Mary Allen
New York, Hamburg, Zurich – there is also a trend in Switzerland to keep chickens in the city. It is important to follow the rules. Anyone who does this will soon be able to look forward to fresh eggs from their own garden.
Ten million chickens live in Switzerland. More than our country has inhabitants. The birds still cackle mainly in predominantly rural areas. According to Aviforum, the competence center for Swiss poultry production, more than 1.1 million animals live in the canton of Thurgau. In the canton of Zurich, on the other hand, there are fewer than 500,000 laying hens and fattening chickens, spread over just over a thousand farms. Yet. For some time now, a trend has been observed that applies not only to New York (see page 42), Hamburg, and London but also to cities in Switzerland: urban poultry farming.
According to the annual report of the cantonal veterinary office, the number of chicken keepers in the canton of Zurich rose by more than 9 percent from 2014 to 2015. This is not an extrapolation. Since every poultry farmer has had to register since the first outbreak of bird flu in Switzerland ten years ago, the authorities know pretty well how many chickens live in their canton. In the case of Zurich, the large increase in poultry is hardly due to the farmers, but rather to hobby keepers in the cities and the agglomeration.
In 2014, the “Tagesanzeiger” reported that the number of chickens owned by hobby keepers in the capital more than doubled between 2011 and 2014, from 82 to 195 animals. Compared to the city of Zurich, where around 3,200 chickens were registered in 2014, this is of course nothing, but the trend is the same. In Geneva, projects for joint chicken breeding are even supported by the canton with 1,000 francs. This is not surprising, since Geneva is third from the bottom in terms of the chicken population in the canton ranking.
Hatching Eggs and Chicks in Spring
Most hobbyists enjoy the fresh eggs they find in their garden or backyard. They keep their chickens less for meat production. The beauty of the animals also plays a role for some. Or the preservation of biodiversity. This applies in particular to the more than 3,000 breeders and lovers who are organized in the Swiss breed poultry umbrella organization.
More than 150 breeds are described in detail in their poultry standard. All types of poultry kept by pedigree poultry breeders in this country are currently being recorded. This survey takes place every two years. According to the latest statistics, New Hampshire is the most popular chicken among the large breeds. Among the dwarf breeds, the dwarf Wyandotte and dwarf Welsumer have the greatest distribution.
Hobby owners are not mass producers. Your animals can usually live or behave in a way that corresponds to their natural nature. This means, among other things, that if you are looking for hatching eggs or cute chicks of a certain breed for your garden, you will only find them in spring. In the case of young animals in particular, however, one must know that they are usually not “sexed” (gender determination), which is why it will only become clear later whether a rooster or a hen will develop from them. So if you only want to buy hens from a certain breed, you often have to wait until early summer. Depending on the breed, the gender can be identified from the eighth week of life.
It is clear that if you want to raise chicks from your own chickens, you need a Guggul. For a flock of up to ten hens, it is advisable not to keep more than one rooster. If a keeper is looking for maximum egg production and is less interested in keeping or keeping true, original breeds, he should buy hybrid hens like those used by the egg industry. It is important to know that the period of their highest egg production is limited and only lasts about a year. On the other hand, hybrids are available at any time of the year and sorted by sex, and they also provide their owners with fresh eggs.
A Stable is Needed
The minimum requirements for a chicken yard, a chicken coop, and chicken husbandry are regulated by law. You can find them in the Animal Welfare Ordinance (Article 66 and Table 9 “Domestic Poultry”). Basically, if you want to keep chickens in your garden, you should talk to the neighborhood in advance and reward them with fresh eggs from time to time. In this way, there is more understanding, because not everyone enjoys it the same way, for example when the rooster keeps crowing. Anyone who does not understand this or does not have enough space for the animals can contact a small animal breeders association in the area. These clubs often maintain small animal houses or stables that can be rented or even bought.
It is up to the hobby owner to decide what materials or arrangements a chicken coop should be made of. However, he must comply with the applicable building regulations (information on this can be obtained from the canton or municipality) and can therefore not be set up at any location without further ado. The owner also has the power to decide where to install the door, the window, or the ventilation. On the other hand, the legal provisions regarding the interior design of a chicken coop are very specific (see checklist). Depending on the architecture, choice of material, and design, investing in accommodation for four chickens can range from a few hundred to a few thousand francs. Once the barn is in place, however, the further effort remains comparatively low.
So that the chickens are not eaten by the fox, they belong in the stall at night. Once acclimated, they usually seek it out on their own at dusk. Light-controlled chicken house doors that close automatically in the dark are no problem.
Chickens always need fresh water and feed. Therefore a daily check is important. By the way, the law does not regulate how large the area of the run must be. This has to do with the fact that the applicable regulations were originally and primarily issued for commercial poultry farming and the legislator gives companies the option of not letting the animals outside. However, a hobby owner should not make use of this and, if possible, let the animals out into the fresh air every day.
The rule of thumb when it comes to exercise areas is: If the meadow/lawn in the chicken yard is green, the chickens have enough space. However, if the soil is mostly brown, this is a sign that the area is too dense or too small. Only those places in the chicken yard where the animals take a dust or sand bath to groom their feathers are allowed to be brown.
Trees, bushes, and shrubs offer low-ranking chickens in the herd in particular retreat and hiding places. A fence around the outlet is also necessary. The fence height depends on the breed and its flight behavior – not just on the fox – and ranges from 80 to 200 centimeters.