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Banish Bad Behaviour!! How-to Have Harmonious Hens!!!

February 5, 2012 By ChickenGirl Leave a Comment

Banish Bad Behaviour!!

In general, chickens are social animals, living in peace and harmony. When a new bird is introduced, this harmony is temporarily disturbed as the hens squabble to sort out their pecking order. The pecking order is the heirachy by which chickens live. The hens have a little squabble, and the hen that wins is the dominant hen. She gets access to the food and water first, and can put any hen who dares confront her back in her place with a sharp peck. On the other hand, the lowest ranking hen gets to go to the food last, and can be pecked at by any hen. Because of this system, hens live in peace, but when the balance is upset, peaceful Poppy can turn into ferocious Frostie.

In this article, I will cover a few points of bad behaviour and give some tips on how to deal with it.

 

Excess noise

It is usually the cockerel who makes the most noise, while crowing, this can only be avoided by not keeping a cockerel. Cantrary to popular belief, it is not necessary to keep a cockerel to get eggs. The cockerel is only needed to fertilize eggs. Sometimes, a hen will make lots of noise, when she has layed an egg. If this is her habitual egg laying noise, it is not possible to stop her from making the noise, but a few steps can be taken to reduce the amount of noise she makes. These include:

  • Reduce boredom (see below)
  • Reduce stress
  • Practise good husbandry

 

Boredom

Overcrowding and small pens can cause boredom, which often manifests itself as feather pecking in adults and foot pecking in chicks. Chickens are attracted to red, (which is why feeder bases are often red), so if blood is drawn cannibalism can be the result. You should always keep some genitian violet spray handy because this is antibiotic, and stains the wound purple, to stop the chickens from attacking the hen.

Boredom can be prevented or alleviated by;

  • Scattering grain over the ground to encourage them to forage ‘naturally’
  • Hanging up bunches of green leaves for them to peck at
  • purchasing, and hanging up blocks of seed

 

Fighting

This often happens when two cockerels come in contact with each other. This is why cockerels should be kept apart.

Fighting can also be found with hens, when a new hen is introduced, for example.


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Basic General Chicken Facts

October 7, 2011 By ChickenGirl Leave a Comment

Male chickens are known as roosters or cocks or cockerels, females are known as hens or pullets. Castrated males are known as capons, but castrating chickens seems a silly and expensive option to some people who reckon its easier not to have a cockerel if they dont want chicks.

Cockerels are generally distinguished by larger head furnishings (combs and whattles) and colourful plumage (feathers).

Head furnishings direct the blood to the surface to keep the chickens cool. In winter, when its cold, chickens head furnishings may seem a little more pale than usual, this is because vasoconstriction occurs, which is where the blood vessels near the skin narrow and more blood is directed deeper down to conserve heat.

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Things to keep in stock for chicken keeping…

September 4, 2011 By ChickenGirl Leave a Comment

Below I have written a list of essenttials to keep in stock for poultry keeping. The first section covers day to day essentials that should be kept in stock, for disinfecting, treating, boosting, feeding etc.

Layers pellet or mash for grown  hens

Growers pellet or mash for growing hens

Chick crumbs for chicks aged 0-6 weeks

Disinfectant such as dettol which has the added benefit of being a red mite deterant.

Apple cider vinegar a booster

Grit to help chickens breakdown food

Crushed oyster shell, boosts calcium and avoids soft shelled eggs, can be mixed in with grit

Wormer to worm them

Emergencies

Coxoid for the treatment of coccidiosis

Hibiscrub to clean up wounds

Wound powder for minor wounds

Smite spray for red mite

Red mite powder

 

 

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Note of the Month; September

August 30, 2011 By ChickenGirl Leave a Comment

Now is moulting time. Chickens are losing their feathers to make way for new ones. The most intentensive moult takes place in september, but it often also occurs in August. Now, hens stop laying and concentrate their enery on changing their old, damaged no-longer-waterproof  plumage for new, waterproof, shiny feathers. Despite not laying, the hens still need the goodness of quality layers pellet or mash, and often benefit from a special moulting supplement. For those on a shoestring budget, a bottle of apple cider vinegar is a good investment, vinegar for birds health, your salad and chips!! Add the vinegar to the birds water at a percentage of one percent, max. 2%.

 

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Sexing Partridge Wyandotte Chicks

July 31, 2011 By ChickenGirl Leave a Comment

Partridge Wyandotte bantams can be sexed from hatching. Look at my story below.

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I think you can sex Partridge wyandotte chicks from the instant they hatch  the two sexes look very different. One is  dark with ‘eyeliner’ the others are light with no eyeliner. I am doing an experiment to see if this is true, taking into account other sexing tips like;

* hens develop wing feathers faster than cockerels

* hens have paler combs than cockerels

* hens wing feather tips are more round.

