Sustainability Classroom
Project Sheet: Growing Chickens at Home
Overview
Chickens can provide many benefits to the home garden environment and also provide wonderful learning
opportunities for children. They play an important role in both the provision of food and in supporting a gardens’
sustainability. By adding a chicken house to our sustainability classroom we are looking to provide the children with
essential life experiences, by helping them understand where the food they eat comes from and what goes into
producing it.
Where possible we have aimed to introduce the students to heritage breeds of chickens to help them understand
the origins of the modern breeds we rely so heavily on and the importance of heritage and heirloom breeds in
genetic diversity.
The Chicken House
The construction and layout of the chicken house varies from school to school with a full-blown house used in
Carey Baptist College and a run style house introduced for the more rustic bush land setting of Roleystone. Our
designer/builder Hamish Grace has designed several options for easy assembly in an urban environment and his
focus is on security and aesthetics. In the construction we have utilisised sustainable materials such as pine.
We did have to ensure that we outsmarted the sly fox, ground and air borne predators. Cement slabs, corrugated
iron buried into the ground and wire around the base of the pen will keep the fox from digging under, enclosing the
top of the pen will help in the case of the fox climbing over or birds flying in.
Despite our best preventative measures, the predator still somehow makes its mark. This calls for natural
protection for the defenceless chickens. Ducks and geese will call the alarm very quickly if anything is amiss, it is
said that ten geese can ward off a fox. Geese and turkeys are so territorial of their run that anything small or
foreign with wings such as chicken hawks-kestrels, crows, parasite and disease carrying doves or wild ducks will not
be allowed in. This doesn’t account for the fox or the snake or a racehorse goanna. The ultimate protection is an
emu.
One final tip, when introducing new birds to an existing flock, one must always bring in the dominant species as a
baby and as it grows, it will have respect for those birds within its pen.
Materials list
Below is a base list of materials that we used for building our predator proof chicken house and an outdoor run.
The materials that are used may vary depending on the size and design of your chicken house.
Quantity
10
10
15
5
5
3
Material
Pine Posts
Pine Posts
Pine Posts
Pine Posts
Pine Capping
Sheets 12mm Ply
Size
90mm x 90mm
70mm x 45mm
70mm x 45mm
90mm x 45mm
70mm x 35mm
2.4 x 1.2
3
Zinc Custom Orb
2.4m
1
Roll Chicken Wire
1.8 metre high
Length
3m
3.6m
6.0m
3.6m
3.0m
50m
Greenfingers Sustainability Classroom, Project sheet Chickens
Supported by Water Corporation Education 2012
Description
Pine Poles
Pine Poles
Pine Poles
Pine Capping
Pine Capping
Walls of Chicken
House
Roof of Chicken
House
Wall of Chicken Run
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The Chickens
The breeds that we chose for our sustainability classrooms are heritage varieties and in some cases they are the
genetic parents of the modern varieties, more than ever they play a very important role in chicken biodiversity.
These chickens produce eggs with a difference including some being small, others being coloured in greens, blues
and some even speckled. Some varieties are good meat chickens. This addresses another aspect of the
sustainability gardens objectives, giving the students an understanding of where food comes from.
As the series evolves we will add ducks and discuss other poultry options for a domestic garden situation.
The best heritage breeds for a home garden are;
 Black Australorp (Australian Orpington) - For 200 years, the Australorp has been known as the utility bird of
the Australian chicken breeds. Bred for both meat and eggs and to withstand the harsh Australian
summers, in 1920 the Australorp took out the world’s egg laying competition for most eggs laid in one year.
The green sheen highlighting their plumage is one of their stunning defining features.
 Blue Australorp - The Blue Australorp has only been a recognised colour for less than 10 years. The eggs of
the Australorp, by standard, have to be a shade of brown. Commonly, there is a slight pink shade to the
egg. The combs are required to have 4-6 serrations and the eye and beaks black with white toenails front
and back - a combination that is actually quite hard to achieve.
 Americana/Araucana - Americana are renowned for the beards and the genetic pea comb to egg gene
attachment, which produces an egg of blue/ green colouring. A rare breed in Australia has been bred from
the Araucana which has a hat as well as the beard. The Araucana are originally derived from the American
jungles where the tale has it the eggs are known to be well camouflaged. Predators apparently can not see
blue or green.
 Barnevelder - Dutch breed which was officially recognised to be established in 1921 as a fixed standard.
Known for their very dark chocolate coloured eggs.
 Minorca - Spanish bird known to lay the largest white egg. Around 70g compared to the other breeds 5060g. The white egg shell is genetically attached to the white earlobe.
 New Hampshire / Rhode Island Red – From two states of America. Originally these birds were bred as
competition for the individually named states. These days, the Rhode Island has been popularised with the
show world due to its beautiful brick red colouring which unfortunately seems to have a correlating affect
between egg size and showable quality. Hence the New Hampshire is far superior in the egg production.
 PALI’ New Hampshire - Variation within the New Hampshire breed. A bird with a different colour neck
hackle to the tail. The Rare Breeds Society has shown a great deal of interest in this Palamino coloured
chicken. This isn’t a recognised colour shade and the neck hackle to tail variation is not known to have ever
turned up in the Australian poultry world history.
 Sussex - Old English breed was bred for an all-round purpose bird table – covering bird and egg production.
Today, being a poultry show world favourite, this chook gets away with laying 10 eggs and then wanting to
brood, so she’s now for great looking, good for meat but not so great for egg production.
Greenfingers Sustainability Classroom, Project sheet Chickens
Supported by Water Corporation Education 2012
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Learning to care for poultry
Another key lesson for students in our Sustainability Classroom is the opportunity to learn to care for productive
poultry at the different stages of their lives. This basic animal husbandry will stay with them throughout their lives.
Chickens require different foods at different stages of their lives, so understanding the importance of what food the
chicken eats and how this will impact on their lives and their productivity is important. Understanding the science
behind the nutritional requirements and how it impacts the food chain is vital.
Reproduction
To produce food the cycle of life has to be fully understood which is why understanding the breeding cycle of the
chickens is important. Rearing baby chickens is an excellent opportunity for students to work with nature and a
wonderfully rewarding experience. The additions of roosters and incubators when chickens become broody will
allow younger chickens to be introduced to the population.
Suppliers
Finding heritage breeds is currently a challenge, although there is a burgeoning cottage industry evolving.
Greenfingers worked with Katts Cluckers in Byford and we would recommend she’s your first stop in securing some
of these chickens. Prices can range between $15.00 for the common Isa Brown and Hylines to $50.00 for the harder
to find breeds.
For more information visit www.kattscluckers.com
Greenfingers Sustainability Classroom, Project sheet Chickens
Supported by Water Corporation Education 2012
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