Keeping chickens at home for eggs
FAQ
Where can I buy chickens from?
You can buy chickens or eggs from the suppliers that we list. Check out our detailed map of the UK listing all the major and minor suppliers. You can also adopt ex battery farmed chickens. Be aware that these are often in a poor condition and will require special attention if you decide that you want to adopt them.
Fencing and protection from foxes
In urban areas foxes are very common and will source food wherever it is made available. So you should ensure that your chickens kept separate to foxes.
There are fencing options are available. Ensure that your fences are tall enough to prevent the Fox from getting over. Netting should run to between 1.5 to 1.8 m high. Hexagonal wire netting with a mesh size of 25 mm is ideal for both preventing chicks escaping and for the Fox to gain access. If you have larger birds then a 50 mm mesh size would be adequate.
What's my chicken doing sitting in a hole?
Chickens love dust baths and will dig themselves a shallow hole in the ground and sit there for seemingly hours. This is normal behaviour and the occasional dusting helps to keep themselves clean.
Can I sell eggs?
Yes but there are some regulations that you will need to follow. You can get more information here.
Do I need a licence for keeping chickens?
If you are responsible for 50 or more birds on the premises then you are required to register a licence. If you intend to keep less than 50 birds then there's no current legal requirement to license them. If in doubt you should consult the DEFRA website
What size of chicken coop or hen house should I buy?
As a general rule, go large. Allow two square foot per chicken provided that there is additional running space outside. Consider also the breed you choose, the larger breeds require more space. So for example a 6' x 2' run would be satisfactory for six birds.
How much space outside do the chickens need?
It's difficult to provide a set rule on this but recommend approximately 10 ft.² per hen.
What effect will it have on my garden?
Chickens scratch about, that is what they do. They love to dig around the garden potentially up rooting small plants. They will eat seeds, insects and vegetables. It is recommended therefore that you confine them to a designated area so that they don't damage areas that you don't want them to.
I've got a pet dog or cat is there any problem keeping chickens?
You'll probably find that your dog or cat will be extremely wary of your chickens, especially at the start. But after a while each will become accustomed to each other and will treat each other as normal. If there are however any ferile animals that roam in your garden, there is the potential that they could hunt your chickens.
In general you know your pets the best and you can judge them on their reaction to the hens. Train your dog as you would any for any new addition and they should be fine.
So do I need a Cockerel if want eggs?
Hens will lay eggs without the need for a Cockerel being about. You would only need a Cockerel if it was your attention to breed. The Cockerel would fertilise the eggs.
Is the cold weather in winter problem for the birds?
In general, no. Chickens are protected by their feathers which they can fluff up when required to increase the insulating effect and protect themselves from the cold. In addition they are social animals and will group together to preserve warmth.
What will chickens eat?
Chickens are scavengers and will eat almost all vegetable waste. They like rice, bread and pasta especially spaghetti! If they don't like it they won't eat it. Try to give them foods that are high in protein as they will need these for adequate egg production. In addition, chickens will scratch around to find any insect that they can and will enjoy eating slugs, small flies, worms caterpillars etc.
Why do my chickens peck each other?
They may do this if they are bored and you should consider providing some entertainment for them! In practical terms this means placing some logs in their environment or hanging some CDs on strings at just above head height or providing some vegetables for them to turn their attention to. We find Des O'Connor albums work well :-)
Is feeding chickens eggshells a problem?
This is fairly standard practice but you must make sure that any shells you give them are baked hard and crisp before crunching up in order to prevent your chickens from developing a taste for the shell which could cause them to start eating their own eggs.
Do I really need a nest box?
Chickens naturally lay their eggs in the nest, so no surprises there. So a nest box is perfect for them as a replacement for what they would normally do in the wild. It doesn't need to be particularly large an area about a square foot is adequate.
What are perches for?
Chickens would naturally sleep on the branch of a tree, safe from predators. They would not normally sleep on or very close to the ground. For this reason you should provide a perch for them to use. It is usually just a narrow piece of wood with rounded corners and often comes part of a commercial run or coop. Battery hens, as a result of their previous environment do not always take to using perches and may take some coaxing or training from other birds before they get the hang of it.
My chickens laying eggs outside of the nest box.
Sometimes the birds can decide where best to lay their own eggs. This is normal. Make sure you have a good look around not only in the nest box but also in an under your coop and the overall area they have access to just make sure that there are no eggs there.
Why are my hens are reluctant to go into the hen house at night?