 

 

 

 

 

By the end of the experiment, I will update and reveal the result.

 

 

 

All is now becoming clear. The eyelner chicks have very plain plumage and hardly any comb, so they are the females. The males are colouring up, their chests are growing a bit of golden and their combs and wattles are a telltale sign.

 

The latest images below show the growers after having gone through several juvenile moults.  They now have more adult like feathers. Also, my experiment worked. The ones with eyeliner have indeed turned out to be  girls.

 

 

 

 

Now the cockerels are no doubt cockerels, and have gone through more juvenile moults to reach a colour that is similar to their final colouring. The hens have grown and matured, but their plumage colour has not changed much.

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National Poultry Show, Stoneleigh!

July 31, 2011 By ChickenGirl Leave a Comment

It is coming round to that time of year again, the National poultry show, in November, at stoneleigh. This year, the show is held at the National Agricultural Centre, stoneleigh Nr coventry. Come and see one of the largest shows in Britain, on the 19th & 20th November 2011. There will be over 5,000 exhibits and over 130 breeds of bantams, large fowl, ducks, geese, and turkeys.

This is a very big attraction, remember to write it in your diary!!!

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Partridge Wyandotte Bantams

June 26, 2011 By ChickenGirl Leave a Comment

 

The wyandotte bantam

This version is lighter than its larger counterpart, therefore create less damage to flowerborders, manicured lawns and enclosures. Other than this, they are a replica of their large counterpart.

Cockerels weigh about 1.7kg while hens weigh around 1.3kg. Wyandotte bantams come in a similar array of colours, but my favourite must be partridge bantams.

Partridge wyandottes are very versatile. Like all other wyandottes, they are excellent egg producers, but are also a successful colour in the showring. Unlike colours such as whites and lavenders, they dont get dirty, but are still very pretty birds.

I recommend these birds for first time owners and first time exhibitors, but even if you have owned chickens for many years, these birds still make a delightful addition in any garden.

Wyandottes in general are strong, hardy, kind, easy to tame, good with children, good broodies, good mothers etc.

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Examining a chickens Health

June 12, 2011 By ChickenGirl Leave a Comment

Experienced poultry keepers develop a ‘sixth sense’ and are able to tell if their birds are behaving normally with so little as a glance. Experienced or not, it is important to learn how to tell if your birds are in good shape. Signs to look out for include comb, feathers, vent, eyes etc. Comb; This can serve as a good indicator, if its red in cockerels, then the cockerel is generally healthy. If it is red in hens, the hen is healthy and in lay. If a hens comb is pink she is not in lay but is still healthy. If the comb is blue tinged, then circulation is poor. The wattles should be red and the earlobes should be red/white according to breed standard.

Head; This is also a good indicator, the nostrils should be clear and free of fluid. If they have runny discharge, the birds could be trying to fight off bacterial or viral infection, otherwise they may be suffering from respiratory disease. Listening to their breathing should determine if they have difficulty breathing, if they wheeze or their breath rattles, they may be suffering from respiratory disease.                                                                                                                                                                   Eyes should be bright and alert, with no discharge or frothy mucus. the beak should lie normally, it should be brown/black/yellow/blue as breed standard will determine.

Legs, feathers and feet; Legs should be smooth, the scales should lie flat. They should be ‘clean’ both in terms of cleanliness and featherless (unless the breed standard calls for it). Their feet should have four toes, no more no less (unless by breed standard they have five toes eg. silkies).                    Feathers  should be smooth, colourful and shiny. They should have appropriate markings for the breed. Some breeds are referred to as ‘soft feathered’ while others are ‘hard feathered’. This refers to feather texture, for example Brahmas feathers are soft and they are classified as soft feathered. Chickens feathers and markings should agree with their breed classification.                                      The vent should be clean and muck free, the base of the feathers should be regularly checked for the buildup of lice, because, along with the wing feathers, the vent feathers are a prime place for lice. It is very important to bear all of this information into account when buying new birds.

It is extremely important to keep your chickens healthy, and if you do, you will be rewarded with eggs and cute chicks.

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Chicken Housing

May 24, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Chickens like to live a life of freedom and range where they choose, but in the modern day people interefere with this, and put them in cages to lay. People now also put them into there garden for a fresh supply of eggs, but for them to remain healthy and happy they have imporant requirements including good food, a foraging area, nutrient rich greens, space and good housing.

