Art of the Chicken Coop (Softback)

by Chris Gleason

Publisher: Fox Chapel Publishing. Edition Published:  12th July 2011  Softback: 160 pages ISBN-10: 1565235428 ISBN-13: 978-1565235427 Available on Amazon

One of the biggest expenses when you decide to start keeping chickens is that of the housing. Your chickens may be relatively cheap, but if you're looking to buy a coop you can expect to pay anything from a hundred to several hundred pounds. It can be eye watering, and makes a lie of the 'cheap supply of eggs' waffle spouted by enthusiasts like me. So if you're in any way handy, building your own hen accommodation can be a much more viable alternative. Chris Gleason's 'Art Of The Chicken Coop' attempts to offer some inspiration.

When we find our birds with loose droppings the first disease that springs to mind is coccidiosis. But what exactly is coccidiosis and have does it affect our birds?

Coccidiosis is a parasite which damages the gut wall of chickens. There are a number of species of coccidiosis and their affects vary from harmless right through to life threatening.
There are six species of Eimeria (coccidiosis) which are generally considered to be significant for chickens: E. tenella, E. brunetti, E. necatrix, E. maxima, E. mitis and E. acervulina. Each of these species prefers to live in and damage a specific region of the gut. For the purposes of treatment and prevention of coccidiosis it is unimportant to ascertain which species is causing disease in your birds and in many cases several species may be working together to cause disease.

Hmmm. Well, since last month's piece we seem to have rather mislayed the summer. Which was ever so careless. If your hens are anything like mine, they have been rather narked at the rain and squishy conditions. As soon as the sun shows its face they leg it to higher ground and flatten themselves in an act of sun worship. I can appreciate their sentiments. Anyway, July was a bit of a soggy mess. But that doesn't mean August will be.

You still need to be vigilant when it comes to mites, lice and all pests during the allegedly warm weather. A weekly health check can stop most problems in their tracks. However, if you have an early moulting hen, try to leave her be unless you have reason to suspect that she might have a problem. Maude, my millefleur pekin, has given up the mini moult pretence and literally exploded all over the garden. She is virtually featherless at this stage, but covered in rows of new quills. A chicken growing new plumage will be feeling a little under the weather and will certainly not be keen on being handled. I tend to avoid unnecessary handling and just observe the bird in question. Maude is grumpy and sore looking, and she certainly wouldn't appreciate being cuddled. The poor thing is more pin cushion than chicken right now.

In March, I took delivery of a large box of feeders from BEC and have been testing them for the last 4 months in a variety of ways. These feeders are sturdy, robust plastic feeders that are manufacturerd in the UK and are certainly built to last. They can have rain hats fitted to them and I tested them with both chickens, ducks of various ages from 5 weeks to adults and varied the locations of the feeders from brooder box to covered and non covered field runs.

So, tempted by tales of chicken keeping and images of happy chickens clucking around the garden you are toying with the idea of having a few hens of your own. Horrified by media and charity reports about life in a chicken battery farm, you have decided that by re-homing some ex-battery hens you will not only get delicious free range eggs but you will also be doing your bit to help these innocent victims of the intensive farming system.

The trouble is you have no experience whatsoever of chickens and you have no idea where to start.

As I type this, we are all sweltering in the grip of a mini heat wave. The hens have all disappeared in to the shrubbery, and can only be tempted out by the lure of chicken ice pops (or frozen peas to you and me). They lie in feathery hummocks, occasionally making a moaning ' boooooooooork' sound that is very much a complaint. Now that we're going in to July, we can expect the weather to stay on the warm side. As long as your hens have access to cool fresh water and shade, they will cope in the heat remarkably well. The problem is, a lot of poultry parasites not only cope in the hot weather, they positively thrive.

Predators can be a constant worry for many small holders and poultry keepers. A single fox can ruin years of careful husbandry and breeding in a few minutes, and stoats think little of killing a broody hen as she sits on eggs. We all know the dangers posed by these two hunters, and with a little care and attention, we can keep them back with a combination of electric fences, traps and deterrents. However, an equally harmful predator lurks in the wings for many poultry keepers, and while mink numbers are reported to be falling, the danger remains a serious one.

Most chickens, turkeys and geese should be treated regularly against common poultry worms with poultry wormers. This can be achieved quite simply: many people keeping chickens on a small scale will be using Flubenvet® 1% to worm their chickens. This comes in a 60 gram pack that will treat around 20 chickens, dependant on the size of the birds. Geese can also be treated with a poultry wormer, such as Flubenvet®, as can turkeys – though a different dose rate may be required for different species of birds, so always check the on-pack instructions.

Photo above right: Large Roundworm Ascarida Galli blocking the intestines.