Features
Cracking Good Eggs
For anyone who has never kept fowl, the prospect can be daunting but it need not be. Hens are remarkably independent. If you can provide them with a safe coop, a continuous supply of food and water and somewhere to sunbathe and root around, they will be totally contented and will take care of themselves. It is one of life's simplest and greatest delights to go egg collecting. So, what is the minimum necessary for the family's egg requirements? Surprisingly little.
Hen Houses
This can be as straightforward as a shed or house adapted for the purpose. It needs to be vermin proof, which can be difficult if the building is old. If you have a garden in an urban area, there are purpose-made hen houses, enchantingly called "Arks", which will provide housing and an enclosed run all in one. Arks are portable which means easy rotation onto clean ground. If you have vegetable plots, design your beds to ark width and allow your hens to scratch around before planting your seeds. They will do a wonderful job on ground pests such as slugs, though you will lose the occasional earthworm as well. Grow Green of Wicklow sell arks which are so sophisticated that they must come under the term of 'garden sculpture'. Beautifully made, these are also undeniably pricey and it is possible to find cheaper alternatives with some searching or to convert an alternative. Chickens don't expect a Tenants' Charter and have been known to live quite happily in rabbit hutches or converted dog kennels. Just remember firstly that hens prefer to roost at night - all this needs at minimum is a rail 8" off the coop floor - and secondly that a henhouse which originally seems large for a dozen chicks can suddenly become claustrophobic for fully grown hens a few months on.
Feeding
Invest in a few automatic feeders and drinkers right at the beginning. Feeders stop wastage because hens do like to scratch grain out of a dish to inspect what is on the bottom. Automatic feeders and drinkers in plastic cost a quarter of the galvanised versions and will still last for years, providing you don't drop them in icy winter weather. Having said that, I have galvanised drinkers that have been literally inherited, probably first bought in the 1950's.
Arks and purpose-made henhouses have nesting boxes built in. Otherwise a series of wooden fruit boxes cadged from your local greengrocer will serve perfectly well. Whatever sort you use, discourage birds from roosting in the boxes at night by closing the entrance or you will have fouled bedding when they come to lay. Straw or hay are the obvious fillers for nests -£l/£2 per bale, depending on the time of year.
The feedstuff you use can make a real difference to your breakfast egg. What you feed your chickens is what influences the taste and appearance of the end product. To have a totally organic egg, the hens' diet will have to be reliant on either organic cereals or the pelleted feed made by Morrins (stockists listed in this magazine), and they must be kept on a symbol standard holding. Sometimes organic feed can be difficult to find, so the next best thing will be conventional whole grains, preferably either wheat or oats or a mixture (available at agricultural feed merchants). Barley is supposed to make hens too fat, although I doubt that a free-range hen has the chance to become obese! Grains will not be as nutritionally balanced as pelleted feed but provided the birds have free access to fresh grassy ground where they can scavenge for insects and seeds, they seem to manage perfectly well. However, if you feed your hens conventional grain, the eggs do not qualify as "organic" and cannot be sold as such. Check the Standards for up-to-date poultry rules.
Grit
Many people do not feed grit, the theory being that it is either contained in pelleted feed or is available naturally to free range birds. Both of these are true but grit is an aid to digestion and helps prevent weak-shelled eggs. I feed extra to my hens and, if the grit bowl has been empty for a while, the entire flock will attack a refill with enthusiasm, so they must feel they need it. The best grit is usually made from crushed oyster shells - a 25kg bag will cost about £12 but it lasts for ages. Most brands are imported from Scandinavia, which seems absurd when you consider the number of oysters we consume per annum in Ireland! If you fancy collecting your own shells on a beach trip, be warned... hens don't like salt and probably won't touch your offerings unless you can get them very clean.
Well known organic goat’s cheese makers, Inagh Farmhouse, have launched two new products in the St. Tola range. Named ‘Divine’ and...
Visit our website - www.greenhenworks.com
All the chickens are very healthy and everyone tells me the eggs taste great..
Thsnks,
Tadhg
Thanks