Runs and paddocks

Chickens like to range wherever they choose, but mostly this is not an option because people don’t like to have their flower beds in disarray, so an enclosure in the garden will do. They prefer to have a place with trees because they dont like to stand in a place where they are vulnerable to the hot sun. Our paddocks have apple trees so they shade the birds, and also give us a summer treat!
Fencing should be strong post and rail with chicken mesh, which should be checked regularly for holes.
Runs should contain a sand bath, which the chickens can use at will. It should contain sand, diatomous earth or both.
The term Free range is different to free to range, the latter refers to chickens which are not cooped up while the former is where each hen has a minimum of 4 metres square to roam.
The standard is 4sq ft in the coop and 10sq ft in the run in mainstream production.

Housing requirements
There must be at least 10in perch space for each hen and there must be at least 1 nest box per 5/6 hens. There must be at least 1 drinker per ten hens and, by DEFRAs regulations, 15cm of feeder per bird.
There must be sufficient ventilation, birds must be warm enough, but must also have fresh air available to avoid respiratory problems.
Contrary to what some people think, chickens only lay in their nestboxes, they dont sleep in them. Therefore several birds can share a nestbox, the box must be in a quiet, dark and fairly secluded corner.
Naturally, the place where droppings are at greatest density is in the chicken coop, where they poop in the same place every night. As a result of this, coop cleaning needs to be done at least once a week. A few small bantams in a fairly large coop need to be cleaned out once a week, while larger birds need cleaning out every two or three days.

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Chickens month by month

February 22, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

A DAY ON THE CHICKENS LAND

AM: let the chickens out, feed them (with layers pellet or mash), check grit, change their water and check for eggs.  Clean out the chicken houses if necessary. Dust with mite powder (red mite is a potentially deadly pest and can kill a full grown hen) and replace straw.

PM: check eggs ( essential if not done in morning) and feed chickens (with a handfull of grain) or (a top up of mash or pellets).

At dusk (or the earliest when the chickens go to bed) close their houses and count them.

CHICKENS MONTH BY MONTH

AM: let the chickens out,feed them (with layers pellet or mash), check grit, change their water and check for eggs. Depending on what day it is , clean out the chicken houses. Dust with mite powder (red mite is a potentially deadly pest and can kill a full grown hen) and replace straw.

PM: check eggs( essential if not done in morning) and feed chickens (with a handful of grain.
At dusk (or the earliest when the chickens go to bed) close their houses and count them.

February
If you are purchasing more chickens, now is the time to consider the breed you would like. Why do you want them? Eggs? For showing? Just for appearance? rare and traditional breeds often produce all these traits in one.

March
If you are purchasing more birds, you need to select a suitable house, with dark nestboxes, suitable perches, good ventilation and it must be large enough to accommodate all the bird comfortably.

April
Now is the perfect time to acquire your youngsters. Take a look all around the yard /farm /paddock where the birds are kept.
Do they look stressed? Have they got pale faces? Is the environment suitable?
If you think any hens look in poor condition do not go ahead with the purchase. If they all look good, you can make further considerations.

May
Make sure your new birds travel properly, make sure they don’t get stressed.

June
It is important to supply good food to boost summer production. Feed layers pellets, or mash and give grit. Greens are also important, they supply vitamins and minerals and cause egg yolk to be a rich yellow. Corn can be fed as a treat but do not overfeed as it can lead to overweight birds.

July
During the summer it is extra important that your hens have lots of clean fresh water AT ALL TIMES
During a hot summer hens can become overheated. Symptoms include panting, increased drinking, listlessness and lying on the ground panting.
If a chicken becomes overheated splash cold water on his or her comb and under his or her wings.

August
Look out for red mite (should be done at every time of the year) if you notice these grey (red after their first meal) pests then you need to buy red mite powder A.S.A.P as these mites can kill a fully grown hen (luckily I have never experienced this through routine dusting of the hens, and the house.

September
Now the chickens are moulting, and replacing the old feathers with new winter ones.

October
If point of lay hens are still not laying they will begin in spring, or late autumn.
Reddening combs and wattles are signs to look out for when a hen is due to start laying.

November
Now is the time to prepare for winter using a suitable bedding as litter for the paddock. Shavings are absorbent but messy, straw is even easier and does not absorb well, hemp is expensive and hard to find, but absorbent and not too messy and it deodorises .

December and January
You may need extra warmth in the house, and ice needs cracking twice a day.
Keep feeding grit.
Throughout the year remember to close in the hens every night and count them. Check all ends of the hen house.

When I was a young girl, aged about six my job was to put the hens in and let them out, but eventually my dad started double checking because I once closed the front of the house, while leaving the back open and in the morning one hen was dead in the garden, one had been deposited in front of the door and the last had lost its head but was still half alive, and walked around with only a bloody, bent neck.

That taught me a valuable lesson.

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