Backyard Chicken Guide
This article is written by Pet Circle veterinarian, and
Chickens make such amazing pets. Not only do these quirky little creatures have unique and entertaining personalities, but chickens are one of the only financially 'positively geared' pets you can find. It is often cheaper to keep chickens than to buy eggs in some instances!
Although they're considered a low maintenance pet, proper care and preparation is a must. So read on though this handy cheat sheet to keeping backyard chickens. If you have any further questions, feel free to Ask a Pet Circle Vet - it's completely free!
Is Chicken Keeping Right for You?
Keeping chickens can have many benefits. Asides from having your own source of free range organic eggs, chickens are great at recycling vegetable food scraps, love foraging and eating insects in your yard, can help with compost and veggie patch maintenance and are fun, educational companions for young families with kids.
Check out our handy article How to Start Keeping Chickens for more information.
What are your Local Council Regulations?
While chickens can have many benefits, and are relatively low maintenance to keep, there are many considerations to take into account. First and foremost you need to check what your local council regulations are when it comes to keeping chickens. Many councils will have restrictions on: the size of your flock, the dimensions of their coop, the location of your coop and even specifics on noise, flooring and odour control.
This can mean that your yard may not be suitable for housing chickens based on these guidelines or that you may need to build additional structures or have particular flooring to allow you to keep chickens. This will differ from state to state and council to council. Refer to your local council guidelines for more specific details.
What is the Lifespan of a Chicken?
Pet chickens can live a relatively long time. While most chickens live 4-7 years, it's common for a hen in a backyard setting with good care to live 8-10 years. However, some hens may live even longer than this! High egg producing breeds such as Isa Browns and Hybrid lines often have a shorter lifespan of between 3-5 years.
What Came First? The Chicken or the Egg?
Although many people keep chickens as pets, one of the main reasons they are so popular is for their egg laying abilities, and in some households as a source of meat. It is important to consider WHY you want to keep chickens, and what you will do with the eggs they produce.
Most hens start laying eggs when they are about 18 to 20 weeks old. Healthy chickens will reliably and consistently lay eggs throughout their first 2 to 3 years of life. After that, egg production will start to taper off. This means you could look at up to 200 eggs a year from a single chicken alone. Productivity will also decrease during winter, as egg laying does rely on daylight hours.
What to Consider When Adopting Chickens
Once you have sorted out what your council restrictions are on keeping chickens and why you want to keep them, its time to consider the breed, age and number of chickens you are going to keep and where you will source them from.
Chickens come in a range of breeds and types. Consider if you want a high yield egg laying breed or hybrid or a meat production breed or a beautiful heritage breed. Like many birds, chickens are highly social and require company. In the wild, they form flocks and can become lonely or stressed if housed by themselves. Therefore, it is recommended you adopt your chickens in pairs or groups.
You can contact your local Poultry Club or Association or Hatchery to source your chickens. Take care when purchasing chickens from a community sales site as you cannot guarantee their health and breeding practices.
Check out this handy directory of Poultry Clubs and Associations around Australia by Dine A Chook.
Chicks or Hens?
Deciding on whether you wish to raise your chickens as chicks or purchase them at point of lay is very important. There are many pros and cons to either option. Raising chicks is a wonderful and engaging experience - leaving you with tamed affectionate feathered friends, but has additional start up costs and you have to be prepared for the possibility of needing to rehome any roosters. Having chickens at point of lay means you will have a steady supply of eggs from the get go but they may not be as tame as hand raised chicks from the get go.
Adopting Rescue Ex Battery Hens are also a way to provide these gals a better quality of life in their retirement. Battery Hens do take sometime to adjust to their new environment but can readily adapt. Ex Battery hens can have numerous health issues as a result of their life as a production hen, but make amazing pets nonetheless. Check out this list of Hen Rescues compiled by NSW Hen Rescue.
For more information on the breeds of chickens - check out our article A Guide to Chicken Breeds.
Housing Your Chickens
Chickens require a comfortable, safe, and secure house to live in which protects them from both weather and predators. Predators of particular concern in Australia include snakes, foxes, predatory birds, and dingoes and even your own dog or cat. Housing for your chickens should be sturdy, easy to disinfect, and fortified with galvanised wire mesh. Predator proofing coops may involve concrete flooring or installing a predator apron around your chicken coop.
