggs there are quite a few chickens that can be a good backyard pet. If you like dark brown or light brown eggs then try raising Rhode Island Reds. The Barnevelder chicken or Bantam is also a high producer that usually lays between 180 and 200 eggs a year.

If you like white eggs or legs that have light tinge to them then you might want to consider raising Dorklings. However Dorklings only produce medium sized eggs.

If you are looking for the producer of those exotic dark chocolate brown shelled eggs then it is the eggs of the Maran that you are after.

If you are looking for a chicken that is a good pet then try the Barnevelder. This is also a prized bird on hobby farms because it produces perfect little yellow chicks that stay looking like chicks for weeks. It The fact that they make such cute chicks that grow quite large and strong make them good pets for children as babies like this are not likely to be damaged by handling.

Yet another friendly little chicken that makes a good pet is the Anacona “Italian” breed of chicken which is rounder, lighter and less aggressive than most. The Australian Austrolope was also specifically bred to be a good well mannered pet and in fact Austrolopes are a common backyard pet down under. The absolutely worst chickens you could raise for a pet are the Old English Game Hens which were known as the original cockfighters.

If you are raising a chicken for eating then the Sussex is a good choice as it is a heavier bird with lots of breast meat. It is one of the better of the dual purpose birds to raise is you are looking at animals that can both be used as a good egg layers and as roasters and broilers. Another bird that is a good dual-purpose bird to raise is the Wyandotte which lays a healthy layer of big brown eggs and is also known for its juicy meat.

Another concern might be whether or not the chicken is a hardy breed that can stand cold weather. If this is a consideration fro your then you might want to stick with the more durable breeds like the Rhode Island Red. The Dorking is also one of the most hardy and durable birds in existence. It can live in a colder coop and can bear being penned up in a darker space with a roof. They are good setters and easily become broody (good mothers.)

If you are looking for birds to show off at exhbitions any Bantam style of chicken is a good choice. These miniature versions of larger chickens are really making a splash especially at exhibitions in Canada and the United Kingdom. Another trendy chicken to show are any of the Black or White Orpingtons that hail from Australia.

There is also a retro passion lately for showing off the latest in game chickens including the famous Old English cock fighters and to groom them in the fashion for fighting which included culling the cock’s combs.