1 Updated August 2014
August 26, 2014
Tips on Raising Chickens in Orange County
I wrote this hoping others would learn from MY mis- takes, because I love raising chickens. My initial image of cute hens running around like on a ranch only works if you aren’t worried about your plants being dug up, don't have to worry about protecting them from predators, and don’t mind them leaving their droppings on your patio table. But if you aren’t in that category, below are my suggestions on raising hens in an urban area.
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First, decide why you really want hens. Hens normally will not lay all year unless put under lights, but that is stressful for their health. They won’t lay all their lives either, so do you want a pet you keep until it dies? Or are you planning on eating them, or giving them to others (if you can find them) to eat them, or paying the euthanasia charge to humanely put them to their death, because you
can’t keep bringing in new hens for eggs if you don’t have a very large yard. So know that you must find a solution when their egg-laying ends. Hens lay best the first year, will still be prolific to around 6 years, with a hen living up to 12 years (or even more).
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You may also want to check with your city to learn what the city codes are on hens. If they say no, well, good excuse to fight City Hall and change the code. Or, at least find ways to keep them hidden where they can’t be heard, as even hens will make a little noise. Few OC cities will allow roosters, though. Check the web or books like “Keep Chickens” by Kilarski that has a chapter devoted to determining whether your city allows chickens. Also, support legalizing raising clean and healthy backyard chickens through city municipal codes and state laws.
The most important starting point, after you know you are prepared to start raising pullets (hens under one year) or a grown hen
, is to find the location of a good store or hatchery from which to purchase hens. Although you could raise them from their second or third day after their birth (after vaccinated, etc.) I would suggest waiting till they are 4 to 6 weeks old, unless you wish to raise them with a broody box which has the correct temperature and humidity. Have them identified per their sex so you don’t end up with a rooster. This is done day one, but one can’t always guarantee it won’t be a rooster until you hear crowing at around four months! Two hens is fine to start if only wanting eggs for two people, and four hens if you have a family.
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In Orange County, you can purchase hens at
Wagon Train Feed and Tack in Orange. Their hens are vaccinated for Marek’s by the hatchery they order their chicks from, a disease that can be very deadly, travels on dander for over a mile, is common and worldwide (although not in EVERY location) and take years to eradicate
. The chicks aren’t 100% guaranteed NOT to be a rooster, and there is a charge to find any returned roosters a new home without being killed (cur- rently $15).
Midway City Feed Store is another feed store that sells hens, but their hatchery
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sources does not vaccinate for Marek’s, so be sure you don’t have this disease in your area if you purchase from Midway.
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If you want to go direct to a
hatchery to purchase chicks, pullets or hens, I suggest going to
Chickens Galore in Norco (Riverside County). The hens at Chickens Galore (call 951-255-9553 for hours, etc.) are vaccinated for Marek’s at birth plus given a booster shot when one month old. Marek’s vaccinations do not prevent Marek’s, but they build up the hen’s resis- tance, giving them about an 80% fighting chance of overcoming the disease. Galore also vacci- nated for fowl pox, Newcastle & infectious bronchitis.
Study up on the different chicken
breeds or just ask the store what they recommend. I myself like a backyard hen with a docile personality. But there are traits such as cold or heat tolerance, that you may wish to look for. There is lots of information on the web, with Henderson chicken breed chart -
http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html being one example. Also, My Pet Chicken at
http://www.mypetchicken.com/chicken-breeds/which-breed-is-right-for- me.aspx lets you put in the qualities you want for a hen before choosing your breed. But be aware that those breeds aren’t always available locally, so check to see what they sell first. Wag- on Train and Chickens Galore lists the breeds they sell on their website.
Wagon Train Feed and Midway City Feed are two places I’ve used where you can get your hen food and supplies. You can’t get chicken food at a typical pet store.
Make sure you have a veterinarian in mind that works with chickens.
I have found good care at All Creatures Care Cottage in Costa Mesa (Dr. De La Torre) and Saddleback Animal Hos- pital in Tustin (Dr. Kavanagh). Greek and Associates Veterinary Hospital in Yorba Linda was recommended to me. The Bird Clinic in Orange also treats chickens.
Be aware of
diseases that could affect your hen through books (such as “Chicken Hen Hand- book” by Damerow) or the web. Coccidiosis is one disease caused by protozoan parasites and is described in this book. For my young pullets, I am trying to help them develop an immunity by gradually taking them outside to expose to the outside coccidia and then taking in a periodic fe- cal sample to the vet of all my hens to make sure they are parasite-free.
Make them a home before they arrive. If you purchased them as a day old chick, go to sources like the book “Incredible Chickens” by Ashway for more specific instructions for a “brooder”, but even from 5 weeks to about 7 weeks, keep them in a protected area, such as a warm garage or shed around 70 degrees. I kept my two latest pullets in two joined dog cages in the family room attached to a wood box that has a “roost” (2” by 3” piece of lumber) for sleeping. At around two to four months, you can take them to their outside coop (preferably starting with a few hours, then increasing their time over a week to get them used to their surroundings and the night weather). Their immunity is much stronger by four to six months.
This outdoor coop should have an enclosed (such as with wire) “run” outside with a roof, and a hen house for them to sleep at night (or to use if it rains or is too hot) that protects them from
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predators like raccoons or hawks. Our total coop that includes the run and two wooden hen hous- es (that opens to the run) is 8’ x 16’, (and 6’ high), large enough for them to run, but not large enough if one hen decides to seriously hassle another hen. So we have the run divided into two sections by a door should we have a pecking problem but want to keep all hens.
