Beginner’s Guide to Keeping Chickens

Raising and keeping chickens can be lots of things, relaxing, rewarding, fun, and for beginners maybe a bit nerve-wracking!

In this Alphapet guide, we have put together everything you need to know to help you along the way so you can care for your birds – from chick to chicken.

Starting Out Q&A

Before you get your chicks or chickens, you need to ask yourself some questions:

• Why are you raising them? – Eggs, meat, or pleasure?
• What are you going to keep them in? We suggest protecting them from predators in an AlphaPet Heavy Duty Walk-In Galvanised Steel Chicken Run Coop available in 4 different sizes.
• Are you prepared to spend time with them?
• Are you ready to ‘muck out’ their coop when necessary?
• Who will take care of them if you go on vacation?
• Are you allowed to have chickens – if so, how many?

These questions might seem inconsequential, but there have been many individuals who did not appreciate how much effort and time was involved in taking care of the birds and they endured a poor quality of health and life.

Chickens need care and attention, much as any captive animal does – even through the winter when it’s cold out, wet, and windy outside, are you prepared to still clean and feed them? Once you have asked yourself these questions and can answer yes, you can do this, and want to do this, your next move is research.

STEP 1: Choosing the Correct Breed of Chicken

Available today in the UK there is a stunning array of chicken breeds to choose from.

So just how many different breeds are there to choose from?

Around the world, it is estimated to be in the hundreds. There are birds that have been specifically bred for enhanced egg laying, quality meat, plumage and even fighting.

All breeds fall into one of four categories:

• Heritage Breeds:  Heritage chickens are natural breeding chickens that have a slow growth rate and can live a long, productive outdoor life.
• Egg Laying Breeds: These hens have been bred to produce large quantities of eggs through their short production lifetimes. Leghorns are a good example of prolific egg producers as are Australorps.
• Dual Purpose Breeds: These hens are the best of both worlds in utility terms. They are productive in the egg department and grow large enough to be used as a meat bird later on in their life.
• Meat Breeds: As the name suggests these breeds of chicken are bred for meat purposes. They grow very, very quickly. They put on weight at an alarming rate and are ready for slaughter at around nine weeks.

If you’d like to know more about breeds, then please visit an excellent guide here.

Isn’t a chicken the same as every other chicken?

Wrong! You will be sadly disheartened if you want egg layers and have acquired some Poland hens because they look beautiful. They will lay two eggs per week if you are lucky!

STEP 2: Planning and Buying Your Chickens

OK, so it is time to take the plunge! You want chickens and you have decided on a breed you’d like but haven’t a clue to where to start.

You have a few different choices when you get chickens for the first time.

Let’s look at the good and bad of each option. You can buy hatching eggs, chicks, started pullets or adult birds. Each choice has its benefits but it’s really down to personal preference and the time you have to put into starting a healthy flock

Money-wise, the cheapest choice is the chicks.

Pullets will cost you more due to care, feed, and time giving by the seller in raising the bird. Adult hens in their prime are the most expensive. Rescue and ex-battery hens are usually the cheapest option and can be found on the links on the British hen Welfare Trust

• Hatching Eggs: These are fertilised eggs that you need to incubate. If you are inexperienced with chickens this is not a recommended route to take. Although incubation is straightforward, there definitely is an art to it. Read the blog here for some good advice.
• Chicks: This is the most used and wisest choice for beginners. You can choose which breed(s) you want and when you want them. Chicks are normally sold at one day old.
• Pullets: Birds aged between four to six months are called Pullets. The chicks have been reared to adulthood and are usually sold as the hen is about to lay her first egg at any time!
• Adults: Adult hens are more difficult to come by as breeders like to move birds out before they get too old since they eat more. A common source of adult hens is animal shelters or rescue sanctuaries.

How Many Chickens Should I Get?

You can generally average out how many chicks you will need. If your birds are for eggs only, then you just need to think how many eggs do you use in a week currently?

Depending on breed, a good laying breed hen will average four to five eggs a week. Throw in a couple of extra chicks just in case to ensure your plentiful supply of fresh eggs.

If want 16 eggs a week you would need 6 hens, 4 would normally do this many eggs but having a few extra hens ensures your supply.

Where Do I Get My Chicks?

The best place for beginners to buy their chickens from is a local farmer, hatchery or farm supply stores. There is a UK classified website that has many on offer.

