Friday, January 30, 2015

Six tips for having chickens

1. Provide a safe and healthy environment
Chookies like:
  • a lot of space, dust to bathe in, scratching (they will destroy a garden if they get access, but have a wonderfully fun time doing it), 
  • clean water daily, 
  • at least one companion, 
  • grain, veggie and fruit scraps, insects (eg worms, slaters, snails), 
  • somewhere dark to lay and clean straw in their nesting box, 
  • shelter from weather and sprinklers, 
  • somewhere safe to sleep (they can be quite heavy sleepers).  
  •  Like all birds they are also very sensitive to air quality (think of the canary in the coal mine) - so spraying fruit trees, roses, weeds, mosquitoes etc anywhere in the vicinity could have fatal consequences.
Poor husbandry and overstocking both lead to illness and parasites eg. stickfast fleas that can bite people too.


As far as we know there are two vet clinics that specialise in birds (eg for chookies that need vaccinations, or treatment for parasites, or are eggbound (emergency), or are sick, or injured, or need euthanasia).  They're Wattle Grove Veterinary Hospital and Riseley Veterinary Centre in Myaree.

For people who live in older houses where organochloride based insecticides may have been used in the past and got into the soil the chooks are scratching and eating in, eggs can be tested to make sure they're safe for human consumption. Especially important if the chooks can get under the house where such insecticides are more likely to have been used eg against termites.


2. Check your local council rules
Each local council will have rules about how many chooks can be kept at a property, and how close to the boundary etc etc.  Most councils don't allow roosters to be kept.  It is hard to sex chickens so only take in young adults to be sure of getting a hen.

3. Anticipate compatibility issues with other pets 
To avoid unnecessary suffering we want to make it very clear that many dogs will chase and injure or kill chooks, and cats will kill them too if they can (eg chicks, bantams).  Options include avoiding having incompatible kinds of pet, or having a very secure chook yard preferably with a self-locking gate that can't be accidentally left open.

From our experience ducks and chooks don't go well together either, duckies make all water sources dirty almost instantly so you have loads and loads of water dishes to keep cleaning out and refilling.


4. Chose good poultry feed
Layers need at least 16%protein in their food source.
Chooks thrive on food scraps but not rotten food.  Save the latter for the compost heap instead.  Chook manure will also do wonders for the compost pile, but don't put it on garden beds until it's rotted down for several weeks or it'll burn the plants.

Surprising chookie fact - some of them eat mice. If considering baiting for rodents, remember this.

5. Introduce new chooks in pairs
If there's already a group of hens, introduce any new chooks in pairs.  One hen introduced on her own may get picked on by everyone else

6. Have a plan for your old chooks
Hens do not lay eggs forever.  They live maybe 4-6 years depending on breed and lay regularly for maybe a year or two, then less frequently eg in spring only, then not at all.  Consequences of this are 1. If all the chooks are the same age there'll be a bounty of eggs for a while, then none at all.  2. A plan is needed about what to do with older hens, which basically amounts to choosing between their retirement and death.  

Our conclusion: A couple of chooks are cheap and low maintenance, much more so than a dog or cat. They're hugely entertaining to watch, turn the household's waste food scraps into non-cage eggs with bright yellow yolks and into manure for the compost/garden, and some of them will tolerate being cuddled.

Monday, January 12, 2015

Mt Hawthorn Urban Chook Network launch on 22 January

We have received funding from the WA Waste Authority and with in-kind support from the City of Vincent who sponsors the room hire we have scheduled to finally launch the Mt Hawthorn Urban Chook Network on Thursday 22 January.


The launch takes place from 6pm for 6:30 start at the City of Vincent Administration Centre, 244 Vincent Street in Leederville. We will have a workshop component and there will be plenty of time to socialise during the launch.

Dr Barb Frey will give us advice on rearing chickens in an urban setting and Mr Kim Framkowiak will give us tips on organic waste management. Light refreshments will be served on the night. The event will finish around 9pm.Children are welcome. Please spread the word and tell your friends.

Please rsvp by sending an email to irmaperth@gmail.com.