People love their chickens. The stories coop enthusiasts tell proves it's no wonder why chickens have gained the reputation as man's new best friend. An owner of 90 chickens has a brown hen named Henietta who sneaks into the bathroom daily to lay her egg. An O'ahu family has a Porcelain D'uccle who's been found protectively perched on their napping toddler's chest on several occasions, while a nine-year-old girl's "best friends" are her 12 hens.
The love of keeping chickens goes beyond the daily gathering of a rainbow of light blue, mint green and even chocolate brown eggs. As backyard coops are experiencing a renaissance in Hawai'i, island residents are turning to their own yards for free range eggs that are higher in nutrition than store bought eggs. Driving coop enthusiasm is the desire to eat local, organic and free range, but those who dive into the world of chickens get a pleasant surprise: hens make great pets.
A proper coop is the foundation for a happy egg-laying hen. The Internet is a good source for coop floor plans or pre-made hen houses and the garage is a good source for reusable materials. Plywood, fencing, even a stained glass window can live a second life as part of a coop. Hen houses can be extremely simple or elaborate“a wooden box, old truck bed, or an intricate mini-Victorian house complete with trim and paint.
Small or large, modest or fancy, coops have a few basic requirements that are necessity no matter the design. Nesting boxes, where hens lay eggs, are a must. One box for every two hens is a good rule of thumb. It's essential to keep them clean, changing the hay or wood shavings lining the boxes every few weeks. Hens instinctively sleep up high on a perch, or roost. Depending on the length of the perch, one roost will suffice, but more than one perch requires an 18-inch separation preventing hens from sleeping under each other. Roosts should be round or have smoothed edges to protect the hen's feet. Bamboo from the yard, an old broomstick or ladder will do. Also, a coop must be sealed tight, with screen or wire over the spaces between the boards to keep out mongoose, dogs and feral cats.
There are hundreds of different chicken breeds and choosing your hen is where the fun begins. Different breeds lay eggs of different sizes and colors and, like most domesticated animals, every breed exhibits its own personality traits. One breed commonly kept in backyard coops is the Black Australorp, known for their high production of large brown eggs and gentle personality. Barren Plymouth Rocks are known to be friendly and lay light brown, nearly pinkish large eggs. Araucanas make great pets and lay greenish blue eggs. For high egg production it's essential to get the smaller, lighter chickens called layers. Broilers are heavier and larger and generally lay fewer eggs.
It's best to acquire hens as chicks or pullets, young hens, to see each hen's full egg-laying potential. Raising chicks is a bit more work, as they initially require a great deal of care and attention. It's easy to find chicks and pullets locally at farms, on the Internet and at Asagi Hatchery.
Coop upkeep is very important and daily maintenance begins with water and food. Free-range chickens dig up a substantial amount of insects, slugs, seeds and snails. Yet they need a balanced diet of about 18 percent protein from chicken scratch, a mixture of grain and seeds. Many people toss feed on the ground ensuring a wide and even distribution for the hens. A water dispenser with plenty of clean water should be placed near the coop door for easy access. If a laying hen goes without water for 12 hours she can stop laying for weeks. Plant based kitchen scraps are an excellent addition to their diet and they'll devour most fruits and vegetables.
Backyard coops bring more to the table than eggs; there's no need to buy seven-dollars-a-dozen organic eggs, carton waste is virtually eliminated and old materials get reused. Brining a chicken home may lead to a life long relationship. A Big Island woman's foray into raising chickens began 15 years ago when a neighbor brought her a dozen eggs, "Six hours later a hen shows up at my door. It hit me that it was the mother and sure enough she took full responsibility for the eggs when I brought them to her. I still don't know how she tracked them down from a quarter mile away. But she stayed, and now I have over a hundred."