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Frequently Asked Questions
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If you have a question that isn't answered here, please email us and we'll add it to this page.
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Is it difficult to keep hens?
Can I leave them to look after themselves?
What do hens eat?
Do they eat a lot of food?
Are hens noisy?
What do I do with their droppings?
Will they attract vermin?
Will they lay eggs every day?
How do I keep my hens safe?
How do I make my hens go to bed at night?
Will my hens get on ok with our other pets?
Do I have to register my hens?
Is it difficult to keep hens?
No, not at all. They need to be let out of their house in the morning, locked in again at night and have food and water available to them. It is best to clean them out once a week.
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Can I leave them to look after themselves?
No. Whilst it's easy to look after hens, they do require a certain level of commitment. If you're going away for a few days you need to make sure a friend or neighbour will look after them for you. If you pay them for their troubles in eggs you will never have a shortage of people offering to help!
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What do hens eat?
Hens will thrive on a diet of 'layers pellets' this is a balanced feed containing all the nutrients they need. You can buy layer pellets at the Tippy Chicks stand in your local farmers market.
Hens also love treats such as bread, cakes, leftover veggies and fruit.
They will eat insects and worms but you should never feed them meat.
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Do they eat a lot of food?
Each hen will eat a few ounces of layers pellets (about 100g) every day, but some of this can be supplemented with leftovers.
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Are hens noisy?
Hens are generally quiet creatures and will only usually make a clucking noise when they are about to lay an egg. Unlike cockerels, hens will NOT wake your neighbours up at 5am! We have found that the odd present of a box of eggs will make sure your neighbour loves your hens as much as you do!
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What do I do with their droppings?
Hens make most of their droppings at night when they are roosting (sleeping). When you clean out the house the best thing to do with the droppings it put them on your compost heap. Chicken droppings are very high in nitrogen and will make your compost break down quicker. It’s best not to apply droppings directly to your plants because the nutrient content is too high.
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Will they attract vermin?
The hens themselves will not attract vermin, but any food left outside can attract rats and mice. If you remove the hens feeder every night - either take it inside or place it in a bag on top of the coop, there will be no food available to attract vermin.
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Will they lay eggs every day?
Each hen should lay an egg most days. You can expect around 250 per year. When a hen is about one year old she will moult (lose all her feathers and grow new ones). It takes a lot of energy to grow new feathers so she will stop laying during this time, which may be about 6 weeks or more.
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How do I keep my hens safe?
Foxes have become a common sight in Dublin gardens. If you suspect you have foxes visiting your garden you should be very vigilant as foxes will see your hens as a tasty meal. Fox attacks during the day are very rare but are not unknown. You need to make sure you lock the door of your hen house every night to keep your hens safe.
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How do I make my hens go to bed at night?
Your hens will usually go to bed as the sun is setting. They like to sit on a perch to sleep so they will be happy to put themselves to bed.
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Will my hens get on ok with our other pets?
This depends very much on the pet! Some dogs will be quite happy to coexist with your chickens whilst others will not. Always err on the side of caution when introducing your hens to other pets.
Pet rabbits should not be kept in the same space as chickens – chickens like to peck and your rabbit may get hurt.
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Do I have to register my hens?
YES. Even if you are only keeping 2 hens you will need to register with the Department of Agriculture. This is just a simple form and requires no payment. When you are registered the Department will send you a poultry flock number and you will then be an official hen keeper!
The form can be downloaded on our downloads page.
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