They get me all clucky! (Keeping Hens as Pets)

Member Name: cakeyj

Product:	Keeping Hens as Pets
Date:	11/03/09 (426 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Free wholesome eggs, easy to maintain, very friendly, cheap to keep, feel good factor from rescuing

Disadvantages: Can be noisy, a reason to go out in the rain, may attract vermin,

Well, Jamie Oliver has a lot to answer for! After watching his documentary highlighting the plight of battery hens I was converted and do my best to avoid cruelly produced chicken meat and eggs wherever possible.
This was taken a step further when I saw a load of battery hens at my local RSPCA home and snapped three up for a mere 20 pound donation. BARGAIN!!

**FOOD**
Hens are easy pets to keep, they eat everything! From slugs to breakfast cereals they demolish the lot, Demolish being the right word because if they get into your flowerbeds they'll demolish those as well!
My hen have layers pellets brought from local pet shop, 8.99 for a 1kg bag which lasts about 6 weeks as their main diet, you can also get layers mash which is like the powder form that most battery hens are used to but mine got on fine with the pellets from the beginning. The mash gets a bit gooey and messy when wet or kicked all over the place!
Over their pellets they also have a layer of grit, about a fiver for a 1kg bag, this helps the egg shell get formed correctly and healthily within the bird allowing it to be delivered without cracking or crumbling and making more mess!
I usually give them fresh food in the morning and then a plate of dried corn in the afternoon as a treat and they really go wild for this! It is also a slow burning food so will help them to keep warm as the day cools and the night arrives. This is also relatively cheap although doesn't last as long as the feed does!
Other treats include leftover rice, cous cous and veg scraps, although ensure that all traces are eaten or cleared away or they may attract unwanted visitors or vermin.

**SPACE AND HOUSE**
My husband made the house for them but when it was inspected by the RSPCA before we were allowed to bring them home she said it was quite a luxury, it is set on two levels and they have a post to perch on, a nesting area and a feeding area. I prefer to have the feed in their house to aviod spillage which will require clearing up each evening before I put them to bed. There are alot of hen houses available to be brought online but a lot of them seem overpriced for somewhere that is primarily used to sleep in. Shredded paper is used in the nests and can easily be changed only twice a week, maybe a bit more when the weather is hot.

We have given them a 12ft sq fenced off bit of the garden surrounding their house which is plenty of space. They have ruined the grass in that area over the last year but by putting down woodchip the area doesn't get to muddy when its wet and there is plenty for scratching for worms still to be done!

**MAINTAINANCE**
Hens can fly and jump so I had read that the best way of stopping them escaping was to cut the ends of the wings on one side to that they couldn't take off. I had been meaning to do this but had always forgotten, had the birds nearly a year now and they haven't escaped yet so won't bother with this personally!
Wormer is put into their food for three consecutive days every month to prevent them developing an infestation, this is eaten no problems with the rest of the feed and has no impact on egg production or effect the eggs in any way.
Red mites can effect hens and although I think sawdust or straw as bedding is the main cause I use red mite powder to prevent any problems with these, this is also cheap and used about once a month.

Hens can get very dehydrated very quickly so it is important to have fresh water available all day. Special feeders can be used for this and are recommended as hens can be messy beasts and water can be spilt many times a day! They need shade in the heat and a tray of sand to bath in during the warmer months. The cold doesn't bother them at all and will happily peck around in the snow and ice for treats in the mud, in really cold weather it may be necessary to put vasline on their combs - the red top bit- to stop them freezing but I don't think it gets that cold in the UK to warrant doing this!

The house waste is compostable and - if ex battery - your eggs will be vaccinated against salmonella and other diseases that may be present in eggs.

**SUMMARY**
My hens are great fun, they follow me round the garden and will happily be held by all and fed by hand. They are a quirky and unusual pet which also don't require huge amounts of attention, work or vets bills yet reward you with an egg a day (although this slows down in the darker months).

Summary: I love them, long live Cindy Marcy and Jan!!!