Q. How to choose the chickens for your purposes?
We breed 2 dual purpose heritage Chickens- which means they are suitable for producing eggs & the table before a year old. Our breeds are Australorp's & Orpingtons.
Please read Heritage Chickens page to assist you with information about our three Heritage Breed Chickens and their characteristics. You will be the best one to decide which breed will work best for you in your environment & families needs.
Q What do I need to set up?
A Hen house that has a place to roost & lay. This place needs to be dry, have good ventilation & easy to clean. Unless you want chickens coming to visit you all the time & helping to do your garden & eat your veges, you will want to pen them in. We have built a variety of fences from waratahs & chicken wire to post & rail.
We have painted our small wood coops & the wood in our large coops to prevent/reduce red mites.
Q How do you introduce chickens to a new coop?
Shut chickens into their new coop for a couple days so they recognize where to come back to sleep & lay.
Ensure they have a place to roost, lay, feed & water during this time.
Q If I am introducing new chickens into an existing flock?
-The easiest way is to introduce two new hens who are over 6 months old together. Do this at nigh. If you have a way of separating your run for a a day or so it will smooth their introduction into the flock.
-If you really want to introduce one hen you will need a separate pen you can put into your existing hens run. Select the a hen who is at the bottom of of your existing flocks pecking order and try pairing this one with your new hen. You will need to keep a close eye on them to ensure that they are getting well. After a 3-4 days you can try introducing them both to the flock.
-If you are introducing chicks or young pullets: you will need to provide a small hutch & run for at least a week while the flock becomes familiar with the young space invaders.
Q What do chickens nest in?
We use pine shavings & macrocapa sawdust in some of our nests. We have been trialing astro turf in some of others, straw in others. Straw is our most time consuming most least cost effective.
Q What do chickens roost on?
A piece of painted 2×4 makes a good roost, about 300mls high from the floor. You can round the edges a bit if you wish for greater comfort. Chickens don’t wrap their feet around a perch like wild birds do. They actually prefer to sleep flat-footed. Plastic or metal pipes should be avoided since they are too slippery for the chickens to get a good grip. Chickens poo while they sleep, so you will want to place your roosts somewhere that it will be easy to clean. Keep the roosting area away from feeders and water & nesting boxes.
We breed 2 dual purpose heritage Chickens- which means they are suitable for producing eggs & the table before a year old. Our breeds are Australorp's & Orpingtons.
Please read Heritage Chickens page to assist you with information about our three Heritage Breed Chickens and their characteristics. You will be the best one to decide which breed will work best for you in your environment & families needs.
Q What do I need to set up?
A Hen house that has a place to roost & lay. This place needs to be dry, have good ventilation & easy to clean. Unless you want chickens coming to visit you all the time & helping to do your garden & eat your veges, you will want to pen them in. We have built a variety of fences from waratahs & chicken wire to post & rail.
We have painted our small wood coops & the wood in our large coops to prevent/reduce red mites.
Q How do you introduce chickens to a new coop?
Shut chickens into their new coop for a couple days so they recognize where to come back to sleep & lay.
Ensure they have a place to roost, lay, feed & water during this time.
Q If I am introducing new chickens into an existing flock?
-The easiest way is to introduce two new hens who are over 6 months old together. Do this at nigh. If you have a way of separating your run for a a day or so it will smooth their introduction into the flock.
-If you really want to introduce one hen you will need a separate pen you can put into your existing hens run. Select the a hen who is at the bottom of of your existing flocks pecking order and try pairing this one with your new hen. You will need to keep a close eye on them to ensure that they are getting well. After a 3-4 days you can try introducing them both to the flock.
-If you are introducing chicks or young pullets: you will need to provide a small hutch & run for at least a week while the flock becomes familiar with the young space invaders.
Q What do chickens nest in?
We use pine shavings & macrocapa sawdust in some of our nests. We have been trialing astro turf in some of others, straw in others. Straw is our most time consuming most least cost effective.
Q What do chickens roost on?
A piece of painted 2×4 makes a good roost, about 300mls high from the floor. You can round the edges a bit if you wish for greater comfort. Chickens don’t wrap their feet around a perch like wild birds do. They actually prefer to sleep flat-footed. Plastic or metal pipes should be avoided since they are too slippery for the chickens to get a good grip. Chickens poo while they sleep, so you will want to place your roosts somewhere that it will be easy to clean. Keep the roosting area away from feeders and water & nesting boxes.