What Should I Look Out For?

All birds should have clear, bright eyes. They should be interested in their environment and you. Birds feathers or fluff should look clean and no bald patches.

If a chicken, regardless of age exhibits any of these signs you should avoid buying it.

• Sleepy, lethargic
• Hunched into a ball
• Sitting by itself
• Reluctant to move
• Any nasal/eye discharge
• Blocked vent

STEP 3: The Chicken Coop

Chickens are not very demanding when it comes to where they sleep.

They do not require running water, electricity or furniture. A modified basic wooden box will do in a pinch, but there are a few key things you need for your flock to ensure their safety and wellbeing.

1. Essential Shelter Requirements

This is the most basic need of all, a place where they can shelter from the elements. The coop needs to be water resistant as there is nothing more miserable than a soaking wet chicken.

• Enough Space

Adequate space for birds to co-habit peacefully is essential. If they are crowded together they are likely to start anti-social behaviors like picking and pecking each other. The worst time for these behaviors is winter; hens get bored and create mischief.

• Temperature Control

Ideally, the coop should be cool in summer and warm in winter. Adequate ventilation of your coop is crucial when it comes to maintaining a healthy temperature. A good flow of air will keep the coop at an optimal temperature for your hens. If it’s too hot you need to add more ventilation.

• Nesting Boxes

You will need approximately one box for every three hens, but it is better to have more than less. There is always one much-loved box that they will squabble over, so more is better.

• Roosts

Roosts are simply the place where the birds congregate to sleep at night. They will all generally sleep on the same perch (roost), although some do prefer to be by themselves if they feel perfectly safe.

• Outside Pen/ Walk in Coop

In addition to a secure coop your chicken is also going to need access to some outside space

For the best walk in chicken run on the market choose an AlphaPet Heavy Duty Walk In Galvanised Steel Chicken Run Coop

• Security

A strong and formidable coop will keep your girls safe at night. Do not think, even for a minute, that predators such as foxes and rats won’t be bold enough to sneak into your garden and try to kill your birds – they will and they do, with catastrophic results for your birds and heart break for you.

Check out our the following article on predator proofing your coop whether you build it yourself or buy one.

STEP 4: Preparing for Chicks

Now that you have decided on your breed, what happens now?

Once you have ordered your chicks, you need to organise all the things you need to make your chicks a home.

It helps to break things down into needs and ‘extras’ so that is what we have done here for ease of reading.

Brooding Box

This can be as simple as a cardboard box. It needs to be tall enough to keep the chicks from jumping out. It needs to be large enough for a food dish, water dish, and chicks.

It also needs to be draft proof – cold drafts can kill chicks very quickly.

Brooding boxes come in all shapes, sizes, and costs. If you are not sure whether you will be brooding chicks again, get the cheapest brooder to start with – you can always upgrade it later.

Bedding

Something soft like pine shavings. These are sold in small bales at most farm stores and they are inexpensive.

If your brooder box has a slick floor (like plastic), lay some paper towels under the bedding so they can grip and stand properly otherwise they may develop problems with standing and walking.

Warmth

Chicks require warmth – lots of it.

They do not have true feathers until they are around 6-7 weeks old so cannot regulate their own temperature, so you must help them.

You can use a heat lamp or ‘Electric hen’ heat plate.

They will need to be warmed for around 6-7 weeks or until the ambient temperature is roughly the same as the brooder.

During the first week the temperature at chick level will need to be 35 Degrees Celsius . This will reduce by a few degrees each week until ambient temperature is reached.

How do you know if they are warm enough?

If they are all huddled in a bunch they are too cold; if they are spread to the edges of the brooder they are too hot; if they are dotted all over they are just right. A thermometer will help you with this too but base your judgment on the chicks’ behavior.

Food

Begin feeding your chicks a starter feed with a crude protein of 20%. Use this feed for approximately 6 weeks, then switch to a grower/developer feed. When your chickens reach 18-20 weeks of age switch them to a layer feed with 15 to 16% protein and 4% calcium. Eating is a social activity for chickens. When selecting a feeder allow two inches of space for chicks within the first two weeks. After two weeks a beyond allow 4 inches of feeder space per chicken.

Your chicks will require clean, fresh water several times a day. Use the one or two-gallon water jugs for the first few weeks, then you can increase the size as they grow larger.

