AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

Hi everyone

I've decided to get some chooks and have a few things worked out but wanted to run them by the experts, and find some answers that google isnt helping me with. Sorry if this is long winded.

I think I am going to get 2 x 10w pure Australorps because we want the chooks for eggs and dont want to end up with chickens that stop laying after a couple of years that we cant bear to eat lol. I've heard the Australorps dont lay quite as much as something like the Isa Brown but thats fine, I'd rather have less eggs over a longer period of time than loads of eggs for a year or two. We can have a max of 4 hens where I live, so I was going to start with 2, then get another 2 6m or so later once I've got the hang of them.

I was going to get them a coop like this one:



Now, we have cats, a veggie garden and our yard is not chook proof (they can get out onto the road) so I am going to assume the worst in that we wont be able to let them out to free range. So, my plan is to get that coop then buy some wood/wire and extend the coop out to be at least another 2-3m long and just as wide. Over time, we might chook proof the yard and fence off the garden so we can let them out, but that will be a long process if it happens at all. Will 4 chickens be happy in a coop like that if I extend it out the way I plan? Oh, we do have foxes around here so I am also going to dig a trench and lay some extra wire under the coop so they cant get in. The extensions and fox proofing will be done before we get the actual chooks.

So, if all that sounds ok so far (?) I need to know what to do with them. Food wise I am going to get them the growing pullets (?) until they lay, then put them onto laying pullets (?). They can also have some veggie scraps from the kitchen, and I will make them the porridge stuff I have seen mentioned here. I will get the pestene dust to sprinkle in their sawdust to keep mites away, and put the liquid wormer stuff in their water once a fortnight. Oh, shell grit - I assume that is just shells ground up, as in egg shells? So we can keep any eggshells, ground them up and give them to the chooks in a separate feeding container? I assume 10w chooks can eat veggie scraps but wont need the grit until they start laying?

More questions: will chickens attract snakes? My next door neighbour says she has never seen a snake here (shes been here for 18 years) but will having chickens attract them to the yard? If so, what could I do about that? I have seen "laying mush" mentioned here, what is that? Any advice on how to introduce my new chickens to the coop/environment? And speaking of the coop, should I shut the little bedroom door every night so protect them from the cold, or leave it open so they can come down the ramp when they feel like it? They will have some sawdust in the coop I think (not sure where that goes) and some hay in the nesting boxes (right?).

I know I have more questions but I cant remember any others at the moment. I'm so excited about getting them, we are already discussing names for them lol. Thank you to anyone who read all of that, and double thanks to anyone who takes the time to comment

I cant find the edit function but I also wanted to ask where I should get the chickens from? Someone recommended Abundant Layers in Emerald, Vic but I dont want to go on the advice of a single stranger. I am in the Yarra Valley, Victoria.

OOOOOOHHH!!

I just came across a picture of a light sussex chicken and I think I am in love! I cant find any information about these chickens regarding lifespan/egg laying productivity so if anyone can tell me about them that would be great. Wow they are gorgeous.

Welcome to the forum MrsM.

Yes that size coop will be fine for 4 chooks and your plans for an extension certainly sound good as well.

With that feeding regime your chooks will be the best cared for within a radius of several suburbs. The pellets (pullets are female chickens up to a year old) would be sufficient, the rest is a bonus for the girls. Yes, your 10w/o can have green pick, they'll love it. Shell grit is ground seashell but crushed up eggshell is also good for the extra calcium, just make sure you bake it in the oven for 10mins to kill any bacteria.

Snakes are sometimes attracted to the coop, mice and rats would a more common problem if there is lots of feed left lying around. Some people like to remove the food overnight to prevent rodents, others use a Grandpa feeder or similar, personal preference I guess.

Liquid wormer once a fortnight is probably a bit harsh, every 3 months is probably more reasonable. That said, someone will jump in and tell you to do it more often; until you know you've got a problem don't go overboard.

Sawdust or wood shavings are used to absorb the moisture out of the droppings and to make it easier to clean up the coop. Fine straw/hay/sugarcane mulch etc... are all good for nesting material.

I have bought a number of chooks from Abundant Layers and I haven't had a problem with them, the owners are friendly and helpful, as a starting point you can't go too far wrong.

Here is some info on the light sussex http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sussex_(chicken). I like the look of them too, I just don't have the room for them yet.

Thanks wickedwings. I've seen your name here and didnt realise you lived in the area.

