A guide for first time keepers
When your new hens arrive they may be in quite poor condition. But with lots of TLC they’ll soon start to improve.
They may have feathers missing and bald patches. The feathers will grow back eventually. But if the other hens start to peck the bald patches you can spray antiseptic spray on them available from animal/horse feed supplies or pet shops.
Their comb may be very pale & large. This will redden again & shrink.
Toenails are often long because of being confined to a cage. When your hens start to scratch about in the ground they’ll soon wear them down but if they can’t stand properly they can be trimmed with toenail clippers used for dogs.
Sometimes their legs are weak and they may find it difficult to walk but as they get used to having more space they’ll soon build up their strength.
In the first couple of days keep the hens inside the hen house/run leaving the door open during the day so they can investigate the outside world if they want. They might not move around much to begin with. Remember these poor girls have never seen daylight for long before.
You will find your girls will lay eggs anywhere on the floor at first. They do normally adjust to laying in the nests. If not you could try putting a plastic egg in there for a bit of encouragement.
Housing
There are plenty of hen houses available on the internet / pet shops / Garden centres but converting a standard garden shed will be a perfectly acceptable hen house. 6’ x 4’ will be enough for around 12 chickens.
At first the hens won’t be strong enough to jump onto the perch to roost so you may
have to provide them with a box on the floor or a ramp to walk up.
The perch should be about 12” off the floor.
Make sure the shed is secure from predators so that they can be locked away safely in the evening.
Bedding
Wood shavings or sawdust are good for the floor & straw for the bed .Hay should be avoided, as it can encourage mites. sawdust that you get free from wood yards can be used but I would recommend that is sprayed slightly to dampen it to keep the dust down. Add tea tree & lavender to the water spray
to give your hens a nice smelling relaxing place to live.
Feed
It is a good idea to feed your hens layers mash for a few weeks as they probably wont eat anything else to start with as this is all they have ever known .You can gradually introduce other foods such as layers pellets & mixed corn. You could also try tying up cabbage leaves around the run to occupy them.
Food & water bowls need to be deeper because the hens have usually been debeaked and they’ll find it easier to scoop the food & water up.
Cleaning
The hen house is best kept on top of daily by removal of droppings & soiled straw (this makes fab compost) then top up with clean straw. Give the house a thorough clean monthly ensuring the corners including the roof corners & perches are cleaned, Diatom DE (smite) is best sprinkled on top of the fresh layer of straw.
Health
We will never knowingly allow a hen to go to a new home with health problems.
When the hens first go into the cages they will have had a long list of vaccinations to protect the farmer against large losses. These are usually administered through spray misting the chicks or in the drinking water.
The most common diseases vaccinated against are Marek’s disease, Infectious bronchitis, Salmonella, Newcastle disease, Gumbaro disease & epidemic tumour.
Please see our A-Z of ailments for more information
Punch ups
Still expect some punch ups. They’ll have a go at each other quite readily. But this settles very quickly. This is as the saying goes “The Pecking Order”.
Eggs
Expect a few for the first couple of days then non for quite a while whilst they adapt.
Bugs & parasites
The most common problem can be red mite.
This is a tiny mite that feeds on the hens at night and then during the day lives in the shed, usually under perches or in the nesting area or simply in the cracks & joints in the house.
It is something that can be controlled with many products on the market & like fleas will flare up in the warmer weather & die down during the winter months. It does not usually prove fatal to hens though in extreme cases if left untreated can cause death.
A good idea is to use a child’s sand pit or make one maybe with 4 boards. Old scaffold boards are fine. Fill with sand, dry earth & ashes sprinkled with diatom & orange peel oil. This will suffocate lice & other parasites & keep numbers down when the hen dust bathes.
Dust your coop with flea / mite powder once a month especially in the nest boxes, again there are plenty of products available on the market. You could also add garlic to their feed & apple cider vinegar as a general health tonic & de wormer to keep on top of things
I would recommend worming your hen at least twice a year, as they are free to venture out now they are likely to pick a few up from wild birds & insects but there are non chemical/organic herbal feeds available now with wormer in them to give them once a month.
