Category Archives: Chicken Welfare

It’s lovely to see the girls outside of the run, with grass beneath their toes and more bugs to find. However it is not always possible because of suburban regulations. Technically i’m not allowed to to have them out at all, but that is just crazy, they need some time to stretch their wings and have a bit of a run around.

The girls are very happy for any time they have out of the run, I try and let them out for a few hours before dark where they put themselves to sleep when it gets dark. Saves me rounding them up, which is always a fiasco.

So here are some shots of the girls in their element:

Here is Zelda starting to make a lovely hole to do some bathing:

Zelda finally happy with her efforts and relaxing in the cool dry sand:

And finally some shots of the girls with the fading light, just before they went to bed:

Another angle with their coop in the background:

Happy Free-Ranging!

Well it’s that time of the year that I like to have a big clean of the girls coop. The hot season has finished and the wet season is on its way. The perfect weather to pull everything out and give it a good scrub.

This was the state of the coop before I started:

The sand was getting very low and there were splatters along the back wall. All will be sparkly clean!

The first job was to get everything out, including the nest boxes and tarp on the floor. This was taken away to be cleaned later.

Next was to scrub those walls and sweep out all the debris that had collected under the tarp. To wash the walls I just used a mild detergent and rinsed it well after.

Now isn’t that better! (oops I spilt some water on the floor) Time to let it dry out while I get on with the next job.

Tarp cleaning!

Now this was the exact reason why I wanted to use tarp under the sand. It makes it so easy to clean. Obviously with more hens with a larger coop this would become impracticable but with my small flock it’s very manageable. Again I used the mild detergent and gave it a good scrub and rinsed it off. Job done!

On to the next phase, nest box cleaning. Now I didn’t get a photo of this because it would be quite a boring photo to be honest. Just me cleaning a couple of milk crates, so instead I’ll post a photo of some tarp hanging out to try, much more unusual!

Now the fun stuff begins, putting it all back in! With the coop floor nicely dry again I layed the tarp down, and put the 3 bags of play sand down:

I like using play sand for a few reasons. If its clean enough for children to play in then it’s good enough for my girls! Plus it always looks so white and new looking.

Once down I placed the roost back into place (thinking about rearranging the roost position soon atm) and put the nest boxes back in place. I have however placed them further inside the coop away from the front window because of the few pesky girls who like to roost on there at night and like to poop all over the top of the nest boxes. Well not anymore!

So for the final reveal. Taadaa!

And for a comparison:

      to       

Was a long afternoon but totally worth it, so nice to know that the girls will be going to bed knowing their home is nice and clean.

I was browsing the net last night looking up chicken related things when I came across this amazing campaign. International Respect for Chickens Month. The official day is May 4th (may the force be with you?) but people celebrate this for the whole month of May.

This idea was devised by ‘United Poultry Concerns’, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization incorporated in Maryland, they say:

“United Poultry Concerns is a 501(c)(3) national non-profit organization that addresses the treatment of domestic fowl in food production, science, education, entertainment, and human companionship situations.

United Poultry Concerns seeks to make the public aware of the ways poultry are treated by our society and elsewhere in the world. We assist the public to see how our treatment of these birds affects our health, our ethics, our education, our occupational safety, and our environment. We inform people about and actively promote alternatives.”

This is obviously a wonderful organisation, I wish I knew about this event earlier!

The idea is to do something to help chickens in the month of May, here are some examples of things people have done over the years around the globe:

• Prayer Circle for Chickens for International Respect for Chickens Day, USA
• Photos of Toronto Chicken Save Demo for International Respect for Chickens Day, Canada
• Rooftop Protest at Melbourne Egg Laying Farm, Australia
• Vegan Bake Sale, USA

As you can see there is a huge array of things you can do, but there are much simpler things that can be done very easily:

• Tell friends about the chicken industry.
• Show friends www.coopcam.org and this post.
• Only eat accredited Free-range chicken/eggs in May
• Maybe go completly chicken free for May
• Eat “Quorn” foods, can be found in Coles and Woolworths in the freezer isle. 

And my personal favourite, make your Facebook profile photo a chicken! That will certainly get your friends talking about it!

I will even provide a photo!

Pretty easy really.

Have a go, its only a month after all and you will be making a big difference to the lives of chickens in the food industry.

Today I was doing the daily chook chores when something didn’t seem right. I had a closer look at the hens and noticed Pingu was being quieter than usual. Shes usually quite docile but she wasn’t pecking or moving around with the same gusto.

I was on alert immediatly. Chickens are very good at hiding their illnesses. Once you notice something is wrong they have probably been ill for a while and only once it gets too bad do you finally notice something.

So I scooped her up (a little bit too easily) and had a body check. First thing I noticed was she was very thin, her chest bone was protruding more than usual and she didn’t squirm at all. Even Pingu my tamest chook, squirms when you first pick her up.

That was enough for me so I brought her inside, away from the other chooks for safety. All the other hens were acting normally but you never know.

I made her a little make shift pen in our spare room, where its nice and warm and so I can also keep a closer eye on her. There’s going to be lots of poop checking for the next few days! Chicken owners will know what I mean.

Here she in her little pen with general household objects creating a barrier. Any other hen would just fly/jump straight over them, but Pingu, even when well wouldn’t even try. Bless her.

I will keep you updated on how shes doing. Send her your happy get well wishes!