E-mail from our friend Sue I've only had the chickens for 2 months so I'm not an expert and I got most of my info off other websites so I'd have a look there if I were you. I can tell you chickens eat almost anything. You have to give them a balanced diet so they can produce good quality eggs. Layers pellets do that - they provide the calcium etc need to produce the shell. I give them mixed corn too which they like. I also give my chickens left over food from the kitchen - they eat slugs and worms etc naturally, I sometimes give them leftover catfood, fish, left over cornflakes, crackers, cooked veg - pototoes, anything really. They can't manage hard stuff too well like uncooked carrots or veg peelings. They forage for themselves and do seem to need/want eat a certain amount of vege stuff like grass dandilion etc. They love dried fruit - raisens etc. Legally you're not supposed to give them scraps - something to do with the foot and mouth outbreak I think. They like margarine too. Anyone I know who gets fresh eggs or has their own chickens say the eggs are fantastic. The eggs are far better than shop bought eggs. The yolks are very orange, not pale. They taste a lot nicer and they hold together well. E.G When you poach them in a pan of water, shop bought ones fall apart, the fresh eggs don't. A lot of the good things about the eggs will be the freshness. Then you need to look at what you feed the chickens. The size of the egg will depend on the type / size of chicken. Our eggs are quite small, our chickens are quite small! I also feed them bolied linseed sometimes which I also feed my horses which is high in omega 3 and i pressume this will come out to a degree in the egg. You can feed back to them oven cooked dried crushed egg shells - and apparently oyster shells are even better for them for grit. Hope that helps, you'll need to have a look at other websites for more info as to when they lay etc. Basically they lay every 24 - 26 hrs, they lay a clutch of eggs - about 10 - 12 then they should have a day or two off and lay again etc etc. It doen't seem to work to a fixed pattern though especially when they are young. Then they can get broody - don't know what happens then really as yet. Some chickens lay every day some don't. Different breeds lay different amounts, some lay 320 eggs a year, some only 200!

Her chickens are free in the day to wonder around the garden and field.

Chicken water feeder

Food & Water
The water feeder shown to the right holds around 3.5 litres so you don't have to keep changing the water. Although obviously if they don't end up drinking it all within so long you're best of putting in some fresh water. Depending on what brand of water feeder you buy, it should only cost around £5 for the 3.5 litre version from places like eBay.

Chicken food feeder

Some chicken feeders can hold 5KG of food (sometimes more), and they're normally suitable for holding pellets, seeds, chick crumbs etc. A lot tend to have a cover (like this one has) to help keep the rain out of the food. You may not be able to tell from this particular picture, but our friend has the food feeder attached to a piece of bale string/rope to make sure it doesn't get moved about or knocked over. (And raised just off of the ground).

Agrisellex

Chicken Yard

Electric wiring around top of fencing

The Actual Housing
Inside are two poles for them to perch on. This is where they sleep at night, generally you should put the perches in the upper part of the housing because chickens prefer sitting high. The perch should be well-rounded and around 5cm in diameter, chickens also need about 20-30cm of room when on their perch, so make sure there are enough perches for the amount of chickens you have. Placing a waterproof board below the perches is also a must to collect all of the excrement.

With regards to the roof & flooring; a felt roofing is normally prefered, it does the job of keeping out the wet and it's quite cheap. The ground should be wood or concrete. Concrete would be best though, it does well against mice and rats compared with a wooden floor where they can easily enter the house.

Inside hen house, perch poles

Other Photos