Chickens can be kept in a large enclosure, but your backyard will need to be big enough to allow for the enclosure to be rotated regularly. Regular soil turnover and cleaning is a must in these situations.
Make sure to place your coop in an area with access to sunlight, good partial shade, minimal draughts and solid ground. Hens tend to prefer cooler temperatures and can experience heat stress if temperatures are too hot.
If you are able to, the best way to house chickens is as a free range situation. Let your chooks range freely during the day and keep them safely confined in their house overnight. This involves locking them in at dusk, which they will actually appreciate due to their instinct to hide from predators at night - often they will be there waiting for you!
To read more, check out our handy guide to Understanding Chicken Behaviour and How to Start Keeping Chickens.
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Chicken Coop House Keeping
Many commercially made chicken coops are available, usually made from wood or metal A-frames. You can also make your own, which can be a great DIY project! Don't forget to check your council requirements prior to building your own enclosure. Agriculture departments (for example - in New South Wales) tend to have lots of useful information about backyard chicken care and housing.
Coop Size
This will depend on the number and type of chickens you decide to keep. Your chickens should be able to fully extend their legs and wings. The RSPCA recommends a minimum 2-3.5m2 of useable floor space per chicken.
Nest Boxes
In addition to adequate shelter from the elements, your coop should contain nest boxes. Nest boxes are where your hens will lay their eggs, and generally the rule of thumb is one nest per three to four birds. Nest boxes should be made of sturdy easy to clean materials, and mounted on the shady side of the coop, around 50-60cm off the ground. Make sure to line the nest boxes with thick bedding material to keep the eggs clean, dry and free of cracking when laid!
Perches
Hens love to roost on perches, and the ideal perch size is 75mm x 50mm in diameter, with at least 20cm of perch length per chook. Many people like to use small tree branches for this. Ensure the perches are not above food or water, as it can lead to faecal contamination.
Food and Water Containers
All food and water should be contained in appropriate containers. You can buy food and water dispensers, or you can make your own from recycled items like empty milk cartons. Plastic feeders are often cheap and durable, but with time and exposure to the elements, they can break down. Metal feeders may be big and bulky, but are weather resistant in the long term.
Chickens require quite a lot of water to help with egg production, provide fresh water daily, and keep the water off the ground to reduce contamination. Make sure to wipe the inside of the water containers to remove the biofilm that can accumulate there. Consider using special poultry feeders, that minimise waste, and reduce rodents and other pests from consuming them.
Flooring
Excessive moisture and ammonia build up can result in disease. If your coop is on the grass, make sure to move the coop around regularly if it is mobile (free fertiliser!) OR if it isn't, ensure you turn over the soil and remove waste material. This is especially important during wet weather!
If you have concrete flooring in your coop it is important that the bottom of your chicken's coop is lined with a thick layer of soft material such as hay, rice hulls, or wood shavings, which can be changed regularly.
Chickens are prone to developing issues with their feet if housed on inappropriate flooring. Not only do chickens love to scratch around in the litter, but it helps absorb manure and waste. (TIP: soiled litter makes for great garden compost!)
Cleaning
Hen houses require regular cleaning and this should be considered when you are constructing it. Make sure the door is big enough for you to get in to check and clean the house. A floor sloping towards the door can help significantly with cleaning and drainage. You can use coop safe disinfectants, but remember organic material can affect the efficacy of these products.
Feeding Your Chickens
Nutrition is vital in order to keep your chickens healthy and producing lots of lovely eggs! Chickens are omnivores who do well on a mixture of a wide variety of foods. Read more on our Guide to Feeding All Ages of Chickens.
Of course, it should go without saying that fresh water should be supplied at all times. Ensure all water bottles and dispensers are cleaned regularly, and free of faeces, food, and mould. If you live in a very cold area, always make sure the water is replaced daily during winter to avoid freezing.
Be aware that chickens at different life stages will require different types of feed:
- Chicks (Day 1 to 6 weeks): Chick Starter
- Growers (6 weeks to 18 weeks): Grower Pellets/Crumbles
- Layers (18 weeks): Layer Pellets/Mash/Mixes
To summarise, the ideal adult chicken diet consists of:
- 90% - A base of formulated balanced chicken feed ad lib
- 5% - Grains including oats, wheat and corn
- 5-10% - Fresh fruit and vegetables
- 1-2% Insects - Anything from mealworms to grasshoppers
- Optional: Table scraps, including starchy carbohydrates
- Supplement: Shell grit or other calcium supplements
Pellets, Crumbles and Mash
As a base, a balanced good quality formulated feed should be provided as the bulk of their diet. Often chicken food will come in a pellet, mash or crumble formulation. There are many pros and cons of each. Crumbles and mash are generally easier to consume but are prone to waste and selective feeding, on the other hand pellets are consistent in their nutritional profile and are a great low mess and low waste option.