With the worming, I checked my notes (I've been writing lots of info down) and it does say every 4m, not every 2w like I said lol. I hadnt read about baking the eggshells so thanks for that. I've started collecting them from the regular store-bought eggs (they are ok to use?) and also egg cartons lol. Will the 10w old pullets need the grit or does that wait until they are laying? Oh wait, the grit is to help digest their food, so they probably would need that. And extra calcium can be given if their shells are soft? So they can have the grit you buy, and I can mix the baked/ground eggshells with their food if they have soft shells?

We are a family of 5 so there will be plenty of food scraps to give them. I know they shouldnt have too much meat, and that cat food is good now and then for extra protien. My brother in law used to keep chooks and has offered me his feeder and waterer, I assume they are ones that hang off the ground (if they arent, I want to get some that do).

So much to prepare! I want to have everything set up for them but its going to take quite a while so I probably wont get the actual chooks for quite a few months yet. Plenty of time to figure it all out

Store bought eggs will be fine for the calcium component. The purpose of grit is two-fold, small stones/grit in the crop helps to grind up their food since hens don't have teeth, or at least they're rare, and the extra calcium from shell grit/eggshell helps replace that lost when they lay eggs. At least one experienced member here has shell grit available from day one.

There isn't so much to get your head around, nor is it quite so scary jumping in with your first chooks. One day on the weekend assembling that coop and you could install the chooks the next day if you want. The most important things to remember are a regular supply of food and always have some cool, clean water available. I always check the water when I come home at night ready for the next day.

Good luck and keep us updated.

Good to know, thanks! I think I would rather have everything set up and have a good idea of what I am doing before I get them. If I get the chickens before I extend the coop, I run the risk of not ever extending it lol. Its hard to find time some days with a 3yo and a 3m old, and we only just moved here about 8w ago so we are still putting our touches on the house and yard. We still have unpacked boxes hahaha, and things get postponed around here. My 12yo is dying to get some chooks so getting her involved with the set up will be good for her too.

I would run out tomorrow and get a coop and chooks but I know that would probably lead to unhappy girls.

Hi MrsM,
Sounds like you have been doing your research and you do have a pretty good handle on it, not much need to be so worried.
Like everything else,if warm, dry, have food and water available and are loved is about all you need for success.
Anything more than that is just fine tuning.
If you are getting pullets at 10 weeks you only need pullet grower for 6 weeks, you start them on layer ration about 16 weeks to be ready to start laying around 20 weeks, same applies to shellgrit but this is not vital as layer pellets have calcium included.
Greens are always welcome, either from table or garden, some meat scraps do no harm and are again welcome.
The light sussex is a lovely fowl, good layers, but not as good as Australorps or Isa Browns, still good if you get a laying strain more than a show strain.They also come in bantams that lay well and a big egg for a smaller fowl.
Good idea to get 2 to start and 2 more later if you are only allowed 4 as you will then not need to replace them all at once in one go, replace 2 now and 2 more later on or the following year.
No need to go to all the drama of making porridge etc, keep it simple and enjoy it,, don't make it a chore, some people just go overboard and miss the true pleasure of having fowls, take the time to smell the roses as they say, just sit with a drink , whatever takes your fancy and a small amount of feed treat to throw out in small amounts while they pick around you, relax and enjoy having them around, far better than valium for calming the nerves or drama of a stressful day.
Enjoy, the imagined prospect is far more intimidating than the reality.

Well said Oaklands and quite true. MrsM if your 12yo would like chooks you could be set up and running quite quickly, four chooks will be quite happy in that coop and no need to rush the extension.

lol, you are giving me just the excuse I need to go out and organise it now

I'm not worried about keeping chooks really, its just that I've never kept them before and their needs are a bit different to other animals that I have had, like cats. I wouldnt have thought foxes would be much of an issue for me here, but it turns out they are so I am glad to have access to information about that - same with what breed of chook to get. 4 days ago I would have thought a chook was a chook and if I had jumped into it, I most likely would have ended up with some Isas, which arent the right hens for us.

My husband isnt totally keen on the idea of having them so there is a fair bit of negotiating going on there too, hahaha. I know he will love them when they are here but the set up/equipment is just another thing on the very long list of things I want to organise for the house, and my poor man is getting overwhelmed with all my plans. As soon as we finish one project of mine, I come up with another one lol. We are going away for a week over Christmas so I am looking to have everything set up for them before we go, and get the hens as soon as we get back. I have a fair bit of yard prep to do before I can put the coop in (the spot I have picked out is half covered by a huge garden bed I want to downsize). So I figure I might as well learn what I can.

So do the sussex hens lay like like the australorps in that they lay less eggs over a longer period of time, or are they more like the Isas that lay more eggs over a shorter time?