Hinterland Homesteading: How to keep backyard chickens

Racheal Pascoe: “Keeping chickens is not difficult, but there’s a bit of setup involved and also a little daily care of the birds is required.” 

Hinterland Homesteading by Racheal Pascoe

A delightful childhood memory I have is the excitement of checking for chicken eggs. I can still remember the thrill of finding eggs. 

I wanted our children to have the same wonderful experience, so we have kept chickens for years now… they provide us with eggs and are a terrific animal for children to learn to care for.

Keeping chickens is not difficult, but there is a bit of set up involved to be organised and also a little daily care of the birds is required.

The Sunshine Coast Council has a document on their website called ‘Keeping Poultry and Birds’ which outlines the rules, so you will be able to find out what applies to where you live. 

It defines how many birds and what sort of birds you are allowed to keep regarding the area (suburb) and size of land you live on. 

The placement of the pen on your property is also important, it must be a certain distance away from perimeter fences and neighbours’ buildings, so keep this in mind when planning. 

Read and research first, so you will be doing the right thing when you get your chickens. 

The last thing you want to do is get your neighbours offside by having a noisy rooster and not adhering to the rules.

Bok bok bok

The initial set up of the pen is important. Chickens need to have a clean and dry run which is fox, dog and cat proof. 

This can mean having to concrete mesh into the ground to protect them. Chicken tractors are terrific as they can be moved around but many do not have mesh floors. Dogs and foxes can lift and dig under pens to get to the chickens. 

Carpet snakes are sneaky and like to eat chickens but can be kept at bay with fine mesh on the pen. Chickens need to be locked up each night, away from predators. 

Keep the cost of building the pen down by sourcing secondhand timber, wire mesh etc from Marketplace, Gumtree and Refuse shops.

Feeding your chickens 

I use the fine laying mash (chicken seed) from the Nambour Produce Agency. Chickens should also have access each day to clean water and some greens as well. 

I save kitchen scraps for them and I grow green leafy vegies for chook food. The outside leaves of cabbages are ideal. There are a few foods that are not good for chickens, they include avocado, citrus and onions.

Ask for some bedding straw at the Nambour Produce Agency, that will be ideal to put in the nesting boxes for the girls to lay their eggs on.

A point of lay chicken will cost about $30 and it shouldn’t be too long before you have your first egg. There isn’t anything quite like the delighted squeal from a child as they find their first egg!

Healthy chickens 

You can tell a healthy chicken by the comb on their head. It should be a lovely red colour and standing up. 

If it is not standing up, there is a good chance that the bird is not well. Maybe it might need dusting for mites or worming solution put in the water. 

Chickens really are easy to keep and healthy birds hardly get an issue, but occasionally you might get a sick chook and the internet is a fabulous source of information to help you nurse your friend back to health. Letting chickens roam freely around your yard is lovely to see. 

Free poop

They poop as they go which is great for your garden, but it is disappointing when they destroy gardens looking for worms! 

This is when it might be time to make a permanent bigger run for them to enjoy. 

Keep it interesting for the birds by having a swing made out of rope and a big stick or hang an entire cabbage for them to peck at and fill an old tyre with dry dirt as a dust bath. 

They will just love it!

I still enjoy opening the door to the nesting boxes each day and seeing how many eggs there are. Simple joys each day.

Have a Merry Christmas everyone!