Village chickens
Gallus gallus domesticus
Comfortable at
15°C to 30°C
Space per animal
0.2 m² of housing
First sale or produce
150 to 210 days
Conditions
What it needs
Heat stress
Above a heat-and-humidity index of 80, expect the animals to go off feed and production to drop.
Soil
Not soil dependent. Needs a dry, predator-proof house to shut them in at night, and ground to scavenge by day.
Feed and water
Scavenge most of what they eat, which is what makes them cheap to keep. A handful of grain morning and evening and clean water is the difference between surviving and laying.
What you will need
Tick what you already have; Grow carries the rest into the cost working.
Grow holds no supplier listings and no local prices, so it cannot tell you where to buy these or what they cost near you. Ask at your nearest agrodealer or extension office, then put those figures into the planner.
Through the season
Stages
- 01
Preparation
21 days- Build a predator-proof night house
- Arrange vaccination
- 02
Starting the flock
30 days- Bring in healthy local stock
- Vaccinate against Newcastle
- 03
Growing
90 days- Supplement feed morning and evening
- Keep water clean
- Shut them in at dusk
- 04
Point of lay
60 days- Provide nest boxes
- Collect eggs daily
- 05
Brooding and replacement
60 days- Protect broody hens and chicks
- Keep the best hens, sell surplus cockerels
Watch for
Common problems
Newcastle disease
- What you will see
- Sudden deaths through the flock, twisted necks, greenish diarrhoea, gasping.
- What to do
- The single biggest killer of village flocks, and vaccination is the only real answer. Thermotolerant vaccines exist that do not need a cold chain — ask your veterinary office.
Predators
- What you will see
- Birds missing overnight, or chicks disappearing through the day.
- What to do
- A closed, raised, predator-proof house at night, and a coop for hens with chicks. This loses more birds than disease on many farms.
External parasites
- What you will see
- Restless birds, pale combs, mites visible around vents and in cracks of the house.
- What to do
- Clean and treat the house rather than only the birds — mites live in the structure. Ash baths help.
Follow the label for doses, and ask an extension officer or vet before using a chemical you have not used before.