New ones are always joining the long-standing breeders, which is great news. You can get excellent eggs from hens who have a good life. If you give them what they really need, they might even surprise you as a companion – they’re not stupid at all.
You can share the whole garden with them, but it has its pitfalls. It will not harm lawns, flower meadows or robust perennials. Not even grown vegetables, unless they are tender salads and tempting red fruits. However, they can completely destroy young seedlings and small seedlings. You can either protect individual beds or demarcate the hens coop, at least in spring and summer. An electric fence for poultry or a fence 1.5 m high will not fly more comfortable breeds.
The more agile will definitely try – then all that remains is to carefully trim the wings on one wing. Or build a fence over 2 m high – the upper part does not have to be as durable as the base, for example, a net for cucumbers will do. In areas where poultry are often attacked by flying predators, it can also serve as protection from above. However, plenty of thick bushes where the hens can hide will also help. It is enough for one person to notice the danger – she immediately warns the others. Sometimes even in front of a rogal or a helicopter. In addition, shade is essential in the paddock in summer, and the foliage provides the coolest.
In addition to a run, they need chickens safe chicken coopwhich neither foxes nor martens can get into. They go to the comfortable dry chicken coop in the evening willingly and happily. For four hens, you need a chicken coop at least 2 x 1.5 x 2 m in size. Think about access for yourself, for cleaning.
The space must be ventilated, but without drafts. Insulation is useful not only in winter, but also in summer, just like a window. You have to close the entrance in the evening, the hens can open the special door themselves. Or leave the operation to a photocell that opens at dawn and closes at dusk. They will spend the night on a perch (see below), they will lay their eggs in a prepared shelf or nest box with bedding made of hay or straw – you bait them with a plaster base.
They must have drinking water available at all times, ideally in a drinker where it will not get dirty. Traditional fodder is wheat, all nutrients are provided by granules and mixtures for laying hens, calcium needs to be supplemented.
About chicken nature
Why do they constantly dig, need to poop and want to roost at night? If you know what nature has given to chickens, you will better understand their needs.
The domestic chicken arose, already many thousands of years ago, from wild chickens inhabiting the steppe regions of Asia. It still carries the habits of a steppe bird within itself. They clean their feathers in dust, in fine dry soil – this way they get rid of dirt and troublesome external parasites. When they do ashtray if you add wood ash and diatomaceous earth, the healing bath will be perfect. A hole in the ground will do, but it will do better if it is sheltered from the rain.
At night, when hungry beasts are prowling the ground, it is safer on a branch. On perch therefore he longs to rest and sleep even today. A must-have in the chicken coop, ideal for the comfort and health of the canines, are perches prepared from whole branches with a diameter of 3-6 cm, which you just remove the bark for easier cleaning.
And why all the time? by raking? It is their natural way of finding food. They will eat any grain, but even better a beetle, a caterpillar, a snail, a small snail, a tick and even a small mouse – they are a nutritious bite full of protein. And even if they have a bowl full of food, they will still spend part of the day digging hard, it’s just in their genes.
And do hens need a rooster? Running, feeding and littering is more important than sex. But some have their own opinion about it. A good rooster looks after and takes care of the hens, courting them with dances, presenting them with the best, resolving disputes… but be careful, he should be in charge of at least six of them, so that he does not crush their backs too much with love alone. Hens without a rooster often cuddle in front of their humans and let themselves be stroked on the back. Well, at least some substitute for the rooster.
Why is the chicken run completely green, just full of holes? Because he is too small for them. The limited space cannot withstand their diligent digging and the action of droppings. A larger run means happier hens and a breeder who doesn’t have to mow and carry greens for them. Although they prefer worms and grains, they also diversify their diet with grass and leaves.
What about chicken droppings?
Chicken droppings are an excellent fertilizer especially for fruit vegetables, small fruits and flowers – thanks to it you will get a really great harvest. But it is necessary to first let it ferment in water for three weeks and dilute it further when watering. Fresh can kill plants.
Complex relationships
Hens are social, you should keep at least four. But just because they’re gregarious creatures doesn’t mean they always treat each other nicely. Adding new adolescent hens to an existing flock with an already established hierarchy is problematic, in a small space it can even lead to serious injury to the newcomers! That’s why many breeders prefer to end the old breed and buy a new youngster. Chicks and hens of the same age will establish a hierarchy among themselves without life-threatening fights.
But there is another way. If you get a rooster for the hens (or give the hen fertilized hatching eggs), you can expect chickens. And the chickens that grow up in the flock do not have any integration problems – they are first protected by the hen house. Adults know how to behave, unlike fawns, who were raised by a silent lamp instead of a chatty hen house.
In the case of adolescent roosters, it depends on their nature whether they will provoke their father – they should not stay with the flock in adulthood anyway, due to inbreeding. Although most chickens are raised artificially (not only) in large farms, there is still a natural way. The sight of a hen leading the chicks, constantly talking to them, warming them under her feathers and watching over them like a lioness is rewarding – and she does most of the work for you.
True, in hybrid hens the instinct to sit on eggs is strongly suppressed. On the other hand, with more original breeds, there are always hens willing to quack, i.e. sit on eggs. Sometimes there are too many – then you can let them sit on the pads so that there are not more chicks than you want. It will pass with time. (Yes, some breeders prefer to shut them in solitary confinement without food, so that the clucking will go away faster, because the clucking hen hates eggs). Some breeds are good mothers, hens, famous and lay eggs of all kinds.
Hens get used to the breeder, it is easy to make friends with him. In any case, give the new ones time, be calm. And take into account their different natures – one will be braver and more docile, the other more shy, one more sweet and you will win her over immediately with sunflower seeds, the other will keep her distance.
Where to buy them?
Artificial hatcheries deliver chickens, young hens that will lay eggs in a few weeks. Delivery in crowded cages is far from comfortable, but you will be fine. However, if you are interested in one of the many beautiful breeds, ask private breeders. After that, you will also be able to start natural breeding. You can give a second life to discarded hens from large farms. In home care, most of them recover, tolerate and enjoy life again.
You can read about proper feeding, disease prevention and winter care in other parts of our chicken series.
About the author
Jana Bucharová she studied biology at PřF UK. For 20 years, he has been trying to use the laws of nature in his garden, which he also shares with a flock of very clever hens and a respectable rooster.
