The Power of Chook - Very Edible Gardens

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The chook. More exotic than you know - they are the domesticated descendants of wild junglefowl from Asia.

More powerful than you know - they are perhaps the most successful species of bird, by numbers, that have ever lived. There are now an estimated 24 billion of them.

Why is the chicken so popular? And what can they do for our backyard? It's not just about producing better tasting and cheaper eggs than you can possibly buy (but they do that too). Even if you already have chooks, it's good to think about all the benefits they provide.

Why chooks?

There are lots of reasons to bring some chooks into your life.

They eat your food scraps to make delicious eggs
They provide you with rich manure for your food garden
These animal ‘tractors’ are great at preparing your vegie patch for planting - they love to scratch
They help to control insect pests in your garden
Chooks have personalities - they make great pets, kids love them and learn from them
You can reduce demand for the inhumane treatment of factory and barn raised chickens and give some chooks a long, happy and healthy life

House, Strawyard and Run

Chook House

Chooks need some protection from predators and the elements. A chook house must:

Be fox proof
Be weatherproof (yet allow for summer ventilation)
Have a perch (Chooks like to perch off the ground at night. These perches should be 30cm or more off the ground, allowing 30cm space per bird)
Have nesting boxes where the chooks can lay their eggs in private. (Old lawn mower leaf-catchers or wooden boxes are good. Add straw to the laying boxes. Allow 1 nesting box for every 3 chooks)
Be easy to access (you'll visit it at least once per day)

We've spent years designing and building chook houses and all of our favorite designs come together in the VEG standard chook house - see a guided tour here.

Strawyard

While optional, we strongly recommend a strawyard, which is a fox-proof fully enclosed area adjoining the house.

To fox-proof, dig the chicken wire 10cm into the ground then angle it 90 degrees outward before extending it another 30cm away from the fence.

Cover the floor of the straw yard with 30cm deep straw. Every few months put this straw into your compost and lay down fresh straw.

Ensure that your chooks have plenty of shade for the hot months. Chooks love mulberries and fruit, so why not plant a mulberry tree right next to your strawyard and they’ll eat the fallen berries.

See our strawyards for an example of what we're talking about.

Run

Chooks need room to move about, and ideally need a large run broken up into several separately gated sections. Fences should be at least 1.4m high. This area usually doesn't need to be fox proof, as the chooks are only out in their run during the day. At night your job is to shut them into the fox-proof house and strawyard areas.

Chook Tractors

Consider a chook ‘tractor’, ie. a mobile pen without a floor. This can be moved around the garden allowing the chooks to scratch the ground and eat weeds or left-over veggies, while spreading their droppings. This should be done about two weeks before you want to plant out this area. Chook tractors can be purchased from Very Edible Gardens, and you can also make your own using the detailed guidelines in this book.

Chook Behaviour

Chooks are very territorial and will put themself to bed at dusk in the same place every night.
Chooks are social animals and should never be kept on their own.
When introducing new hens, add at least two at a time, otherwise the new hen will be picked on. A new group of hens may fight quite viciously until they work out their pecking order.

Food

Various grain or pellet mixes can be purchased from farm suppliers.

Chicks – start with chick crumble for the first few months, (at least 20% protein) then -

16 weeks and older:

Kitchen scraps
Layer pellets, mash or grain mix. To lay well, chooks need approximately 18% protein in their diet
A calcium source – shell grit, cuttlefish, crushed roasted eggshells (shell grit or sand is also important for their gizzard, to help them crush their food)
Insects and earthworms
Greens – grass, spinach, parsley, carrot tops, cabbage leaves (tie up in bunch and fasten to the side of the chook run). Or grow a ‘green manure crop’ that will condition your soil + provide green pick for your chooks.

Don’t feed them: rhubarb, coffee grounds, green potato peel, avocado, chocolate

For recipes to make your own chook food see Alanna Moore’s book “Backyard Poultry – Naturally”, which is available here.

Water: Always have fresh water available.

Breeds

Some breeds are excellent egg layers, others are bred for their meat, others are ornamental and some breeds are dual/general purpose (ie good for both egg laying and meat). If you want to breed chickens, buy pure-breed chooks. Otherwise, there are a good range of hybrid and pure-breed chooks for each purpose.

Good egg layers that are friendly and suitable to a backyard:

Australorp – Australian, dual purpose. Large, handsome, black bird.

Rhode Island Red – U.S. dual purpose.

Isa Brown – Cross between Rhode Island Red and Rhode Island White breeds.

Good dual purpose chooks that are suitable for a backyard (moderate egg layers and table birds)

Sussex – U.K. breed. Dual purpose. Suited to cool climates.

Wyandotte – U.S. dual purpose. Friendly and cuddly looking.

... there are many more great breeds, but not all are well suited to the backyard.

Sizes and Ages

Most breeds come in two sizes – standard and smaller bantams. Bantams are smaller, eat slightly less and lay slightly smaller eggs.

Chick = bird in their first few weeks of life

Pullets = a young hen under 12 months of age

Point-of-lay = a pullet that is ready to start laying eggs, about 4-6 months old

Maintaining Chook Health - Naturally

Think about planting herbs and flowers next to your chicken run that the chickens can selectively eat to keep you themself healthy. Some recommended plants are:

Comfrey – Wonderful herb for your organic garden. Perennial, large green leaves, grows in sun or partial shade, plant from a root cutting. Chop up and feed to chooks regularly. It is also a compost activator (see VEG compost worksheet). Comfrey has a vigorous root system, so grow it away from your veggie patch.

Nasturtium – Great for your chooks general health and it repels insect pests.

Nettles – Helps increase egg production and is fattening for your chickens – a great winter food. Nettle is also a compost activator.

Rue – Good chook medicine and insect repellent. Dry and scatter through chook house to repel pests. Wear gloves when handling this herb as it can cause some skin irritation.

Southernwood and Wormwood – Insect repellents and medicinal. Grow wormwood away from other plants as its roots inhibit growth. Good to dry and scatter through chook house.

Tansy – Attractive fern-like leaves with yellow flowers. Tansy is a vigorous grower that repels pest insects. Dry and scatter leaves through chookhouse. Tansy is also a compost activator.

Rosemary – Insect repellent. Chop and scatter in chookhouse.

Worming your chooks

Regular garlic treatment is the most popular natural method.

Place 1-2 cloves (per bird) of crushed garlic into your chooks drinking water, for several days in a row.

Other methods – add a little apple cider vinegar to the drinking water or any of the following - nasturtium seeds, grated carrot, wormwood tips, mustard or pumpkin seeds. If your chicken has worms and needs urgent attention please visit a pet supplies centre to buy worming liquid.

Tidbits

Check out this lovely short youtube clip on how poultry sorted a fellow out, and let's finish with an old UK government poster: