How do I start keeping chickens?

Successfully keeping animals starts with good basic knowledge.

This article was created in collaboration with Aad Rijs, the author of the chicken ecology. Keeping animals is a lot of fun and comes with responsibility. Read carefully so that you can give the animals what they need. More knowledge can be found in our chicken books.

Keeping chickens, rules, and more
Choosing a chicken breed
Buy chicken coop
Feeding chickens
buy chickens
Diseases in chickens
Association and shows

Keeping chickens, rules, and more

Chickens live in groups, such a group is called a tame. When purchasing, choose a flock of 3 or more chickens. You can keep chickens without a rooster. They still lay eggs, but they are not fertilized. Preferably choose young animals of a few months old, you can tame them more easily. They announce this by making more noise, the comb turns a nice red and then becomes a bit larger. If you take good care of your chickens, you will be rewarded daily with the tastiest fresh eggs!

Keeping chickens in the garden

Keeping chickens in a residential area can be very good. Unfortunately, no chicken doesn't make a sound. However, they will not create noise nuisance quickly. A rooster that can cause noise nuisance is not necessarily included.

1. Choosing a suitable chicken breed

There are over 400 breeds of chickens. There are large breeds and dwarf breeds, the dwarf breeds are also called bantam chickens. The size in combination with the number of chickens you want to keep determines how large the coop should be. A division is made between laying hens and ornamental hens. Laying hens lay much more eggs but do not grow old. Ornamental chickens lay fewer eggs but live much longer, averaging between 5 and 8 years. Ornamental chickens are bred for their appearance.

Each chicken breed has its character. Many old Dutch breeds are a bit more aloof, while breeds with an Asian background are often very tame. The original ornamental breeds such as Brahma's, Antwerp bearded bantams, and Cochin bantams are naturally very calm and easy to handle for children.

2. Purchase the chicken coop

A good chicken coop consists of an area in which the animals spend the night (the night coop with laying nests) and a spacious run in which they roam around during the day and are visible (the chicken coop). For small bantam chickens, you can count on 0.25m2 night coop per animal and 0.5m2 space in the run. We recommend doubling at least for large chickens. Make sure the chicken coop is accessible to you. That makes its maintenance pleasant. A socket nearby is always useful, especially in winter. In the article furnishing a chicken coop, you will find all the tips and tricks.

Buying a chicken coop or making a chicken coop

Both options have advantages and disadvantages. Making your chicken coop allows you to furnish the entire chicken coop to your liking. Ultimately, this allows you to keep maintenance work to a minimum. Buying a chicken coop is easier. They are usually set up in 30 minutes and are delivered free of charge at kiphuis.nl. With a chicken coop consisting of many planks you have to pay attention, sooner or later red mites will settle between the cracks. A chicken coop with smooth walls and as few cracks as possible is best for you and your chickens.

3. What does a chicken eat and drink?

Chickens have simple needs: chicken feed every day and freshwater every day. A laying hen eats about 100 grams of chicken feed and drinks about 40 ml of tap water per day. You can take half of that for a bantam chicken. NB! These are guide numbers and depend on the chicken. Place the food bowl and water bowl in the run when it is always accessible. This keeps the night coop clean, which benefits hygiene.

chicken feed:

The basis for every chicken is maintenance feed in the form of laying pellets or laying meal. Laying pellet ensures less mess and laying meal is smaller so that the chickens spend longer eating it, this prevents boredom. It is best to give the chickens an amount of food that they will eat within 24 hours. This way the food does not get old and they will not leave anything lying around. Nowadays there are also specially selected grain mixes that contain all the necessary nutrients.

At the end of the day, give the chickens a spoonful of mixed grain. This provides variety but does not give too much. It is because it is quite fat. You can also give some extra green food such as leftover endive or lettuce, but also give this in moderation. Dried insects are a welcome addition to the menu. This is good for beautiful feathers and a good condition. This is also a good time to inspect the chickens to see if they are still healthy because they will come close to you/the feed.

To digest the chicken feed, the chicken needs stomach grit. Chickens have a gizzard and with the help of stones that they pick up they will digest the food. Without a Stomach Gravel, the stomach can become congested. Grit supplements the chicken's calcium needs. They need lime to produce the eggshell. Give stomach gravel/grit in a separate container and change the contents weekly to keep it hygienic.

4. Buy chickens

Where can I buy the most beautiful chickens? There is a lot of offer at traders, shopkeepers and on Marktplaats. Our choice goes out to the real hobby breeder and you will find them on Kippenfokkers.nl. People who enjoy their hobby generally take the best care of their animals. At the breeder's home, you can see whether the animals are well cared for and healthy and he or she will be happy to provide additional information so that you can start well with your new hobby.

When buying young chicks a few days old, remember that they also need heat. We recommend that you read the article raising chicks first. Animals that appear unfit, crouched, and whose feathers are erect are probably sick. So you don't buy it.

5. chicken diseases

Chickens are not likely to show that they are sick. It is especially difficult to discover if you are starting with the chicken hobby. Look for deviant behavior. Is the chicken behaving differently than usual? If the chickens are not active, stand still in the corner, the head is pale and the feathers are swollen, it is clear: the chicken is sick. It is then difficult to indicate what it is. In the article symptoms of disease in chickens, you will learn the basics. If in doubt, it is advisable to ask a veterinarian for advice. Please note: a broody hen has many of the same characteristics, but it often sits on a nest with eggs.

Checking chickens:

Now and then take the chickens in your hand and look between the feathers around the cloaca (the vent opening). Take a good look at the chicken and check that everything is still healthy. You can pick them up with domestic chickens. A healthy chicken has nice feathers, a fresh red color on the comb has shiny eyes, and looks alert. Sick chickens huddle together. If the down around the cloaca is very dirty, the manure is too thin. If there are whole asses of grey-white eggs, she has a problem with lice. Deeper between the down, these are visible as small moving dots.