It is possible that your henhouse can get a small parasite called a red mite living in the cracks and holes. The red mite feeds upon the hens blood and you'll find that the hens particularly reluctant to go into their hen houses. Check out our health section for more information on this.
What if my chicken gets sick?
If you are concerned about the health of a bird you should try and find out as much about the problem by researching on the Internet and contacting your local vet. Have a word with your vet to agree on the best way forward.
Why are my chicken stop laying eggs?
There could be a number of reasons that this. Most commonly, hens tend to lay few eggs during winter months as the days are short and the temperatures cooler. Providing artificial light lessen the effect of this but may not be practical in many cases. It could also be that you chicken is ill. If if you suspect that any of your birds are ill then you should consult a vet.
Help something's eating the eggs!
This could be caused by the hens themselves eating their own eggs or rodents gaining access to the nest box. If it is the hens you can try leaving the few golf balls in the nest box so that they get the idea that the eggs cannot be eaten. It is rodents will need to be vigilant for any signs of rats in the area.
What causes the eggshells to be softer than normal?
As the hens age, the texture of the shells tends to change also -often becoming weaker and thinner. This is normal. Another cause could be that they hens are not getting enough calcium in their food. Calcium is used to make the eggs and a good source of this is the grit you will be providing for them.
Why has my hen losing feathers?
Moulting is a natural process with hens and can last a few weeks. Feathers will grow back.
We want to introduce a new hen but the older ones are fighting her.
This is probably instinctive behaviour on the part of the birds and the best advice is to keep them separate during the night and monitor them together during the day. You should find that after a week or so they become more accepting of each other.
Do squirrels eat eggs?
Watch out for rats and squirrels attracted by chicken feed, both will take an egg. Similar problems with magpies and crows.
Which breeds lay the tastiest eggs?
The taste of the eggs is affected more by the foods given tio the hens. Provide best quality foods and a varied natural diet for getting the best from their eggs.
Can I feed tea leave to my chickens?
The best advice we have is do not feed tea leaves, tomato skins, orange and banana peels, raw potato peelings or
coffee grounds. They are fibrous or high in tannin, are not well digested and of little value. Scraps high in salt
content should be avoided. They are fibrous or high in tannin, are not well digested and of little value.
Can I feed Household Scraps?
Waste products from the kitchen and garden can be fed - but with care. They must never be substituted for
the birds’ normal diet because scraps will not give a regular, balanced supply of food.
Scraps high in salt content should be avoided. Rotting meat or vegetable matter should not be fed. Uneaten scraps in poultry runs will attract flies and rats or dogs.
Fowls will readily eat leaves of cabbage, lettuce etc or thistles and other weeds and also lawn clippings.
Green feed (and yellow vegetables and yellow corn) are rich in vitamin A and will darken the colour of the
egg yolk. Leaves of rhubarb, dock (Rumex acetosella), oxalis (Oxalis sp), fat hen (Chenopodium album), and
portulacca (Portulacca oleracea) should not be fed to poultry as they contain poisonous oxalates.
Should I remove the feeder inside their house at night or is it safer to leave it in? will leaving it there encourage vermin?
You do run the risk of increasing rodent interest by leaving them in overnight. We live in the country and do not have a problem with rodents fortunately and do leave them in. If you live in a more urban area or an area with more rodents then you could try suspending the feeders above the ground so that at night if vermin should get into the run they cannot get to the feed. Many do however recommend leaving both water & food out of the coop over night.
My hen won't sit on her eggs
You can not make a hen go broody, but you can try to make it a bit easier to want to become broody. Make sure the nesting area is safe (from predators), very clean, and covered from the elements.
If you would like those eggs to hatch, you must collect them and put them in a homemade incubator or a buy one, OR find a trustworthy friend or neighbor who has one and ask them to hatch them for you. Your hen will not become broody in enough time to hatch them this round, she may become broody down the road but if you want to save the eggs you must act quickly. They are simple to raise and need some requirements after they hatch, but are relatively easy to maintain and they can go out with the parents once they get all their feathers.
Make sure you google how to hatch eggs before you try it so you get the humidity right as well as the temperatures and such. Odds are the eggs will be fertile, and if they sit outside long enough they wont hatch anyways as they would be heated(from laying other eggs) then cooled which would kill the embryo if one started.
You can collect eggs for about 2 weeks (I recommend only 1week) storing them in the fridge, then incubating them all at the same time so they are all ready at one time and you wont have to try to figure out which ones to stop turing and such. Please make sure you have enough room to keep all your chicks when they hatch, if they are standard sized they will grow very very quickly.
