Chookman11
In the Brooder
- Mar 2, 2024
- 4
- 14
- 19
We live in Perth, West Australia and have 11 hybrid chooks (you know, the brown ones that all look very similar).Had chooks most of my 75 year life for eggs and as pets/company. Very sad to see how many chooks have unhealthy housing, yards and lack of security from predators. We spent Au$1,500+ on house and safe yard that we built. If you spend some time and money setting up everything correctly you then don’t need to waste time and money treating chooks for parasites or diseases.
Basics are concrete floor (vital), floor covering to get poo off easily (I use lime sand covered by wood shavings), colorbond/tin walls and roof (parasites can hide and breed in wood), ventilation with very secure netting, a person sized door so you can collect eggs and check water, food, nests, poo build up , watertight so there’s no damp spots for parasites and also parasite resistant perches and nests.
Although we have a “Mediterranean climate “ I also have an insulated roof, insulated storm panels for rain and weather proofing in bad weather. Perches and nest supports are steel pipe with smaller steel pipe with a “moat” of parasite killer. Perch is 90mm x 20mm (google it yanks…the rest of the world is metric…you’re still using the British Imperial system..I thought 1776 ended that???). Perch is smooth planed hardwood with beveled edges and I apply a 10% solution of parasite killer (chooks heat the perch at night which sort of fumigates parasites, they fall off and can be safely eaten on the floor by the chooks). I also use small shellgrit in nests, it works well and the chooks eat it while nesting…reducing boredom and easy to see stuff in nests…poo, grass etc.
Chooks spend the morning in their secure, wire wall and bird netted roof yard and then free range in a 15m x 5m fenced yard.
Anyhoo, that’s how I do chooks in Perth…a lot of people give their chooks a miserable life…I try to do better.
Chookman 11
Basics are concrete floor (vital), floor covering to get poo off easily (I use lime sand covered by wood shavings), colorbond/tin walls and roof (parasites can hide and breed in wood), ventilation with very secure netting, a person sized door so you can collect eggs and check water, food, nests, poo build up , watertight so there’s no damp spots for parasites and also parasite resistant perches and nests.
Although we have a “Mediterranean climate “ I also have an insulated roof, insulated storm panels for rain and weather proofing in bad weather. Perches and nest supports are steel pipe with smaller steel pipe with a “moat” of parasite killer. Perch is 90mm x 20mm (google it yanks…the rest of the world is metric…you’re still using the British Imperial system..I thought 1776 ended that???). Perch is smooth planed hardwood with beveled edges and I apply a 10% solution of parasite killer (chooks heat the perch at night which sort of fumigates parasites, they fall off and can be safely eaten on the floor by the chooks). I also use small shellgrit in nests, it works well and the chooks eat it while nesting…reducing boredom and easy to see stuff in nests…poo, grass etc.
Chooks spend the morning in their secure, wire wall and bird netted roof yard and then free range in a 15m x 5m fenced yard.
Anyhoo, that’s how I do chooks in Perth…a lot of people give their chooks a miserable life…I try to do better.
Chookman 11
