My Life with Chickens
Well, I was asked to write an article about chicken keeping and I very reluctantly agreed! However, I'm no expert, there are plenty of people out there with more knowledge and experience than me. This is just to show that if I can manage to keep happy, healthy chickens then ANYONE can. I'm just your (not so) average 40-something single female living in an ex council house on an estate, which is still about half council rented properties. I'm lucky enough to have a fairly big garden and an allotment nearby. I'm not allowed to keep the chickens on the allotment and even if I could, I don't think I would. I love watching them through the kitchen window. You really can't be miserable if you have a chicken running up to you. I was recently described by a neighbour as a cross between Barbara Goode and Bridget Jones! However there is no Mr Darcy or Tom Goode around, just me, my cats and of course my chickens, who are the subject of this article. Beware, however, chickens can be addictive.
On Monday June 4th 2006, after a lot of reading and internet searching, I became the proud owner of an Eglu and 2 chickens (Gertrude & Mabel), all ordered online from Omlet 
(www.omlet.co.uk/homepage) and delivered and set up for me. The Eglu comes with a feeder and a water holder, sunshade and a bag of layers pellets (chicken feed). Now, I'm not going into the ins and outs of Eglus versus wooden chicken coops and whether or not to make your own. That's for you to research and decide what suits you best. I went for the Eglu as I am intrinsically lazy and wanted the easiest option with regards to cleaning out the hen house as well as security against possible fox attack. Yes, it was expensive but by the time I'd found a wooden coop I liked the look of and a secure run the cost was near enough the same and although I'm a dab hand at putting together IKEA flat pack furniture, I'm not one for wielding hammers, saws and drills so building my own hen house was out of the question.
The chickens were ‘point of lay'. That means they were about 16 weeks old and were just coming up to the age where they would start laying eggs and I was told it could take a couple of weeks before that happened. They also needed to stay in the run for a couple of weeks to get used to their new home and get used to me. All they needed was for me to make sure they had plenty of food and clean water and a clean house.
After they were delivered I spent the whole afternoon just sitting by the chicken run watching them amazed I'd actually done it and got myself some chickens after wanting some for ages. Luckily, my next door neighbours were just as excited, which is very useful as they are more than happy to look after them if I go away and to help use up excess eggs. Eggs are good for bribery. However, it is probably a good idea to check any tenancy agreement or house deeds to make sure you can keep chickens.
Chickens are not particularly noisy, you don't need a noisy cockerel to get eggs, although it's amazing how many people don't realise that. Sometimes there is a bit of squawking if they are all trying to lay at the same time in the same nest box or if they get a bit spooked by something. It has been known for me to be out in the garden at 3 in the morning in my pyjamas trying to hush up a noisy chicken, it's not an easy task and causes great amusement for my next door neighbours. Also people can be under the misconception that chickens will smell and attract rats. If you clean them out regularly, they won't smell, just the same as cleaning out any other pet or emptying a cat litter tray and as long as the food is kept under cover and not left lying around then you won't be troubled by rats either. Something like a dustbin or similar container with a lid is ideal. You will also need some sort of scoop to get the food out of the bags. I use the bottom half of an old plastic fizzy drinks bottle (after cutting one in half to use the top half as a mini cloche for seedlings).
My 2 girls must have been quite content as the very next day after they arrived I came home from work and went to have a look, and there was one perfect brown egg in the nest box. It felt like Christmas; I was so excited. I had it boiled with soldiers for my tea, can't think of a better way to eat your very first egg.
After a couple of weeks, one weekend I let the chickens out of the run and into the garden, which was secure and surrounded by 6ft high fences. However, chickens can fly, and can even get over a 6ft fence, so it's a good idea to clip one wing. I was shown how to do this by the nice man who delivered my chickens. It's not difficult, just a bit tricky trying to hold the chicken under one arm, pull open the wing and cut the ends of the feathers.
Once they realised I was the source of food they began to follow me around the garden, which is highly amusing. Once they get used to the sound of your voice they will come running, a sight to cheer anyone up.
