CHUCKS

A WEBSITE WITH SOME THINGS ON IT.

Chicken page.

What website would be complete without a chicken page?

Doctor Angus Bellend. Member of the World Chicken Ring.

Yes, I know that urban chickens are desperately trendy now but I was doing it before!

From front to back: Doris, Gertrude (boss chicken) , Betty, Nora.

Our Chucks come from http://www.gardenpoultry.cwc.net/.

Nora and Betty are Golden Rockets, Gertrude and Doris are Black Comets.

Keeping Chickens. The basics...

Doris poses very reluctantly for a photo...
Hens are omnivores and will eat almost anything. Seeds, plants, insects, worms and even small mammals if they get the chance.
Our local fox is quite partial to Chicken and Rabbit (and leftover Sainsbury's steak pie oddly). Foxes will try to dig under the wire and eat your chucks so we have an electric fence to make him change his mind and eat something else. We've heard a few shrieks in the night so I think Mr Fox has found it ok. This may be a good idea depending on where you live, electric fencing gear is cheap on Ebay.
Day/night IR camera for monitoring. I added this as part of our existing CCTV so it's recorded along with our other cameras. Useful for playing back if there are any 'poultry-based events' you need to look at like who laid the egg outside in the pen or who's pecking who etc. Also good for spotting night time vermin who may be attracted by poultry food. The last frequent visitor got an electrocuted arse.
The hut. http://www.pandtpoultry.co.uk
Ahhh, Chicken ovulations!

What you need to keep your own hens.

A good sized run, the bigger the better. 6ft high fence, dug in 6 inches. Electric fence if foxes about.

A secure hen house with private nest box and suitable perches.

Water and food containers.

Sawdust and straw from the pet store, or buy a huge sawdust bag and bale of hay if you've got the space.

Feed.

I recommend Organic Layers Mash available from farm stores.

Corn or wild bird seed for 'scratch food'.

DO NOT feed your chickens leftovers except for the occasional bit of bread because you'll get no eggs.

A constant supply of fresh water.

Food and water should be available all the time. Hens like to scratch for food as well, so make sure you have some corn to throw down. They are especially fond of worms. Unfortunately for our hens, our worms are sensible enough to stay down out of the their reach so if you have a compost heap, a shovel full of this to scratch through for worms makes a great treat and often results in some entertaining chases.