Poultry Care

Healthy Chooks, Better Eggs, Fewer Surprises.

Backyard flock or a full shed, the fundamentals are the same — mites, worms, calcium and ventilation. Here's the routine that keeps a flock laying and out of trouble.

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1 nest box Per 4 hens
16% Protein in a good layer feed
Weekly Mite check under the perch

Egg Withholding ListedOn every treatment we stock

Flock Routine

From Brooder To Nest Box

Pick a stage and we'll show you what the flock needs from you.

Brooder Weeks

Warmth, dryness and clean water. Almost every chick loss in the first fortnight comes down to one of those three being wrong.

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How Often What To Do Why It Matters

How Often Daily, weeks 1–6 What To Do Drop brooder temperature ~2°C per week Why It Matters Start around 32°C and let them tell you — huddling means cold, spread out means hot

How Often Daily What To Do Fresh water at chick height Why It Matters Chicks drown in deep waterers and dehydrate fast without one

How Often Weeks 0–8 What To Do Chick starter crumble, 18–20% protein Why It Matters Never layer feed — the calcium load damages young kidneys

How Often Weekly What To Do Check vents for pasting up Why It Matters A blocked vent kills a chick within a day if not cleaned

How Often From week 2 What To Do Coccidiosis watch: blood in droppings Why It Matters The single biggest cause of loss in brooder-raised chicks

Growing On

The awkward middle. Too old for starter, too young for layer feed — and the point at which worming and mite control become a habit.

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How Often What To Do Why It Matters

How Often Weeks 8–18 What To Do Grower or pullet feed, 16% protein Why It Matters Layer feed before point-of-lay overloads growing kidneys with calcium

How Often Every 3 months What To Do Worm treatment Why It Matters Roundworm and caecal worm build up quickly on used ground

How Often Weekly What To Do Check under perches for red mite Why It Matters Mites hide in cracks by day and feed at night — check after dark

How Often From week 16 What To Do Introduce shell grit free-choice Why It Matters Let them start topping up calcium before the first egg

How Often Weeks 16–20 What To Do Move to the layer coop Why It Matters Settle them in before laying starts, not during

In Lay

A laying hen puts an extraordinary amount of calcium into a shell every day. Feed for that, keep the mites down, and watch the vent and comb for the early signs.

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How Often What To Do Why It Matters

How Often Daily What To Do Layer feed plus free-choice shell grit Why It Matters Thin or soft shells almost always mean calcium, not disease

How Often Daily What To Do Collect eggs and check the vent area Why It Matters Prolapse and flystrike are both caught early with a daily look

How Often Every 3 months What To Do Worm treatment — check egg withholding Why It Matters Some treatments require discarding eggs, some don't

How Often Weekly, after dark What To Do Red mite check on perches and nest boxes Why It Matters Heavy mite burdens stop lay entirely and can kill birds

How Often Annually before summer What To Do Clean out, lime and re-bed the coop Why It Matters Ventilation and dry litter prevent most respiratory disease

General guidance only. Always check the egg withholding period on any treatment before eating or selling the eggs.

Common Concerns

What Chook Keepers Ring Us About

Mites lead this list by a very long way.

Red Mite
They live in the coop, not on the bird. Check perch ends after dark, and treat the coop as well as the flock or they'll be back in a fortnight.
Scaly Leg Mite
Raised, crusty leg scales. Treatable, slow to look better, and easily spread through a flock on shared perches.
Egg Withholding
Some wormers require you to discard eggs for a period; others don't. It's on every label and every product page — check before you treat.
Respiratory Disease
Rattly breathing and a dirty face usually means poor ventilation or damp litter. Fix the coop first, then treat.
Soft-Shelled Eggs
Almost always calcium or age. Offer shell grit free-choice separately from feed — hens self-regulate remarkably well.
Predators & Snakes
Aviary mesh rather than chicken wire, buried skirting and a properly latched door. Most losses happen at dusk.

Mite Control

The Four Steps That Actually Clear Red Mite

Treating the birds alone almost never works — this is the routine that does.

Check after dark
Red mite feed at night. Take a torch out after sunset and look at the underside of perches and the corners of nest boxes.
Treat the coop, not just the birds
The mites live in the structure. Strip the bedding, spray or dust every crack, and repeat in seven days to catch the next hatch.
Remove the hiding places
Seal cracked timber, replace perches that have split, and keep litter dry. Mites need somewhere dark to breed.
Make it a weekly habit
A two-minute check every week means you catch a handful of mites, not an infestation that stops the flock laying.

Repeat the whole cycle after seven days. Mite eggs survive the first treatment.

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Poultry Care Essentials

Mite treatments, wormers, layer feed and shell grit — sized for a backyard flock or a shed.

Test product $1.00

Nexgard Spectra From $149.00

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Learn More

Poultry Reading

From people with chooks in the back paddock.

Poultry Backyard Chicken Health BasicsThe weekly checks that catch nearly everything before it becomes a problem. 5 min read Read guide

Poultry Getting On Top Of Red MiteWhy treating the birds isn't enough, and the seven-day cycle that clears an infestation. 6 min read Read guide

Poultry Feeding For Strong ShellsLayer feed, shell grit and the difference between grit and calcium — explained simply. 4 min read Read guide

All Buying Guides

Can I eat the eggs after worming my chooks?

It depends on the product. Some poultry wormers have a nil egg withholding period, others require you to discard eggs for several days. It's printed on the label and listed on our product pages — check before you treat, not after.

How often should I worm my flock?

Every three months is a sensible default for a backyard flock on the same ground year-round. Flocks with plenty of fresh range can go longer; crowded or muddy runs may need more.

Why have my hens stopped laying?

In order of likelihood: daylight hours dropping, a moult, mites, or a change in feed. Check under the perches after dark before you assume it's the season.

Do chickens need grit as well as shell?

Yes, they're different things. Insoluble grit helps grind food in the gizzard; shell grit is a calcium source for eggshells. Offer both free-choice in separate containers.

When can pullets move onto layer feed?

Around 18 weeks, or when the first egg appears. Feeding layer feed earlier gives growing birds far more calcium than their kidneys can handle.

Keep The Flock Laying

Feed And Treatments, Delivered

Set up auto reorder for the layer feed and the quarterly wormer — members pay less on both.

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Healthy Chooks, Better Eggs, Fewer Surprises.

From Brooder To Nest Box

Brooder Weeks

Growing On

In Lay

What Chook Keepers Ring Us About

Red Mite

Scaly Leg Mite

Egg Withholding

Respiratory Disease

Soft-Shelled Eggs

Predators & Snakes

The Four Steps That Actually Clear Red Mite

Check after dark

Treat the coop, not just the birds

Remove the hiding places

Make it a weekly habit

Poultry Care Essentials

Poultry Reading

Asked Most Often

Feed And Treatments, Delivered