I feed my chickens mainly on organic layers pellets. This is a completely balanced chicken food and comes, of course, in pellets. You can also feed them layers mash. I give them mixed corn as a treat - this is best given later in the day to make sure they eat enough pellets first to encourage egg laying. Too much corn just makes them fat. They also love to eat grass and love scratching around the garden looking for worms and bugs. WARNING...they WILL destroy your garden so if you are into manicured lawns or prize flowers and veg then make sure you keep the chickens well away or it will end in you in tears and threatening the chooks with the cooking pot.
When my grandad used to keep chickens he cooked up pans of veg peelings, oats and any other bits and pieces to feed them. New rules from DEFRA say that nothing that has been prepared in a domestic kitchen can be fed to chickens (further information can be found at www.defra.gov.uk/). However, if you grow your own veggies then you could give them some outer leaves, or bolted lettuces etc straight from the garden. Mine like to peck at fallen apples. Also make sure you keep the chickens well away from your compost heap as they may eat vegetable peelings, scraps etc that have come from the kitchen. When you clean them out you can put the chicken poo on the compost heap, though, as it's a good activator.
As I mentioned before, chickens are addictive. Two months after becoming a chicken keeper I was contacted by someone from the Omlet forum who needed to re-home their chicken and as I was local I was asked if I could take it. I agreed immediately and also bought their old Eglu as I had my eyes on getting a couple of ex battery hens from the Battery Hen Welfare Trust, an organisation that rescues battery hens (www.bhwt.org.uk/ ). The spare Eglu was handy for letting the new chicken, Daisy, settle in and for Gertrude and Mabel to get used to her before putting them all in together, thereby reducing the amount of hen pecking that goes on in order to establish the pecking order. She soon settled in and with an extension to the original run, moved in after a couple of weeks.
Two years on I now have 6 hens: 4 of them ex-battery hens, and my original Gertrude and Daisy (I had 2 losses, one was Mabel, one of my original 2 hens and one ex-battery hen but she'd had a good life for a year with me). The chickens are now in an enclosed 12ft x 12ft covered run so they are free to roam around in there safely whilst I'm at work and it saves the garden from being totally wrecked. My thanks to Gus for building this in the midst of the worst wet weather imagineable and for christening it Cluckingham Palace. I do let them out in the garden when I'm at home and can keep an eye on them.
I have a constant supply of eggs, more than I can use during the summer and I sell some to my workmates or make plenty of cakes to take in to work. The number of eggs you get from a hen varies according to their breed, age and the length of daylight they are exposed to, but one hen can lay approximately 200 eggs a year, slowing down during the winter months and when they moult (lose old feathers and grow new ones).
As I said earlier, I'm no expert. This is just to show that anyone can keep chickens, it's not hard, is plenty of fun and very rewarding - especially with the ex-battery hens when 
you can see a real improvement in their health. One of mine, Mavis, was practically ‘oven ready' (see left picture) when I got her, hardly any feathers at all and within 3-4 months she grew a full set of lovely glossy feathers and is happy and healthy (see right picture). I heartily recommend getting a couple of chickens: even if you don't have loads of room, it's still possible. Oh, and you just can't feel miserable when you see a chicken come running towards you.
By JellyB
Wing Clipping
You should use a pair of sharp scissors to clip about half to 2/3 off the length of the primary flight feathers. These are the last 10 feathers on the chicken's wing. CLIP ONLY ONE WING. This throws the bird off balance and prevents flight. If you clip both wings, the bird may still be able to fly by simply flapping harder. This is a temporary solution, because the feathers will grow back at the next moult, which may be a few months for young birds or up to one year for older ones. Be careful where you cut so you don't cut through where the blood flows through the rib of the feather.
Other Useful Links
http://www.poultryclub.org
www.henkeepersassociation.co.uk
There is also a very useful Big Green Idea resource sheet on keeping chickens just follow the link here
Article photos (c) JellyB 2008
Frontpage photo (c) Lotty 2008
18 Oct 08