Chick feed can come as medicated or un-medicated. The medicated feed is medicated with a coccidiostat which helps to protect them from coccidiosis which is a terrible disease.

If your chicks have been vaccinated at source for coccidia, then do not use medicated feed.

Chicks are messy; they will scratch their food all over the place, poop in it and get their bedding in it, so you need a feeder that will eliminate some of that mess.

Once they start eating greens such as short grass or dandelions, they will need a small dish of chick grit to help their digestion and make sure they don’t get an impacted crop

Water

Water is essential to the wellbeing of all creatures, chicks are no exception. The water should be at Goldilocks temperature – not too hot, not too cold, but just right.

You will need to dip the beak of each chick into the water at first so they know where it is, after this they should all be able to find the water dish. Do the same with the food dish too.

If your chicks are just a couple of days old, you will need to add some clean pebbles or marbles to the water dish so they can’t fall in and drown. After a week or so you can remove them since the chicks will now be big enough to not drown themselves.

You can add an electrolyte/vitamin supplement to the water for the first few days to get them off to a good start.

Change the water frequently (several times per day) as they will kick bedding etc. into the water regularly.

Hygiene

It is very important that their brooder area, feeder, and waterer be kept clean. The droppings need to be removed daily, change the litter as frequently as you need. Once it becomes wet, it must be changed.

Remember, the brooder is very warm, there is poop and it is wet – it is the perfect breeding ground for bacteria which can lead to disease and infection.

Wash and sanitise the feeder and waterer at least every other day. If your chicks are as messy, you will have to throw out a good amount of feed too. Once they poop in the feeder – out goes the feed.

Always practice good hand hygiene, don’t forget to clean your hands before handling food or them!

Security

Your brooder full of chicks needs to be somewhere safe from predators – and I include house pets as predators too.

If you are keeping them in the house you will need to ensure that your feline and canine furbabies can’t get to those little balls of feathers, perhaps keeping them in a separate room or a secure lid to the box.

Try to avoid keeping them in areas such as the bedroom, dining area and kitchen. They kick up a lot of dust and dander, people who are allergic to dust may have problems with them in the house.

If you intend to keep the chicks in an outbuilding you need to be able to exclude any predators you may have in the area.

Rats like a chick snack as do foxes, squirrels, badgers and a host of other predators such as birds of prey.

They will need you to care for them intensively until they are around 12 weeks old. Some folks say sooner, but I err on the cautious side.

Going Outside for the First Time

If you are thinking of putting them outside for a few hours every day you will need to have something like a dog crate or even a mini-chicken run for them.

Of course it will need to be predator proof – and that includes hawks and owls as well as digging creatures like foxes.

They will need to have a shady area where they can escape from the sun and keep the food and water cool.

STEP 5: How to Raise Chickens

So now your chicks have grown up into real chickens!

Managing your adult flock may sound complex, however, it’s fairly simple to do. In reality, the hen does all the work and you take care of her needs. However, there are certain things you should know before you get overwhelmed by the process.

Water

Water is essential to all living things and chickens are no exception.

A hen will drink about a cup of water each day. She will take frequent small sips throughout the day. Too little water can affect egg production among many other things, so make sure they have plenty.

There are approximately fifteen cups of water to one US gallon, so if you have a lot of birds you will need a couple of drinkers for them. As an example, I have around forty birds and I put out four drinkers in various places, which ensures they all have access to water.

You can place the water in any sort of plastic container, but the easiest way is to buy a poultry drinker.

Food

In addition to water the other key thing a chicken needs is food.

Giving your chickens the correct food will keep them happy and turn them into an egg-laying machine. Give them the wrong food and it can lead to all sorts of problems including bullying and weight loss…

You will also need a feeder to store the food in check out Alphapet’s range of feeders here

Hen Morning and Evening Routines

Unfortunately most people lead busy lives and don’t have all day to tend to their chickens.

In the morning you will want to let your chickens out of the coop, check on their feed and water, and have a general look around to make sure everyone is ok.

When the sun comes down, it’s time to start the evening routine. This will include locking your girls safely inside the coop and also collecting the eggs (if you haven’t already done so).

This is the ‘bare minimum’ of caring for your girls. There will also be weekly tasks like cleaning the coop and tending to the nesting boxes…