GUEST POST...CHICKEN KEEPING MADE EASY

This is a first for Swedish House...


It is my great pleasure to introduce 
the lovely Sian from
Diary of a Tinyholder

Sian has a light-hearted, genuine blog, about all the things most of us like to do...crafting, hunting vintage bargains, recycling, upcycling, freecycling...cooking, renovating, decorating
and of course blogging!

Amidst, all of this hive of activity, at her beautiful
 Sussex cottage...

 Sian mangages to work, raise funds for the charity ALZHEIMERS
as well as fitting in training for a trekk up to Mount Kilamanjaro to raise even more money for her chosen charity...
and also Keeps Chickens!

Myself & hubby have been considering keeping chickens for quiet some time...Have YOU?


If so, well your at the right place here!

READ

Sian's very informative
GUEST POST...





CHICKEN KEEPING MADE EASY

Hello everyone, my name is Sian and I’ve been keeping hens for a few years now and I’m now officially chicken obsessed!

I’d like to introduce you to my girls – Blackie, White and Brownie – 3 little Pekin Bantams.

My introduction to chicken keeping came as a complete surprise – Tim organised for Omlet to deliver my Eglu complete with chickens to arrive on the morning of my 27th birthday.

I still maintain it was the best birthday ever!

They come and spend a couple of hours building the house, showing you the basics (e.g., wing clipping and how to hold the hens), and everything you need to get started.

Much as I love my Eglu and would recommend Omlet products to anyone, you can by all the things you need, including the hens themselves and the kit, from local suppliers. The hardest part is knowing what you need and what you don’t need.

What do I need to get started?

First off, you need some outside space. If you only want 2 or 3 hens, then you’d be surprised at just how little outside space you do need. As long as they have a sufficient run, you can keep them in all day and they will be quite happy scratching around.

There are lot of different types of chicken houses.

Top left: chicken ark, these are usually very reasonably priced and ideal for 1 or 2 larger hens or 3 to 4 bantams

Top right: Traditional house – this is ideal if you have an enclosed garden and plenty of space for the hens to run around

Bottom left: Eglu classic – ideal for 2 to 3 hens, and 4+ bantams. You can also buy the run extension and add more hens to the brood.

Bottom right: wooden house and large walk in run.

What do chickens eat?

Food wise, young hens (pre laying age) need growing mash/chick crumbs, once they are around 18 weeks (point of lay) you need to start giving them layer mash or pellets. My hens prefer the mash to the pellets. Because hens have no teeth, their food has to contain grit so that they can mechanically break down their food. Layers mash and pellets both contain the grit that they need to digest their food.

You can feed them kitchen scraps, but I tend to avoid doing that and only give them tinned/frozen (and defrosted) sweetcorn or mixed seeds as a treat. The most important thing to remember is to never give them anything that isn’t fit for human consumption.

Food must be kept in a metal bin to prevent rats and mice getting to it.

What about bedding?

I’ve tried various makes of bedding, sawdust, bark chippings etc, but I’ve found the best is Hemcore horse bedding (made from Hemp) as it’s the perfect texture, stays quite dry and is pre-sprayed with citronella to deter the flies. If you can’t get hold of this, then Aubiose is the next best thing.

My chicken medicine cabinet essentials

Top left: purple spray for cuts and bruises. One of the less cute aspects of chickens is that if they see anything red they peck. So you do need to keep an eye on them to make sure they haven’t got any cuts or bruises. The purple spray keeps the wounds clean and deters any pecking.

Top right: Lifeguard – this is a vitamin preparation that you put into their water. I tend to do this once a week, perhaps more frequently in the winter to keep them nice and healthy.

Bottom right: Red mite powder for preventing red mite infestation

Bottom right: Worming pellets

It’s also good to have a big tub of Vaseline and baby oil for rubbing into their crowns in the cold weather and preventing frost bite.

So, can anyone keep chickens?

In the UK, you don’t need a license to keep chickens (as long as it’s less than 200!). Some new-build properties and ex-council houses may have restrictions on keeping chickens written into the deeds so it does pay to check. If you do have neighbours close by, then it’s courtesy to tell them that you have or are getting chickens, and to reassure them that you do not have any cockerels (roosters).

If you don’t have your own outside space, perhaps consider keeping chickens in the communal garden or perhaps them on an allotment?

How many eggs do you get per week?

That all depends on what type of hens you have.
 If you have a Road Island Red or brown hen, then you can get 7 large eggs a week, but pure bred hens lay much less frequently.
 A Light Sussex hen may lay up to 250 eggs/year.

 For more information on the different breeds of hens please visit the Omlet website 

My bantams lay about 5 eggs a week each from May to September, and stop laying over the winter.

On the right is an ordinary large egg and on the left is one of the bantam eggs – still surprisingly large given how small the bantam hens are!

So, what’s stopping you?

Keeping chickens is probably one of the most enjoyable, rewarding and very easy things to do. I love all birds, but chickens never cease to amaze and surprise me at just how intelligent they are and how much personality they have.

 So, go on, become a chicken keeper I can assure you, you won’t regret it!

Sian is hoping to climb Kilimanjaro in September for Alzheimer’s Society
and
 is currently holding charity raffles every week to raise money for the charity.

 Please do go and visit her blog
 and help her raise awareness about this cruel disease by either donating on her fundraising page
 or spreading the word!