These diets should be provided ad lib, and selected based on the lifestage of your chicken. Chick starters are often in the form of a crumble to help intake. Once you start to transition to a Grower and Layer diet - consider whether you would prefer a mash/crumble or pellet diet. This is particularly important as the protein and calcium requirements will change throughout your chickens development. Diet is also intrinsically linked to meat and egg production as well as quality. Chicken food often comes in bulk, so storage in an air tight, rodent proof container is a must to prevent mould or contamination.
Grains
Chicken scratch mixes consist of various grains and seeds that your chickens will simply gobble up. However it is important to realise that Scratch Mixes are more of a supplement, rather than a complete diet. Scratch Mixes can be supplemented in the diet to encourage natural foraging behaviour. They make for a great treat and when mixed in small amounts with normal formulated feeds can help increase food intake.
As scratch mixes encourage selective feeding - they can result in a imbalanced diet - leading to reduced egg production and quality. In addition they are a great magnet for rodents and other birds. Make sure to only feed whatever your chickens can consume within 10-20 minutes. Scratch mix should only make up 5% of their entire diet.
TIP: Chickens love to explore, scratch, and peck for their food. Try scattering grains around your chicken's coop or outdoor area, to keep their minds busy and occupied!
Fresh Fruit and Vegetables
Fruit and veggies can be introduced gradually to growers and offered daily as part of a varied diet to adult hens. Vegetables that are safe for chickens include carrots, spinach, cabbage, green beans, bok choy, peas, zucchini, squash, pumpkin, silverbeet, broccoli, lettuce, and cauliflower. Fruits you can give your chickens include banana, pear, apples, peaches, plum, melon, cherries, and berries. Avoid onions, garlic, avocado, leeks and chives which are toxic to birds.
Table Scraps
Although chickens may be considered the ultimate recycler, feeding table scraps is not ideal as they are not a balanced diet. Formulated feeds shouldbe the main source of food. If you are planning to offer table scraps they should make up less than 5% of their total diet.
In some instances certain table scraps are illegal to feed to chickens - this includes any ingredients that contain or may contain the carcass or material derived from an animal or bird, untreated cooking oils and fats or any food that has been in contact with contaminated containers that have carried animal material. Table scraps that you can give to your chicken include oats, cooked pasta, beans, bread, legumes and cooked rice.
Make sure scraps don't include ingredients which are excessively high in fat or salt, and don't feed any rancid or spoiled items. When feeding scraps, ensure all of it is consumed within 20-30 minutes and discard any leftovers. Check out our range of delicious Energy Blocks or Porridge for Chickens.
Shell Grit and Calcium
Ensure a constant supply of shell grit is supplied, and if your birds are laying a lot of eggs, a calcium supplement is a good idea. Shell grit aids in digestion, aiding to grind food into an easily digestible consistency in the intestinal tract. Calcium deficiency is very common and one of the first signs is laying eggs with thin or weak shells. If you notice consistently thin egg shells despite a balanced diet, seek assistance from a veterinarian.
Bugs and Weeds
Hakuna matata! Chickens love to eat all types of grubs, bugs, and insects. Always allow access to weeds (aside from poisonous plants), earthworms and burrowing insects in leaf litter and compost. Your chooks will love scratching and searching for tasty little weeds and insect critters! If offering dried mealsworms or bugs as part of the diet, they should only be fed in small amounts, and enough to consume within 1- 2 minutes. You can even feed them as a porridge, with other fruit and veg. Take care when feeding clipped grass or lawn mower clippings as these can cause life threatening obstruction.
If you want to know more on how to enrich your chickens lives through food check out our article How to Keep Your Chickens Happy.
Toxic Plants
We've mentioned which human food can be toxic to chickens, but what about garden plants? Unfortunately there are many garden plants in Australia that can be toxic to chickens. Most of them don't taste appealing, and your chickens will therefore generally avoid. However it's good to keep them out of your yard, just incase.
