Put your pecks in order

New chick in town

• New chickens should be quarantined in their coop for at least two weeks. 30-60 days isolation is the ideal length of time for this. This is to prevent the spread of any diseases they might be carrying when they arrive. Keep an eye on them and help them grow familiar with their new home.
  Egg-stra credit.
• When chickens first start laying, the eggs could be found almost anywhere in the coop. They might be laid in the nest box or even beneath the structure of the coop itself. The location is usually somewhere the bird feels safe, like somewhere warm and dark. Be sure to check thoroughly for eggs the first few times. Thereafter, chickens will usually lay in the same place as they did previously.
• Test the freshness of eggs by putting them in a container of water. If the egg floats, it’s fresh. If the eggs sinks, air pockets have begun to develop around the white of the egg, meaning it’s starting to go off.
• The yolk colour tells you a lot about the chicken who laid the egg. Dullish yellow yolks are produced by chickens who are unhappy, short of nutrients and that’ve been cooped up too long. Vibrant orange yolks are from happy hens who’ve had space to run around, green grass and plenty of nutrients. Basically, the brighter, the better.
• Wrinkly shells and runny whites indicate a lack of calcium in the chicken’s diet. It could also be a result of diseases like Infectious Bronchitis (IB), which even when cured can result in wrinkly-shelled eggs. The good news is that they’re still safe to eat.
• You might get lucky and come across a double-yolker. These occur completely at random, and if fertilised and incubated probably wouldn’t hatch.

Chick-onomics

• A pure-breed chicken might be worth £15-20. There aren’t many rules regarding the sale of chickens. The audience for pure breed chickens could be: people who want chickens for their back garden, care homes who’d like some ‘different company’ for their residents, or exhibitors who travel across the country showing pure-breed poultry.
• To sell chicken eggs, you may need to register with DEFRA and make sure to comply with their regulations. For instance, you wouldn’t be allowed to feed food scraps to laying birds, as you can’t guarantee what you’re putting into the eggs. A good half dozen eggs could sell for up to £2.

• Windows. Let light into the coop to keep the chickens upbeat and positive. Windows are particularly important in winter, when chickens are likely to spend more time in their coops and need perking up.
• Lightbulbs. We don’t recommend installing these, as it’s better to expose chickens to natural, outdoor light as much as possible. Also, in some countries, lightbulbs are used to replicate daylight and trick chickens into laying more eggs than they naturally would.
• Access points. As well as being a way to let light into the coop, lots of access points keep the coop well-ventilated and give the chickens a variety of ways to get in and out. These will all need a door, to keep foxes and other vermin out.
• Slacks on the walls. These are another great way to ventilate the coop, as they keep the air flowing and reduce carbon dioxide levels, humidity and mould growth.
• Mechanical fans. Some people use these for increased ventilation, but with enough slacks, windows and access points, they aren’t necessary. Also, they require an electricity source, which you may not have easy access to in your allotment, garden or field.
• A perch (such as a timber batten). Chickens like to sleep off the ground, as it makes them feel safe from predators.
• Sawdust, shavings, hay or straw. Line the coop with this natural bedding to make it comfortable. In the winter, insulate the coop by placing more of this down.
• Nest box. This should be somewhere dark and high up. It could be made from two bricks placed parallel to one other, with the middle area lined with a cosy bundle of sawdust or hay, so the chicken can snuggle up.
• Hanging feeders. These should be elevated, to prevent vermin and the birds leaving waste in their food, and are typically filled with mixed corn or grains.
• Hanging drinkers. These should be filled with water and should also be high up.
• Timber hut. Timber is the traditional material used for coops; however, with a timber structure, you’re more likely to attract mites (which are basically nits for chickens). They can be very difficult to get rid of.
• Plastic hut. These have risen in popularity as models like the Eglu are recyclable, energy efficient, convertible and easy to clean.
• Trench with a fence. You don’t need a fence as chickens are very territorial, so they’ll prefer to stay close to home. However, to avoid vermin accessing the chickens’ outdoor space, you could dig a trench and fill it with chicken wire, coarse gravel or a mixture of both, then put up a fence around the area. This will keep out vermin, as they typically dig down to get into the coop. When they do, they’ll be barred by the chicken wire.

As much as often

• Chickens are a bit like guinea pigs in terms of the care they require. You should be spending roughly an hour a day looking after them. Here are some of the things you need to do regularly to keep your chickens happy and healthy:
  As often as possible
• Give them a cuddle. Frequent handling of your chickens is really important, as it’ll make them calmer and friendlier. To hold a chicken, pick them up with both hands and hold them gently (don’t squeeze), with their wing facing your chest. If you’re nervous about handling them, you could just pop a chair near their coop and sit with them – they’ll soon get to know you.
• Check they’re healthy. Their faces should be bright and colourful (typically red). Their feathers should be full and without bald patches, outside of molting season (between May and August, or any period of hot, stuffy weather). They should seem perky and eager to explore, and should wait by their access point to be let out first thing in the morning.

Daily

• In the morning, let them outside and then head into the coop to collect any eggs. It’s important to collect eggs regularly, as if they’re left in the coop they might get trampled on, or eaten by the chickens.
• Top up the feeders with a standard mix of corn and the drinkers with tap water. The chickens will also eat green plants when out and about, as well as worms. Some people add food scraps to the feeders; however, if you do this, you won’t be able to sell the chickens’ eggs, as it’s against DEFRA standards. It’s also worth noting that the water is likely to freeze in the winter, so you could add in some apple cider vinegar if it’s particularly cold out and it’ll stop the water from freezing!
• In the evening, lock them back up. You could get an automatic door closer – once it gets dark, they know the hut is their safe place and they’ll head inside themselves.

Weekly

• Clean out the coop, disposing of the soiled shavings and dust. You could use this as manure for your plants, if you want. Replenish with fresh straw or hay.
• Check for any access points for vermin. Block them up as soon as you can with a sturdy material such as timber or metal. An adult may need to help with this.