Chicken Keeping Secrets

“Could you advise me how often you should worm chickens? I have just started keeping chickens and got some worming powder from the vet and used a very small amount for a week mixed with their food. That was some 4 weeks ago, when should I use the powder again.

The other question I have is when I was giving them the powder mixed with their food my Welsommer hen stopped laying. She doesn’t lay every day but during the week of the worming she had bad diarrhea and I wonder if that could have been as a result of the worming powder? Thanks for the great newsletters I am learning so much about chickens!” ~ Elaine, from Fermanagh N. Ireland.

Hi Elaine, I’m glad you wrote.

Here are my thoughts about worming chickens; do it only when necessary.

In some climates where it is often wet and doesn’t get too hot nor too cold, you may need to worm often. There are climates where the need to worm may never become necessary. I don’t believe in treating problems that aren’t problems.

I do believe that taking preventative measures is always a good idea.

With that thought in mind, make sure you practice good sanitation. Keep droppings cleaned up, keep litter material fresh and dry.

Do not allow wild birds or other wild animals to get near your chicken’s feed as their droppings can contain parasites. (more…)

“I live in the north east U.S. and will soon be starting my first flock. I will be building my own coop and have plenty of land but my question is should i build the coop facing a certain direction. I am most concerned with the cold wet winters. Should they get morning sun, all day sun or am i worried over nothing? If it makes a difference I plan on keeping 8-10 Rhode Ilsand Reds. Thank You” ~ Bill

Thanks for the question, Bill.

Before we talk about the coop and it’s placement, let’s talk a little bit about breed selection.

Your choice of Rhode Island Reds is a good one.

It’s important to select breeds that will do well in your area based on their ability to thrive in your climate.

If you select breeds, particularly heritage breeds that have not been altered through selective breeding and that are native to your area, the extra steps you’ll need to take in extreme weather will be minimized.

In a cold climate, you’ll want to place your coop in such a way that you can take advantage of the sun’s warmth as much as possible during the cold winter months. A southern facing coop with windows on the east and west sides and a big door or windows on the south side will help your coop to stay warmer. It will also protect your flock from cold winds from the north. (more…)

“In a recent article about food wastage, the response suggested this may occur as a result of boredom among hens. How would you suggest alleviating boredom? I try to let me hens roam whenever possible, but when I’m at work during the week, they are contained as my urban garden is not fully fenced. There are a few perches within their run, but not a great deal for them to do! Many thanks,” ~ Kate

Hi Kate, I’m glad you wrote.

Just like my children, I find that when my chickens are bored, they get into trouble.

My hens eat their eggs, peck at each other more and throw their food on the ground when they’re bored. The roosters (we don’t have any currently) used to fight with each other, crow more often and harass the hens constantly.

With all our animals, and children too for that matter, we have to give them plenty of good things to do so they don’t have time to engage in bad behavior. (more…)

“Hi, I have a Broody Bantam Hen. She has already hatched eggs and took care of the chicks until she decided they were old enough to be on their own. She was fine then for several weeks but now she wants to sit on eggs again. I was wondering if it causes any health problems to her or how often we should let her sit on eggs.” ~ Annon

“Hello, I have a hen that is constantly setting on the nest (brooding?). She does not seem to be allowing others on the nest. We collect the eggs every day. We are down from 5 eggs a day to 3. Can we stop her? How?” ~ Marlena

Thanks to both of you for the questions.

It’s interesting, we get a lot of questions from people who are trying to get their hens to brood; the two of you are having just the opposite problem. The truth is that it is a good problem to have.

Brooding is natural, normal and important.

Before chickens and eggs became “big business”, before we had a grocery store on every corner, people raised chickens to feed their families. Brooding was imperative to expand the flock and have food on the table.

As time has gone by, the instinct to brood has all but been bred out of the most popular breeds. Instead, these breeds have been bred to be super egg layers. That’s a wonderful thing if you just want eggs to eat; it becomes a problem when you want to hatch eggs without the use of a commercial incubator. (more…)

“Hi, it’s Drew here. I really enjoy your articles. I have 3 black cross Rhode Island Reds, 1 Campine pure bred which does not lay any eggs and now my daughters have sucked me into buying 2 Lohman Brown chicks to hand raise. During the night the chicks sleep inside for warmth, during the day they free range in what we now call the nursery which is secure from the adult chooks.

The youngies are 3 weeks old. What age can I introduce the chicks to the flock and is there any special tricks to make there introduction easy? I am not sure about having 3 different breeds in the 1 roost can you please let me know what to do? Once again, your information is invaluable and I can’t thank you enough. Looking forward to your reply. Kindest regards” ~ Drew

Drew,

I’m so glad you wrote.

It sounds like you and your daughters are on an adventure.

First, it shouldn’t be a problem to have the different breeds together.

If you can keep the chicks secure, you can start introducing them to the older girls anytime.

I don’t know your particular situation but if you can allow the two “flocks” to see each other but be kept separate, that would be ideal.

Typically, you’ll want to allow the new birds to be close but separate for at least 2 weeks before you add them to the existing flock. In this way, the birds start getting used to each other. Then when it comes time to combine the two groups, they’re not “strangers”. (more…)