Chickens For Pets. More Details On Care & Feeding

It's helpful to think in terms of summer and winter.

If you're keeping chickens for pets that are free ranging they can help themselves to a huge array of greenery and insects that they'll find for themselves but for the sake of simplicity in this article let's assume they live in a run or pen. You can grow these favorite plants anywhere in the garden and cut them to bring to the chickens fresh each day. It will make an enormous difference to their health rather than living on pre-prepared feeds alone.

For summer you can grow and feed chickens just about any veg you may be growing for the house but in particular they adore: Comfrey, Fennel, Peas, Melon (go crazy for the insides!) Tomatoes.

Or go and collect from roadside verges / weedy areas for free: Chick Weed, Plantain, Sheeps Parsley, Burnet & Chicory.

For winter you can grow these for cutting green right through the winter: Leafy Kale, Cabbages & Brussels

And if you can, try to grow some of these to dry and feed over the winter months too: Sunflowers (just feed the heads whole and they'll strip the seeds out) Sweet Corn / Maize but this needs growing in a block of at least 30 plants for wind pollination, Quinoa & Peas.

Another marvelous way to supplement their feeding and improve their health, if your run is large enough, is to build your compost heap inside their pen. They'll scratch through it, mix it up, help it rot down, poop in it and eat all sorts of insects and worms that they find for themselves.

So in keeping chickens for pets you really improve the health of your whole garden!!

You can make up your own chicken feed instead of using pre-prepared pellets. You still need to get the ingredients - either by growing them or buying separate sacks but you know for sure what's in the feed you make up.

If at all possible it is always best to supplement any dry feed with greens on a daily basis. Here are some old trusted mixes for poultry feed that have been used for years by homesteaders and small holders mixing their own feed. Even if you're just keeping chickens for pets they will thrive on wholesome feed mixes if you are able to provide it.

The numbers refer to parts. So that could be 2 lbs or 2 kg or 2 oz or 2 cwt! All depends how much you want to make but this gives you relative quantities. Mix it all up thoroughly to distribute the salt and oils.

Meal is ground up ingredients. If you don't grind they can get choosy and leave certain elements uneaten! Chicks of course need it ground.

For chicks & young birds: 10 wheat meal, 10 maize, 10 oats, 12 protein meal (fish or meat or soya or at a push any other beans), 12 alfalfa, 2 ground seashells, 1 flaxseed or cod liver oil, 1 salt.

For layers: 10 wheat meal, 10 maize, 10 oats, barley or rye, 10 protein meal (fish or meat or soya or at a push any other beans), 2.5 dried milk (or make up a mash of this feed with fresh milk each day, 1 ground seashells, 0.5 salt.

For fattening table birds: 12 barley meal, 4 wheat meal, 2 protein meal, 1 dried milk or make up mash with fresh milk each day, plus a little ground seashells and salt. Boiled potatoes are also excellent for fattening poultry.

All the milk can be skimmed.

On the whole, when keeping chickens for pets you are unlikely to come across many health problems. These are the main possible issues and their simple solutions:

Pecking & Bullying

A sure sign they need more room. Pecking order is a phrase we all know and in reality hens will have a hierarchy but this should not get to the point of ill health for any hens. They need adequate space to keep away from each other and if you are keeping chickens for pets it's far better to have a few happy hens than more unhappy ones!

You may also need to provide 2 or more areas for feeding and drinking so as all hens can access food and water. Sometimes in small pens these can be controlled by 1 or 2 bully hens.

Egg Eating

Some hens get into egg eating. It's a very difficult habit to break but fairly easy to avoid. Make sure nest boxes are in dark areas and cover with a hanging towel door if necessary to keep it good and dark. This avoids egg eating. If you already have an eater - sorry but the best way to deal with it is to eat her! Otherwise you need to keep her entirely separate as she will not likely give it up and others can learn the habit from her too.

Red Mites

These don't live on the bird but come out to feed on the birds at night and live in the coop in the day. Thoroughly clean out the coop at least every 3 months and apply a wood preservative to all internal surfaces at least once a year. Pay attention to all corners, joints, nooks and crannys. Really get the treatment into those and it kills the mites.

Lice

The birds naturally tackle this by dust bathing. Always make sure they have a dry area to roll around in and if lice are noticed then add some flowers of sulphur powder to their dust bath area. This is a natural way to control the lice and is also good for the skin as it has antimicrobial properties.

Low Egg Production

When keeping chickens for pets this is rarely an issue as even a few hens will probably give you more eggs than your family can eat. Make sure they are getting fresh water daily, room to behave naturally and as much fresh green / home grown food as possible. Try and give them at least some free range even if it's just an hour out at the weekends with you in the garden. Happy hens are productive hens.

Egg production will naturally drop off in the darker winter months and as the hens get older expect a few less but they will give many years of active service if given space, fresh water and good food.

With so many pet chicken coops to choose from it's important to consider many aspects in deciding which coop to buy.

This site has already done much of the hard work in selecting the best coops. They also lead you through the decision process to narrow it down further from their wide range but the final choice is of course yours!