WHAT TO BUY
The best commercial hybrids have the genetic potential to lay over 300 eggs per hen per year under ideal conditions (i.e. ISA Brown, Hi-sex Brown, Hyline Brown). More traditional brown-egg laying strains include the Black Cross (Australorp/New Hampshire) and the Red Cross (Rhode Island/New Hampshire).
For white eggs the traditional cross is the White Leghorn/New Hampshire. For maximum egg production, pullets should be purchased to reach point of lay in September (around 17 weeks of age) and lay right through to the following September when their replacement flock will begin to lay.
Replacement birds should be purchased from a reputable source, either a commercial hatchery or a recognised breeder. Usually the classified section of rural newspapers will have advertisements for poultry detailing available breeds and prices.
REPLACING YOUR FLOCK
Don’t keep old hens! For maximum production, you should replace your flock when birds reach 75 weeks of age. Beyond this age, the rate of lay is much lower, and egg shell and albumen quality will be poor.
REARING OF YOUNG CHICKENS AND PULLETS
Rearing chickens from day-old requires husbandry skill, time and proper equipment. Attention to detail is required to avoidhigh mortality, ill-thrift and poor lifelong performance. If this is considered to be too daunting, obtaining point-of-lay pullets instead of chickens remains a good option.
Before the chickens arrive, all manure and litter from the previous flock must be removed and the enclosure scrubbed thoroughly with detergent and sprayed with a sanitiser approved for use in poultry houses.
Dirt floors must receive special attention. The objective is to minimise contamination of the environment with bacteria, viruses
and parasites. Day-old pullets obtained from the supplier should be vaccinated against Marek’s Disease and Infectious Bronchitis Virus. To contact a vaccine supplier please see the “More Information” section in this booklet.
Protection from predators such as rats and cats is essential. Day-old chicks should be reared for at least the first 3 weeks inside a draught-free enclosure, on clean, dry litter material (such as wood shavings or rice hulls), with a heat lamp or heater positioned so that the temperature at the level of the litter is 32°C to 35°C.
It is essential that the day-old chicks can easily access fresh water. A balanced feed of appropriate size, such as Barastoc Pullet Starter, should be provided in feeders. By scattering feed on paper around the feeders and drinking points for the first 24 to 48 hours, the young chickens will more readily learn to gain access to feed and water.
Decrease temperature gradually, aiming to reach about 21°C to 24°C at 3 to 4 weeks of age. Once birds are fully feathered, at around 5 to 6 weeks of age, they can tolerate lower temperatures.
Significant fluctuations in temperature from day to night should be avoided. Extreme high temperatures should also be avoided as this may lead to mortalities and poor performance. Roof sprays or internal shed misters can be of assistance.
For optimal egg production and egg quality, pullets should be vaccinated and treated as recommended by the supplying hatchery.
For example, a standard body weight-per age-chart is useful to gauge progress of your young flock. Contact your commercial hatchery for further details.
POULTRY HOUSING

It is important to provide all poultry with protection against inclement weather and direct sunlight. The house must be ventilated, however it must also provide shelter from draughts and very hot winds. Exclusion of foxes and other predators is essential.

Convenient access to fresh water is important. If using surface water (dam, river, irrigation) it must be sanitised to be suitable for consumption by domestic poultry. This is to reduce the risk of infection with serious emergency poultry diseases (i.e. Avian Influenza) from water contaminated by wild birds, particularly waterfowl. For more information, contact your State Department of Agriculture or Primary Industries.
To achieve optimal egg production from the modern laying hen, it will be necessary to provide lights to ensure a minimum of 15 hours of light per day – particularly for flocks reaching point of lay in autumn, when natural day length is decreasing. If you wish to control lighting, safe access to electricity is important.
To determine the appropriate size of a hen house, allow approximately 0.37 square metres (4 sq.ft.) of floor space per bird. Thus a 20 bird flock would require a floor area of at least 7.4 square metres (10 ft. x 8 ft. or 80 sq.ft.).
Local councils may have restrictions on the keeping of poultry. It is wise to enquire about your local council requirements. A Model Code of Practice for the Welfare of Animals, Domestic Poultry in Australia also regulates poultry housing. This is available from your State Department of Agriculture or Department of Primary Industries.
You should make yourself familiar with these requirements.
PERCHES
Poultry have a natural tendency to perch. Without perches they will perch on anything available including nests, feeders and, if not too high, the top of the fence.
At night, and without perches, the birds will crowd into a corner of the hen house and soon a hard, caked patch of manure will form.
Additionally, the hens’ claws and feathers will get dirty and caked with droppings which will be transferred to the nests and subsequently to any eggs laid therein.
By providing perches for roosting, your eggs will be much cleaner and your hens less “flighty”. The average hen needs approximately 250mm (10 inches) of perch space. Additionally, it needs to be within a comfortable jumping height. In general, 600mm (2 feet) will suffice.
NESTS

Nests need to be comfortable and fairly dark to ensure seclusion from the rest of the hen house. The amount of nesting space per flock is again dependent on flock size. As a rule, 6 layers require approximately 1 square metre (9 sq.ft.) of nesting space.
Nesting material can be of straw and wood shavings and should be at least 100mm (4 inches) deep.
Shallow nests cause fighting and encourage feather picking and cannibalism. Keep nests clean to avoid soiling the eggs.
Hens can be trained not to sleep in nests by providing perches and excluding them from the nests in the evening. This will also reduce the incidence of broodiness amongst the hens. Reopen the nest when they are asleep and after a week or two the birds will have formed a roosting habit, greatly reducing the amount of droppings in the nests.
Collect eggs twice a day to ensure freshness and minimise the opportunity for egg eating.