Summer chicken diary

Provided by New Zealand Lifestyle Block, incorporating Growing Today, magazine November 2010.

• All hens should be laying around an egg a day at this time of year. If you're not getting your full quota, check the vent (where the egg emerges): in a laying bird it will be pink and moist-looking. On either side are the pin bones, and there should be about a 60mm (three fingers wide) gap between them. If the gap is only 15-20mm (one finger) or less, and the vent is whitish in colour then she's not laying. A laying hen will also look different, with a bright red comb and wattle.
• Common reasons for non-laying birds include: old age (over 4-5 years), ill health, incorrect feed/water, birds laying in hidden spots (and they can be very hidden). Hens need 130g each per day of a high protein feed (16% at least, 18% is better).
• Always feed a balanced Layer mash to adult hens and roosters (never to young birds under 16 weeks of age), no matter how much free-range area your birds have. It contains all the vitamins and minerals a bird needs, as well as correct protein levels. If you choose to use an organic feed, be aware it can be missing some of the vital vitamins and nutrients a bird needs to lay at optimum production. Our poultry expert Sue Clarke suggests comparing birds on organic feed to those on a commercial layer mix within your own flock to see if it makes a difference in egg numbers.
• The majority of eggs are laid before 10am - if you keep your birds shut up until then, you're more likely to get eggs in your hen house and not in secret pockets around your garden.
• Summer is a great time to clean out the hen house and spray for mites. The dust in a hen house will be contaminated by chicken skin cells, which carry campylobacter, and this is easily caught by humans when they breathe in dust, so don't think it won't happen to you. The best thing to do is to use a misting bottle of water or a sprayer and dampen down the roof, walls and floor before cleaning a hen house. Wear a dust mask if it's particularly dusty (we're not being paranoid here!), then empty out litter before cleaning. Use a dish-washing detergent and water for the initial clean, leave to dry, then spray with a disinfectant like Virkon S (available from rural supply stores or your vet). Leave to dry again, then spray with Neem oil, or an insecticide like Ripcord (pyrethrum-based). Get it into every nook and cranny, especially joints in wooden buildings, perches etc. You will need to keep your hens somewhere else temporarily during the cleaning process.

This article was provided by NZ Lifestyle Block, incorporating Growing Today magazine.
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