This is Shannon from Oakland writing.  I have two chicken questions for you.  One is about evil, aggressive chicken behavior.  My barred rocks and the darker mystery chicken (not sure if you remember that one) have been ganging up on and attacking one of my rhode island reds.  I separated them, and all is peaceful with my 3 “sweet” hens but the two trouble makers are pissed off and on a time out in the tractor on the lawn.  Any advice?  Also, I have been letting them free range and wanted to know if I should be worried about them eating any potentially toxic plants.  The Bio Fuel Oasis in Berkeley had a printout of all these toxic plants, and I am sure we have many of them.  Are chickens smart enough not to eat the bad stuff?  Thanks so much, and I hope all is well.  - – Shannon

Hey Shannon -

Let’s start with the toxic plant issue first.  I wouldn’t worry about it at all.  Just like animals that live in the wild around many toxic things, your chickens won’t eat things that could kill them.  Never say never, but the chances of it happening are very small, so I wouldn’t worry about it.  As for your evil chickens, keep in mind that your chickens will establish a pecking order, the the chicken on the top will peck the others.  This is normal as long as it doesn’t get really nasty to the point that the chickens start to bleed.  The chicken at the bottom has a rough life, and will get picked on quite a bit.  It’s hard to know if what you are experiencing is normal or not without seeing it.  I wouldn’t worry about it unless it gets to the point of blood or they are preventing the chicken from eating food.  Let me know if that helps and if you have any more questions.  Thanks again for being a customer, and good luck!
- Ben

A: It depends on what you are planning on growing.  Smaller plants will do great in 12″ of soil; salad greens, strawberries, herbs, etc.  For the larger plants like tomatoes and melons you should do beds that are at least 18″ deep, and 24″ would be great.  If you are placing them in an area where the soil underneath is good quality soil that the plant can grow down into the garden beds can be a little shorter.  Having enough soil area for plants is more important than we think, and will make a big difference on the health and yield of your plants.

A:  A small friend wouldn’t hurt, but if you keep them separated by a wire wall for about 2 weeks they should be fine.  Make sure you give them plenty of space when you put them back together.  When you do, I would watch them for a little while.  The smaller one will probably start getting pecked, which is normal.  Just make sure the other chickens don’t start attacking her.  A good general rule is that as long as the chick doesn’t start bleeding she should be fine.  The amount of pecking should also start to decrease.  If the chick gets pecked to the point of bleeding or the other chickens relentlessly attack her, even when they have ample space, they need to be separated longer.

Please remind people to always provide laying hens with free choice oyster shell and a source of grit and to not give more treats than they can easily clean up in fifteen minute. I am involved with the chicken community in the SF Bay Area since moving down here, and most of the problems people have seem to be related to having seen too many movies where all the chickens were fed was scratch. Not only do excessive grain treats cause obesity, they imbalance the ration and can cause deficiencies. Obesity is linked to egg binding and other problems. I have seen hens driven to premature molt by well-intentioned owners who didn’t provide layer feed and provided scratch as the sole diet on the assumption that “free range” in the backyard would fulfill most of the poor biddies nutritional needs. A suggestion you could make is growing a little kale and chard for the girls as treat material; they like it, and in moderate amounts (that fifteen minutes or less to eat it), it is a good dietary addition.

- Nadja

A:  Most of the standard backyard breeds will work just fine.  I would go with a dual purpose breed, which means they are good for eggs and the butcher block.  The best, in my mind, are Rhode Island Reds and Plymouth Rocks.  They can handle temperatures down into the teens without any external heating.  They are also great layers, you should get 5 – 6 eggs per chicken per week.  As for the heat just make sure they have access to shade, and that they have plenty of fresh water.  Also, chickens are easier than you might think.  I hope that helps and let me know if you have any additional questions.  Thank you for your interest, and good luck!

A:  This time of year many chickens moult.  This is a process where their old feathers fall out and they will eventually grow new feather.  This is extremely common and is nothing to be worried about.  They will look scraggly and beat up for a while, but once their new feathers grow in they will look beautiful once again.

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A:  You might not need to bring them in for the winter.  It depends on how young your chicks are, and how cold it gets where you live.  Once chicks are 8 weeks old they have adult feathers and can stay fairly warm on there own.  You want to make sure they stay dry. Once chickens are fully grown they can deal with temperatures down into the teens without any supplemental heat.  Something that helps is to give them some cracked corn right before they turn in for the night.  It has a lot of carbs and fat which keep their metabolism going through the night giving them a little extra internal heat.  As for water, they should always have access to clean water, which is the biggest problem in the winter because it can freeze.  I hope that helps, and feel free to ask any additional questions.

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-Gina

Integrating chickens can be hard.  The first thing to share is that chickens are not racist, even if it seems like they are.  The Rhode Island is getting picked on for a different reason.  She is weaker, or smaller, or not as aggressive.  Something besides the fact that she is a different breed or color.  Where to go from here.  They need to keep spending time together and they should work it out.  When they are together give them lots of room.  At night chickens normally are just trying to sleep and won’t bother each other, so they should be able to share the coop when they are sleeping.  One thing to keep an eye on is, make sure the RIR is not bleeding.  Chickens are like bulls, and when they see blood they go after it until they have pecked a chicken to death.  You can pick up a special anti-septic spray at any feed store that sprays purple, like a anti-septic spray paint.  Use this is you ever see any blood.  Otherwise just give them space and let them sort it out, I know it can be hard but pecking each other is normal, and if there is no blood it shouldn’t be too much of a concern.  Unless she is loosing feathers at an alarming rate.  I hope that helps, and let me know how it goes, and feel free to keep the questions coming.

- Ben