Our caged run is of 1/2 inch grid wire (i.e. mesh galvanized hardware cloth, we have used both zinc and vinyl coated hardware cloth) with a “front” door, and the wire goes 6 inches into the dirt and is surrounded by rocks to prevent predators from reaching them. I used small pebbles as a floor bioswale to help clean up bacteria, etc. on the ground of the run (in addition to picking up droppings several times a day). Chickens like to dig, so this is why we haven’t picked a wood floor, but a wood floor kept clean with something like a 3/8 inch wood mulch will also work. I also use pine shavings (size 10.5) in their nest box. You can see hen in their homes in OC at the
OC Great Park (Irvine) (ocgp.org for directions, then click “Visit” to
“ Agriculture Programs” for hours or
The Ecology Center in San Juan Capistrano (ecologycenter.org for directions, coop to right of store
).
If hens dig up an insect like an earthworm they could pick up a parasite, so I take in a fecal sam- ple every six months to the vet to make sure they are treated with medication if needed. I also spray the coop with an anti-bacterial and anti-fungal spray called VitalOxide which is available on
Amazon, or ask your Feed Store what they suggest. Poultry dust for mites, lice, etc. is com- monly used (but I have been trying Poultry All Natural Protector by MannPro, seems to have less harsh chemicals).
In their hen house, they have a high roost (a 2” by 3” piece of wood laid sideways, around 18 inches from the ground for the adults), and a separate nest box placed lower than the roost but NOT below the roost. I don’t let them sleep where they lay their eggs so there aren’t droppings in their nest box. You can buy or build a coop, following the more specific instructions available online or through your feed store. Another possibility is to talk to
Petzones in Orange County about building a run and coop for you (they specialize in large cat cage homes, but can do hen coops, too;
http://www.petzones.com).
You might want to have in advance a separate area (I use a large dog carrier) if you have to sepa- rate a hen if sick, or bringing in a new hen and they need a place for a few weeks to be sure they aren’t sick, or need a location for them to stay to prevent them from going broody (i.e. refusing to leave the nest box after laying their eggs with the intention of hatching them). I also use a pet carrier for vet visits. For optional chicken toys, check out the website of backyardchickens.com for great ideas, too. I have a “peck and play” freestanding enclosure so I can safely take the pul- lets being raised inside the house outside for a short time, or to take the outside coop hens out- side their coop when adults for variety and fun, available at Murray McMurray Hatchery online. "
For chick food, provide chick grit (but not too much as they can get ill or die, so I usually put out a teaspoon a day per chick) and food labeled “chick” starter food. A
round two months feed them grower (developer) feed (and grit), later adding in some garden greens, bugs, fruits, (and some wheat seeds I buy at Mother’s Market in OC). Do NOT feed them certain foods, such as
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avocado, onions, apple seeds, chocolate, green potato skins, dry beans, moldy food, or unripened tomatoes. Once the hens start laying eggs,
at around 5 to 6 months, I provide plentiful amounts of Organic Pride layer feed plus oyster shells for needed calcium, and chicken probiotics. As a treat, I feed them a few dried “Gourmet Grub Mealworms” (so as not to pass a disease to the hens with live worms).
Pick a water bowl (or nipple watering system which should be cleaner) that is placed higher than the ground (just like the food bowls), around the level of their back.
Once you get your hens, I would personally suggest after a few weeks to go to the veterinarian and make your plans for their health. In-between seeing a vet, keep an eye of their weight and health (they can hide their sickness under all those feathers) to be sure and catch any problem before it is too late. And if they get sick, talk with your hen expert or vet, and isolate them from the others if necessary so as not to spread the disease.
If bringing pullets or hens to a coop where hens already are (as a pair seems good, they team up), first separate them for two weeks to a month from the original hens to make sure the new hens are healthy, especially if coming from another hatchery. Their immune system is under the stress of being moved which may cause a disease not seen before to occur. Once you know they are well, I keep them next to but outside the main coop in a smaller coop to “introduce” them. If introducing young pullets, I don’t open the door separating the coops until they are about the size of the original adult hens to help prevent pecking problems and reduce disease transmission.
If a problem of
pecking occurs and is not solved over time, I would give your (healthy only) hen that is pecking to another flock and she will probably lose her “status” and peck less. The Back- yard Chickens website is one location where chickens can be sold, bought, or traded, if you can’t find someone in OC to take your “over-pecking” hen.
Learn more from books (“Keep Chickens!” is one book I liked), information on the web (http://
www.backyardchickens.com is full of information under “Learning” and in their chicken blogs), your feed stores and your veterinarian.
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I hope this is helpful if you are considering raising hens in OC; advice will vary, so find what works for you. Hens provide healthy eggs, are really enjoyable animals to raise, each with a dis- tinctive personality, and are part of the movement to raise more of our foods locally. Also, com- mercial hens are often raised in inhumane conditions, but we can treat them better.
Additional Information about Chickens
Mother Earth News: DIY:an Easy and Affordable
Poultry Pen: http://www.motherearthnews.-
com/diy/poultry-pen.aspx#axzz3B49Fyxz1
See hens in action on this
Hen Cam; http://hencam.com/?cam=hencam1
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This site has lots of information: “The
Chicken Chick”:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com "
Other books: “The Chicken Whisperer” by Schneider: “Chick Days” by Jenna Woginrich
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