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Poultry Help & Information - Chickens Keeping

Keeping Chickens at Home - Questions & Answers 2

A selection of frequently asked questions about keeping chickens and answers.

Do chickens get bored?

Chickens can get bored if there is nothing for them to do and often show this by pecking at each other. Providing some interest in their environment like logs to provide different heights, hanging CDs on string just above head height and hanging greens for them to peck at will cure the problem.

What is a dust bath?

Chickens love to dig themselves a shallow bowl in dry soil and will spend hours lying in them (as if they're dead!) occasionally flapping their wings to knock more 'dust' into their feathers. It is a natural behaviour to rid themselves of parasites.

How do I keep chickens warm in winter?

First, remember that chickens have feathers, they all wear their own feather duvet. In cold weather, they fluff their feathers up to hold more insulating air in and will perch close to each other to share heat. You can often find them sleeping outdoors in cold weather despite you providing them with a cosy house.

Do be aware that ex-battery rescue hens are often in a dreadful state, missing feathers and until these grow back they require more attention and keeping warmer in cold weather. See Winter Hen House Chores for the Poultry Keeper

What about security from foxes in the garden?

Do remember that urban foxes are very common and it is a myth that foxes only go searching for food at night, which many have found out to their cost. Next door's friendly dog can also move into hunting mode when nobody is around. Even if you are just leaving them for an hour or two, it is worth putting them into a run or ensuring your garden is secure. There's a lot of information here in this great series by Katie Thear about protecting chickens from foxes.

What should I feed chickens beside Poultry Food (Mixed Corn, Layers Mash and / or Pellets)?

Chickens tend to know what they can and can't eat. Any vegetable kitchen waste, put in a saucepan and boiled up will go down well. Most enjoy rice and bread, but don't go overboard as they will fill up on low protein food which doesn't leave space for the high protein foods needed to produce those eggs in their crops.

They naturally eat insects and if you hunt slugs to protect your plants, the chickens will enjoy them as a tasty treat (Yuck!) They can also be fed on wilted comfrey in the summer as well as bolted lettuce, cabbage leaves etc.

I've heard you should feed them eggshells, is this true?

It is quite a common practice to use eggshells as a substitute for grit, which is needed as raw material to make the eggshells in the chicken. It is important that they be roasted until dark and crisp and then crushed up or your hens may get a taste for eggs and start eating their own eggs.

Chicken Keeping Questions & Answers

• Keeping Chickens at Home - Questions & Answers 1
• Keeping Chickens at Home - Questions & Answers 2
• Keeping Chickens at Home - Questions & Answers 3
• Keeping Chickens at Home - Questions & Answers 4