Getting started - shed, food, etc...

Long before you actually get chooks, you need to get organised. Here is a list of things to do before you actually go out on a Saturday to your neighbourhood poultry breeder and pick up half a dozen chooks.

This list is from my own experience and is not in a particular order.

• Go to you local agricultural show and have a look at the chooks to see which ones you like. Also talk to people there about chooks and what they are involved in – breeders, fanciers (people who show poultry), backyard keepers, etc. tell them what you want to do and ask them about their birds and breeds.
• While you are at the show, have a look for fowl houses – are you going to build or buy your fowl house? Also, talk to people about feed and the best feed and places locally where you can buy it. Don’t buy supermarket feed – it’s very expensive and your chooks deserve better.
• Read and research – read my recommendations, Australasian Poultry magazine, small farm magazines, Google “poultry”, have a look at my links… Keep reading until you are comfortable that you have enough knowledge and information to be a successful poultry keeper.
• Talk to your neighbours about what you are thinking about doing – you can promise them eggs if it helps win them over.
• Check out the local laws and what you lawfully keep in your local council area – for example, in the City of Yarra I can keep 5 birds under specific conditions, but in the City of Stonnington you can’t keep poultry at all (mean buggers)
• Decide where you are going to put your fowl house, and what fence arrangements you are going to have. Remember that chooks will eat your entire backyard if you let them.
• Visit poultry breeder and talk to them about breeds and availability of birds you are interested in keeping – you may need to reserve stock if it is the wrong time of the year. Don’t just buy the first birds that come along – buy what you want, when you want it.
  
  I could go on, but that enough for now.