A Family Guide To Keeping Chickens (36 page)

You could send your chickens on holiday too

Here are some ideas to make sure you have both a relaxed holiday and happy chickens:

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Ask a neighbour to help. This could be the obvious option as long as your neighbours are willing to take on the task, are reliable and understand what is involved.

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Take the chickens to family or friends. A small ark could be moved to another garden – remember there may be unfamiliar pets or predators in the new environment.

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Start a neighbourhood chicken watch. Get together with other chicken keepers and form a reciprocal sitting circle.

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Hire pet or house sitters. You could pay someone to look after your chickens or
even to stay in your house. Look for adverts in feed stores, pet shops, the vet’s surgery and country magazines, or try the internet (see Further Reference). Make sure your pet sitter is reliable and knows how to look after chickens – you will be giving a stranger access to your home so check references carefully too.

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Use chicken boarding. There are now places that will look after chickens when their owners are away. Some will supply everything – you just deliver the chickens – others will need you to bring your own housing and feed. Try an internet search to see if there is a chicken-boarding facility in your locality.

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Take your chickens with you. This may be possible if you are in a suitable self-catering property, and can transport both chickens and the henhouse, but remember that long journeys in hot weather aren’t good for chickens. Look out for unfamiliar predators at your holiday home – badgers, mink, pine martens and birds of prey.

Your chickens will usually be happier in familiar surroundings so, if you can, find someone dependable to take care of them in their own environment.

If your chickens need cleaning out or extra care while you are away, make sure your chicken sitter is willing and able to undertake this.

Be fair to your chicken sitter so that both of you can relax. Always leave more than enough feed and bedding. Write out a list of what needs to be done – verbal instructions can be confusing and easily forgotten. Include details of the hens and any individual quirks (‘white hen is rather nervous’). Add information about what to do if a bird is unwell, along with the phone number of your vet.

Key Points

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Make sure the chickens have food, water and grit every morning

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Check the birds as they come out in the morning and ensure fencing is functional

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Shut chickens securely in their house at night and remove all food

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Collect eggs regularly

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Check drinkers in hot or freezing weather

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Keep the run clean – shift movable runs frequently

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Clean the henhouse weekly and scrub it occasionally

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Look for signs of red mite when cleaning the house

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Wash feeders and drinkers regularly

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Deal with repairs to the henhouse promptly and make sure it is sound before winter

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Check electric fencing frequently and trim surrounding vegetation

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Inspect your chickens weekly

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Internal worms can badly affect chickens’ health and may prove fatal

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Flubenvet worming powder is mixed with feed for seven days

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If the vet prescribes an alternative wormer, there will be an egg-withdrawal period

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Chickens should be wormed at least every six months – more often if necessary

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Repeat worming treatment when dealing with an infestation

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Herbal worm products are available but don’t kill gapeworms

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Maintain hygiene to help prevent a build-up of worm-eggs

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Change the run material and move electric fencing whenever necessary

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The flight feathers on one wing can be clipped to stop chickens escaping

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Re-clip after moulting but make sure feathers are fully grown

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Arrange for your chickens to be cared for when you are away from home

Now you’ve read
Chapter 8
, test your chicken-keeping skills.

Question One

How often would you normally clean out the henhouse?

(a) Once a week

(b) Once a month

(c) Once a year

Question Two

How would you get hold of a chicken that doesn’t want to be caught?

(a) Run after it as fast as you can

(b) Wait until the chicken is roosting, then lift it off the perch

(c) Ask all your friends to help you round it up

Question Three

What is ‘worming’?

(a) Digging up worms to feed to the chickens

(b) Giving the chickens medicine to kill any worms living inside them

(c) Removing worms from the chicken run to stop the chickens eating them

Question Four

Which of these statements is wrong?

(a) Chickens should be regularly checked for injuries or illness

(b) The henhouse should be scrubbed with detergent occasionally

(c) You must always clip your chickens’ wings

Question Five

Before you go on holiday, should you:

(a) Arrange for someone to check the chickens every day?

(b) Buy some automatic equipment to look after the chickens while you are away?

(c) Leave the chickens with enough food and water to last them a few days?

Answers

One (a); Two (b); Three (b); Four (c); Five (a)

How did you do? Make sure you know everything about caring for your new chickens!

‘To clip someone’s wings’: In this chapter you read about clipping chickens’ wings to stop them from flying. When we talk about clipping a person’s wings, it means limiting their powers. For example: ‘Our Head Girl is very bossy – it’s time her wings were clipped!’

If a motorway is a fast road for cars, what’s a henway?

About two kilos!

Cleaning out your chickens is a very important part of keeping them healthy. A dirty henhouse can lead to diseases or breathing problems. A regular clean also gives you a chance to check the house for red mite – this parasite can make your chickens very weak or even kill them.

Cleaning the chicken house isn’t everyone’s favourite job but put on your old clothes and rubber gloves, and do your hen-housework!

Why not work out a daily, weekly and monthly routine for looking after your chickens? Write it all down to make sure you don’t forget anything!