Volume 6

Robyn’s Chook Conversations

Do you chat to your chooks or have a gossip with your geese? This can be a rewarding experience, and as Robyn has found – chooks are good company.

by Robyn Hope, Johns River, New South Wales

Family

Every chook is an individual and they are sensitive about being treated as such. The family unit is strong in the chook community. Whether there is a rooster or not there will always be a boss hen. Sometimes this role is shared by two hens.

Chooks do not play well with new hens when these are introduced to the family. They are brutal and will peck the new hen until it bleeds. I usually remove the boss hen when including new hens to the coop. This lessens the fighting. She is then introduced to seasoning and mixed herbs.

Egg production

To achieve maximum eggs you must care for the fowls. Keep them cool in the summer by suppling shade and cool water. Chooks don’t like to drink warm water; I don’t either. If the water containers are too shallow they will heat up quickly. Keep water in the shade and put three containers in the yard. Winter can be just as hard for them. Straw in the house and a door to stop cold winds blowing in at night will make them love you. Scarfs and hats are an option. I have known poultry to become fashion icons.

Food

We love food and so do fowls. A prepared grain mix is economical and covers the chooks’ needs. Feed them the grain but add scraps and garden surplus as scraps give variety. Chooks enjoy green grass, spinach, cabbage and some lettuce. You will have to see what your own chooks prefer, and if something is always left, save that for the compost. Otherwise you will only encourage rats and mice. I found that none of my chooks eat beetroot. I like to feed my chooks morning and night so that they go to bed with full tummies. In winter the last meal is mash made with warm water.

Chook Health

I am the nutritionist and the vet for my chooks. Preventative care is a must. I like to give garlic to all my animals, chickens included. I have healthy chooks that I believe to be worm free. A clove crushed and put into one of the water bowls once a month is good. Garlic granules can also be added to their mash. Sometimes I think I am seasoning as they grow. Scaly and dry legs usually indicate mites. I mix sulphur and Vaseline and rub this on the legs. I also mix lime and sulphur powder and cover the perches and anywhere that they have their dust baths.

Benefits for us

To sit and watch a family of chooks calms the mind. They are playful and scratch around like they are about to find the best and tastiest morsel that could ever exist. I respect my poultry and want them to be healthy and happy. I do eat my ducklings and older hens but I know that they had a good life and that they are healthy. If you don’t think that you could kill a chook then you are right – you shouldn’t. To hesitate is to cause suffering. Dressing one’s own poultry is not for everyone. I have known a hen that produced eggs into her fifth year. Less eggs, but for her it paid to be cute and endearing. I hope this gives some insight into the care and enjoyment of poultry. They give us eggs and fertiliser. They also give us a live show and relaxation. All they ask in return is a comfortable home, good food and conversation.