Chicken Keeping Overview

As someone who has recently started a flock from scratch having never kept chickens before I thought it might be useful to gather some basic information on what I found I needed to keep my healthy, happy flock.

I’ve included links to sources of detailed information that I found helpful for finding answers to the questions that inevitably arose.

Getting Started

How to start off a back garden chicken flock for beginners.

Basic Equipment

What you need to keep chickens (and what you might not)

Health Tips

A few tips for keeping your flock healthy and happy.

Getting Started

Getting started with chicken keeping is pretty simple, the first questions to ask yourself are:

What breed of chicken would suit my family?

The main considerations are what you want from your chickens. If you just want pets then consider factors such as temperament, noise levels, size, destructiveness. My choice was Pekins because they are very friendly and calm, pretty quiet, they are bantams (small chickens) so don’t need as much food, coop space etc as large breeds and they are really really pretty. Pekins have feathered legs and feet so I have found that they are not at all destructive to the grass in my garden which means your chicken run still looks pretty and not just a bare mud patch.

Eggs?

If you want eggs then pick good layers. Please note you do not need a cockerel to get eggs the only difference is the eggs won’t be fertile. Both fertile and non-fertile eggs are identical for eating purposes. Pekins can be a bit broody so they don’t lay as many eggs as say a hybrid egg laying breed. Having said that with only 2 or 3 hens laying I found I had eggs a plenty and was looking up recipes for quiches.

How much space do I need?

You will need enough space for a coop of suitable size for the number and size of chickens you are planning to keep. I think that all chickens should have ample run space, some covered to keep the weather off them and provide shelter and some true outdoors. My flock have two 2m long covered runs, one on each coop, and a large outdoor grassed run around 8m square with a box hedge square within it for yet more shade and shelter as I have a fair amount of strong winds up here.

I started with 1 coop but as soon as I found myself tempted to raise chicks I found I needed a “spare” coop for the broody mum and chicks. Most chicken keepers will recognise this as the inevitable flock expansion phase that you might not have initially planned. You don’t have to breed them at all though.

How many chickens should I keep?

I would not recommend keeping just one chicken as they are social animals and derive feelings of security from being with other chickens. When you start out it is good practise to buy chickens in pairs that know each other to avoid one bird getting pecked a lot. I started with 2 pairs of hens.

You will also want to consider whether to have a cockerel or not. You do not need a cockerel to get eggs, hens lay eggs regardless. If you do want a cockerel then you might want to have a few hens to prevent any one hen getting too much attention from your boy. I have not found Bertie to be noisy at all, he does crow but it is not loud or disruptive to family life or my holiday cottage visitors.

Basic Equipment

What I think you will definitely need:

  • Chicken Coop - get a good one with correct high level ventilation and wide perches

  • Covered Run - you will need a covered run in case of bird flu restrictions

  • Outdoor Space, fenced from predators, foxes, cats, dogs etc

  • Chicken Drinkers

  • Chicken Feeders

  • Chicken Food, layers pellets (grower pellets, chick crumb if you are raising chicks)

  • Chicken Bedding for the Coop - I like Aubiose Chopped Hemp Horse Bedding

  • Claw Clippers (Cat ones will work fine)

  • Red Mite Control Spray - I found SMITE is excellent, you dilute and use a hand sprayer

  • Scaly Leg Spray

  • Anti peck spray - disinfects & covers any wound with purple to prevent pecking from other hens

  • Poultry Disinfectant - antibacterial and antiviral type for coop cleaning yearly - I use Viratec-P

What you might choose to have in addition:

  • Diatomaceous Earth - controls mites and other unwanted insects when sprinkled in the coop

  • Chicken Treats e.g. sunflower hearts, dried mealworms, I get mine from the farm shop

  • Epsom Salts - for treatment of bumblefoot and other ailments

  • Tuf-foot Spray - antiseptic spray which toughens foot skin (used for greyhounds, chickens and people)

  • Wound Powder - Battles - this is a horse antiseptic powder for small wounds

  • Vaseline - for chicken combs in very cold weather to stop frost bite

  • Iodine Spray for small wounds

What you don’t need in my opinion

  • Coop Heaters - chickens are fine without heat to several degrees below freezing, they do need ventilation to prevent frost bite from moisture build up

  • Chicken clothing - they have feathers (who knew?), interfering with them is not sensible

  • Coop lighting - this interferes with the chicken’s natural biorhythms that control egg laying and moulting, healthy chickens are natural chickens I think

  • Chicken swings - mine are just not interested

  • Straw - it can harbour mites, moisture, mould and all sorts - use chicken bedding made from chopped hemp or wood chips

  • Incubators - if you have Pekins you will never need an incubator, chicken mums are best, and mum will teach the chicks everything they need to know

Health Tips

My chickens have been pretty healthy, probably because I got them from a good breeder.

I had to deal with red mites in the first year. Having mastered the control of it I’ve not had 1 mite since 2017. It’s simple if you know which mite sprays to use and how to use them. The key thing is cleanliness, knowing what to look for and attention to detail.

I have also had a couple of minor bumblefoot episodes with 2 of my chickens. I have successfully dealt with these myself after reading up on treatment and asking a chicken vet for advice. There are many excellent guides for treating bumblefoot online these are what I referred to. See above Betty enjoying an Epsom Salt foot bath in the utility sink, this helped to soften the feet allowing the lesions to be easily removed.

Claw clipping I have found to be a good idea every few weeks as my girls have generally soft grass or bedding to walk on so their claws don’t wear down spontaneously. It is quite simple to clip chicken claws with cat claw clippers - once you master catching and turning over a chicken and holding her securely it’s fairly easy. You do have to be careful not to cut too short or a lot of bleeding will occur which looks worse than it actually is, but care is advised.

Chickens will naturally moult their feathers probably in late summer or autumn, this can look like a pillow fight has occurred in the coop in the morning but is quite natural and allows the chickens to refeather for the next year. Some chickens can look a bit moth-eaten during this phase but they come out with beautiful new feathers for the next year.

Broody chickens may well have bald tummies, this was something I wasn’t expecting initially, but soon learned it’s to allow the eggs to get warm. The feathers grow back naturally for the following winter so don’t worry if you have bald tummied girls so long as the skin looks healthy.

Pecking other birds and creating small wounds can happen although I’ve found with adequate space and calm healthy birds it has not been a big problem for me. If you do end up with a wound that bleeds you need to disinfect it and spray with an anti-peck spray which contains purple dye. This has the effect of making the wound or blood unattractive to other birds for more pecking. Chickens are programmed to peck at anything red so you need to cover the wound to allow for healing.