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Some Frequently Asked Questions about keeping chickens
What are the first steps I should take with my new chickens?
When you get your chickens home, shut them up in their ark or alternative accomodation for at least 24 hours. This ensures when they are let out they know where to come back to. This also allows them to get accustomed to their new environment after leaving our sheds.
Do I need to vaccinate or inject my chickens against disease?
All our hens are fully vaccinated against all prevelant diseases - so this is not necessary.
What general precautions should I take to ensure my chickens remain healthy?
Ensure there is somewhere for them to shelter when the weather gets bad - they don't like to get wet and cold and this also puts them off laying good eggs.
Keep an eye out for Mites (commonly Red Spider Mite) in their arks and if found use a spray available from most good pet stores to kill the mites, then clean the ark thoroughly.
Occasional scraps from household waste are fine but they need a regular feed to remain healthy and produce good eggs.
My hens are pecking each other and/or I'm seeing red/sore patches on them and possibly some blood. What should I do?
First of all separate the hen which is being pecked so that it can recouperate. Chickens usually only peck each other when they are bored, there are several ways to prevent this:
Ensure they have a large enough area to range in and if they are restricted try moving the fenced off section fairly frequently.
Use mash not pellets as feed. Mash provides much greater interest as it takes more than one peck to eat. As a guide feed them roughly 4oz of mash per hen per day and split it half in the morning and half in the afternoon.
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