Keeping chickens in New Zealand

Why keep chickens

Eggs are the most popular reason. Most heritage breeds are dual purpose, so spare birds can go to the table, and commercial meat birds can be ready in about six weeks.

Commercial hybrids such as Shaver Brown and Hy-Line Brown lay the most: about 300 eggs in their first season under commercial conditions, and fewer in a backyard. They lay very well for a year or two but tend to burn out early. Heritage breeds lay fewer eggs, especially over winter, and often keep laying for longer. In her second season a hen lays about 70–75% as many eggs as in her first, and older hens lay larger eggs with thinner shells. Laying slows as the days shorten and picks up again once days are longer than 12 hours.

Coop, run, and predators

Keep at least three hens for company. Provide a weatherproof, ventilated coop and a safe outdoor area for scratching, foraging and dust bathing. All birds need room to perch at once, with no perch above another perch, food or water. SPCA suggests one clean, sheltered nest box for every 3–4 hens. Check your council’s space and siting rules.

New Zealand chickens are hunted by stoats, ferrets, weasels, rats, dogs, cats, and harrier hawks, and possums take eggs. A fully enclosed run with netting over the top and mesh under the coop keeps most out. Stoats and ferrets hunt mainly at night, so lock the coop every evening; an automatic door helps. Store feed in rat-proof containers and don’t leave food scattered around.

Feeding and water

Use a complete feed suited to the birds’ age and whether they are laying. Around 120–130 g a day is a guide for a laying hen, not a limit. Hard grit helps grind food; oyster shell supplies calcium. Follow the feed maker’s advice on supplements. Ask about suitable feed during moult, and return to layer feed when laying resumes. Check medicated-feed labels and egg withholding periods.

Keep cool, clean water available at all times and provide shade and ventilation. Keep wild birds away from feed and water, and check MPI’s poultry biosecurity guidance. Avoid long grass clippings, which can block the crop.

Names for chickens

Point of lay and pullet are the terms you will see most in chicken listings.

Hen

An adult female that has started laying.

Rooster or cock

An adult male.

Cockerel

A young male, usually under a year old.

Pullet

A young female that has not started laying yet.

Chick

A young bird from hatching to about 6–7 weeks.

Point of lay (POL)

A pullet sold just before she starts laying, usually 16–20 weeks old.

Chook

The everyday New Zealand and Australian word for a chicken.

Capon

A castrated male raised for meat.

Broody or clucky

A hen that wants to sit on eggs and hatch them. She stops laying and stays on the nest overnight.

Bantam

A miniature version of a breed.

Layer and meat bird (broiler)

A chicken bred for eggs, and one bred for meat.

Hybrid

A commercial cross bred for high egg numbers, such as a Shaver Brown.

Spent hen or end of lay

A hen past her productive laying life.

Moult

The yearly loss and regrowth of feathers, usually as winter approaches. It lasts about eight weeks, and laying stops.

Pecking order

The social ranking within a flock.

Sexed and straight run

Chicks sorted by sex, and chicks sold as hatched, which will include roosters.

Flock, brood, and clutch

Birds living together, chicks hatched together, and a set of eggs being sat on.

Regular jobs

Health problems to watch for

Chickens can hide illness. A bird that is unusually quiet, breathes heavily or stays apart needs prompt veterinary care. Separate sick birds and call before taking a bird to a clinic, especially after unusual illness or deaths.

• Red mite: tiny mites that hide in the coop by day and feed at night. Signs are a pale comb and wattles and restless birds at night. They can survive about nine months without birds.
• Scaly leg mite: raised, crusty, thickened scales on the legs.
• Lice: brown flecks moving on the skin and white egg clusters near the vent.
• Coccidiosis, mainly in young chicks, and more likely with wet bedding.
• Egg binding: a hen standing upright and straining, with a waddling walk.
• Crop swelling, an unusual smell or a crop that has not emptied overnight needs veterinary advice. Do not diagnose or treat a blockage from its feel alone.
• Marek’s disease: paralysis, often with one leg forward and one back, usually at 10–25 weeks. Commercial pullets are vaccinated at the hatchery, so ask when buying.
• Bird flu: sudden deaths, a darkened or swollen comb, wattles, or head, coughing, green diarrhoea, or a sudden drop in eggs. Call your vet or the exotic pest and disease hotline run by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), on 0800 80 99 66.

What chickens cost to keep

These figures are approximate planning examples. Confirm feed quantities, treatment needs and current prices, including GST, delivery and whole-pack purchases, with suppliers and your vet before budgeting.

Bedding is extra and depends on your coop: a 12 kg bag of wood shavings is about $50 and a bale of straw about $28. A ready-made coop costs about $350–$1,000 once. Pullets, feeders, drinkers, run netting, and vet care are also extra.

New Zealand rules

• Check your council’s current rules on poultry numbers, roosters, housing and nuisance before buying birds. Hamilton requires a rooster permit. Requirements vary by location, and property restrictions may also apply; the council links below are starting points.
• The Code of Welfare: Layer Hens applies to hens kept at home as well as to commercial flocks. Owners must, for example, check their birds every day.
• Never use a rooster collar to stop crowing: SPCA advises against them and a collar that restricts breathing is an offence. Forcing hens to moult is also banned.
• Selling eggs: check MPI’s current rules before selling, including whether you need a Risk Management Programme. Requirements can depend on flock size and whether you sell directly to consumers or supply shops and cafés. Check any other food-safety requirements too.
• Bird flu: check MPI’s current disease updates and guidance for poultry keepers, including any rules for your flock size. Report unusual sickness or deaths to MPI on 0800 80 99 66. Keep wild birds away from poultry feed and water.