Plants that are toxic to chickens include:
- Brakern Ferns
- Azaleas
- Tulips
- Horseradish
- Ivy
- Rhodendrons
- Hyacinths
- Hydrangeas
- Lantana
- Foxglove
- Apricots
- Mushrooms
- Lawnmower clippings
Parasite Prevention
In Australia, both external and internal parasites can pose a risk to chickens these include fleas, lice, mites, roundworms, coccidia and other protozoa. For this reason, it's best to have a parasite prevention regimen at home. Parasites often cause irritation, feather picking and in large volumes blood loss, intestinal disease and death.
As a general rule, it's worth treating your chickens for mites and lice once every 6-8 weeks, and worming them every 4 months. There are a number of wormers available specific to poultry, which can usually be added to the water source. Make sure you follow the label instructions, including withholding periods, carefully. Although there are many "avian" wormers and medications available over the counter many of them are not suitable for chickens intended for human consumption (either eggs or meat).
If you suspect your bird might have mites or lice, always consult with your veterinarian to determine an appropriate and effective treatment. In terms of prevention, it's important to treat your chicken for external parasites with a mite and lice powder when you bring them home, and quarantine them from your other birds for at least one to two weeks before introducing them to the rest of the flock.
When introducing any new chickens to your flock, always quarantine them from your other birds, treat them as necessary and monitor their health.
Chicken Diseases
As a chicken owner, it's important to be aware of common poultry illnesses, and know the warning signs.
Common diseases in chickens are often related to their upper and lower airways, intestines, reproductive tract as well as musculoskeletal system.
Respiratory disease is a general term used to describe any illness in the respiratory system, as there are many pathogens that may cause respiratory disease in poultry. Symptoms may include coughing, sneezing and discharge from the eyes and nostrils. Death may occur in the case of certain pathogens.
Reproductive problems are common in backyard chickens. Typically, commercial enterprises keep chickens in lay for only 1-2 seasons. Reproductive diseases can cause the hen to stop laying and become depressed and inappetent. Signs include a distended abdomen, lethargy, reluctance to walk, and sometimes breathing difficulties.
If signs of illness are observed in your chickens, seek assistance from a poultry experienced veterinarian. Over the counter medications are not registered for use in chickens, and certain diseases are considered of high concern and need to be reported.
Read our article on Chicken Health and Preventatives to find out more.
Finding a Chicken Friendly Vet
Not all vet clinics stock equipment or have the neccessary medications suitable for chickens, but as chickens become part of the urban household, more and more vet clinics are starting to get equipped to see them!
When calling to book your appointment, ask the clinic if they see chickens or have a suitably experienced avian veterinarian. If your local vet is not equipped to see chickens, they will be able to refer you to another clinic that will.
Did you know in Australia we are also lucky to have avian specialists as well as veterinarians who have taken on additional studies to have their memberships in Avian Medicine? You can check out the AAVAC (Association of Avian Veterinarians Australasian Committee) to find your local Avian Veterinarian.
Common Signs of Illness in Chickens
As prey animals, chickens tend to hide signs of illness until they are unable to do so. This is not helpful for many chicken owners, as the earlier they visit the vet, the better! However, there are some symptoms that can give away an unwell chicken. If you are unsure, a vet visit is always the best decision, and sooner rather than later.
Symptoms that require a vet visit ASAP:
- Inappetance or refusal to eat favourite treats
- Fluffed up
- Constipation/Difficulty laying eggs
- Limping or dragging limbs
- Weakness and lethargy
- Collapse
- Increased breathing effort or tail bobbing
- Bleeding
- Diarrhoea
- Seizures/neurological signs
- Open wounds
- Abdominal swelling
Symptoms that require a vet visit within the week:
- Weight loss
- Drooling or wetness around the face
- Eye discharge
- Change of appetite or not eating usual foods, but still eating others
- On and off limping
- Lumps or scabs
- Feather loss
- Itching
- Chronically laying abnormal eggs
- Abnormally shaped faeces
- Redness or swelling
Further Reading
Want to read more? Check out our other articles:
Chicken Health and Preventatives
Understanding Chicken Behaviour
How to Keep Your Chickens Happy
Want to know more? Check out our Discover Page for more tips on keeping your pets happy and healthy.