They may have feathers missing and bald patches. The feathers will grow back eventually. But if the other hens start to peck the bald patches you can spray antiseptic spray on them available from animal/horse feed supplies or pet shops.
Their comb may be very pale & large. This will redden again & shrink.
Toenails are often long because of being confined to a cage. When your hens start to scratch about in the ground they’ll soon wear them down but if they can’t stand properly they can be trimmed with toenail clippers used for dogs.
Sometimes their legs are weak and they may find it difficult to walk but as they get used to having more space they’ll soon build up their strength.
In the first couple of days keep the hens inside the hen house/run leaving the door open during the day so they can investigate the outside world if they want. They might not move around much to begin with. Remember these poor girls have never seen daylight for long before.
You will find your girls will lay eggs anywhere on the floor at first. They do normally adjust to laying in the nests. If not you could try putting a plastic egg in there for a bit of encouragement.
Housing
There are plenty of hen houses available on the internet / pet shops / Garden centres but converting a standard garden shed will be a perfectly acceptable hen house. 6’ x 4’ will be enough for around 12 chickens.
At first the hens won’t be strong enough to jump onto the perch to roost so you may
have to provide them with a box on the floor or a ramp to walk up.
The perch should be about 12” off the floor.
Make sure the shed is secure from predators so that they can be locked away safely in the evening.
Bedding
Wood shavings or sawdust are good for the floor & straw for the bed .Hay should be avoided, as it can encourage mites. sawdust that you get free from wood yards can be used but I would recommend that is sprayed slightly to dampen it to keep the dust down. Add tea tree & lavender to the water spray
to give your hens a nice smelling relaxing place to live.
Feed
It is a good idea to feed your hens layers mash for a few weeks as they probably wont eat anything else to start with as this is all they have ever known .You can gradually introduce other foods such as layers pellets & mixed corn. You could also try tying up cabbage leaves around the run to occupy them.
Food & water bowls need to be deeper because the hens have usually been debeaked and they’ll find it easier to scoop the food & water up.
Cleaning
The hen house is best kept on top of daily by removal of droppings & soiled straw (this makes fab compost) then top up with clean straw. Give the house a thorough clean monthly ensuring the corners including the roof corners & perches are cleaned, Diatom DE (smite) is best sprinkled on top of the fresh layer of straw.
Health
We will never knowingly allow a hen to go to a new home with health problems.
When the hens first go into the cages they will have had a long list of vaccinations to protect the farmer against large losses. These are usually administered through spray misting the chicks or in the drinking water.
The most common diseases vaccinated against are Marek’s disease, Infectious bronchitis, Salmonella, Newcastle disease, Gumbaro disease & epidemic tumour.
Please see our A-Z of ailments for more information
Punch ups
Still expect some punch ups. They’ll have a go at each other quite readily. But this settles very quickly. This is as the saying goes “The Pecking Order”.
Eggs
Expect a few for the first couple of days then non for quite a while whilst they adapt.
Bugs & parasites
The most common problem can be red mite.
This is a tiny mite that feeds on the hens at night and then during the day lives in the shed, usually under perches or in the nesting area or simply in the cracks & joints in the house.
It is something that can be controlled with many products on the market & like fleas will flare up in the warmer weather & die down during the winter months. It does not usually prove fatal to hens though in extreme cases if left untreated can cause death.
A good idea is to use a child’s sand pit or make one maybe with 4 boards. Old scaffold boards are fine. Fill with sand, dry earth & ashes sprinkled with diatom & orange peel oil. This will suffocate lice & other parasites & keep numbers down when the hen dust bathes.
Dust your coop with flea / mite powder once a month especially in the nest boxes, again there are plenty of products available on the market. You could also add garlic to their feed & apple cider vinegar as a general health tonic & de wormer to keep on top of things
I would recommend worming your hen at least twice a year, as they are free to venture out now they are likely to pick a few up from wild birds & insects but there are non chemical/organic herbal feeds available now with wormer in them to give them once a month.