Raising Chicken Tips: How to Prevent the Spread of Bird Flu

Chicken raising has its sacrifices and benefits. Usually what the owner sees is the benefit beyond the sacrifices and problems. That would be fine for as long as you can handle whatever circumstances may occur. In cases of bird flu, the only way out is proper handling of your poultry and making sure that the place is spiffy clean.

Poultry farm owners sometimes underestimate cleanliness. But sometimes, the more people tend to underestimate things, the more it becomes a serious matter. Sometimes, when its severity had come to its boiling point, it’s too late to cool it down.

There are two causes of bird flu (also known as Avian Influenza) - cold weather and dirty places. Why should you know the cause? To prevent the spread of the disease even before it develops at your very own backyard. Once you know the cause, it will be easier on your part to identify the different measure you have to make to prevent the disease from spreading. Get rid of the cause then none of this will happen. That will be more convenient and less expensive than waiting for the outburst of the virus to act and terminate it because once it starts, the harder it is to kill.

You can’t change the weather. That is a fact. Between the two causes, the weather, including the whole atmospheric environment is one thing that you can’t point a finger at. All you have to do is adjust with the present environment. Flu, in general, is acquired mostly in cold areas. The colder, the more amiable it is for the virus to stay. Thus, it stays and it reproduces and it reprimands and it affects and the tally goes on. But you can do something about it. You can’t definitely change the weather but you can adapt to it. Let your chickens adapt to the environment. How? By giving nutritious food and immunization. Vitamins are also big advantages for your chicken’s welfare. If your chickens have all these intact, their immune system will be strong enough to fight invading microorganisms.

Cleaning is common sense. You have to see to it that the environment inside and outside their pen is immaculate. Pads must be replaced with new ones. Haystacks filled with chicken poop should also be replaced. Be sure to use protective wears like boots made of rubber, gloves, and facemasks that fit properly. In this way, if the poultry have already caught the virus, you would have your first defense against it.

If all else fails and the disease is already spreading, you have to protect yourself from it. With or without the disease, you should follow these safety precautions. Just in case.

Hand washing is the universal precautionary measure to partake. After being in contact with your poultry always wash your hands with soap and clean water. Go through the routine of eating a healthy diet, vaccinations, and have a flu shot. Exercise shouldn’t be compromised.

Once you have noticed that your chickens are manifesting some of the symptoms, an antiviral must be treated to lessen the severity and symptoms of the disease. But these drugs were not that successful in avoiding death instances.

Practice food safety tips like eating a well-cooked chicken. After using, disinfect your chopping board with chlorine bleach, at least four to five teaspoons for every one-gallon of water.

These are some of the measures to prevent the spread of the disease. Otherwise your chicken raising days are over.

Easy D.I.Y. Chicken Coop Plans

The Top 5 Reasons Why to Raise Chickens

Raising chickens should not be a fuss. There are actually several reasons why people want to cultivate chickens in their backyard. Some of these are written below.

Reason # 1 – Chickens love leftovers.

A chicken’s appetite is incredible. They can eat almost everything, even their own kind! You can now say bye-bye to those unwanted leftovers being left rotten in your fridge. You feel less guilty of throwing them out into the garbage can. Plus, you can save on chicken feed. But be very careful with what you give for it may be their last supper. Tone down on the onions and garlic.

Reason #2 – Eggs!

Who doesn’t love eggs? Have them boiled, scrambled, sunny side up, etc. Admit it, pets that live comfortably inside your houses don’t give anything more than barks, meows, purrs, and sometimes, chirp. Fishes, in general, can be eaten, but who would want to eat Goldie? None of these domesticated animals produce something edible. Well, chickens, on the other hand, have lots of benefits. One of the many benefits chickens give is their egg.

You can eat fresh eggs right from the source. Either raw (good for pregnant women) or cooked, eggs taken from chickens minutes or hours ago are more tasty and nutritious than those purchased in the grocery store. You’ll notice the texture and color is way different than that of the fresh ones.

Reason #3 – Source of natural fertilizers

Your lawn or backyard could’ve never looked better. Chickens love to freely walk around. Chickens also love to peck on anything they see that can be considered as food. And what is food to them? Possibly anything that’s organic. If you let your chickens roam around your space, you’ll find out how reliable they can be. They eat pests living in your backyard – grubs, beetles, insects, earwigs, and anything that comes close.

After the digestion has set its due, they will transform what they’ve eaten into poop. But this is not just any kind of poop but a treasure called natural fertilizer. And you know what natural fertilizers do right? They keep the soil healthy for plants to grow. Cool.

Reason #4 – Low Maintenance Pets

Unlike dogs that need combing and brushing everyday to keep their fur alive and shiny, chickens doesn’t need such soulful treatment. All you have to do is provide them their daily needs like food and water. You also have to clean their pad at least twice a month and change the beddings too. In return, you can gather all the eggs. Aside from just gathering, you can also start a small business of your own by supplying poultry stores with fresh eggs or chicken meat.

Reason #5 – Grass and weed clippers

Got that right. Now you can save on mowing your own lawn by getting yourself chickens! For chickens, grasses, weeds, and leaves are treats. It’s like a lifetime dessert offering. It’s like having a cow in your own backyard. They will dig through whatever it is without even complaining about the hard work. Chickens will clip it then clean it all at the same time.

With these reasons, why bother getting yourself a dog or a cat? No offense but they can’t even water the plants nor lay eggs for breakfast. All they do is prove to their masters that they are either one’s best friends. In cases of chickens, you can have a best friend, a lawn mower, a supplier of organic fertilizer and an egg producer all in one.

Easy D.I.Y. Chicken Coop Plans

Proper Construction of a Pen Suitable for Raising Chickens

Constructing a pen is easier than it seems. You need to pinpoint some important matters like the materials to buy and the tools to use. Plus, you also have to consider the area where to build the suitable pen for raising your chickens.

Alright, the easy yet crucial part begins with planning. First, the area, then the size of the pen. The pen size usually depends on how many chickens will be raised. Look at the option on what kind of birds you are dealing with.

Novice or not, it is still better to start off with the most basic pen – using the wire and post design. Here, the materials that you’ll need are the posts, wire, and staples that can be used for fences. The tools are also basic namely a sledgehammer, the ordinary hammer, wire cutters, and crowbar.

Now that you have gathered all materials and tools, surveyed the area, and is assured that there is none to worry about, it’s time for the construction.

To start with, look at the ground you’re working on. Notice the stiffness and dryness. If it’s anything like that, you have to bring in with you a bucket full of water. This will help soften the ground. Pound the ground using the pointed tip of the crowbar. By doing this, a hole is being formed.

While pounding, occasionally pour few amounts of water in the hole to soften the ground. By leaving your crowbar inside the hole, pull your body against it. By doing so, you’ll widen the proximity of the hole. If the hole is prominent enough and is 20 cm deep, that will be sufficient. Make sure that the hole has a wideness that can hold a pole in place.

You can now put the post inside the hole that you have made, pointed tip first. Using the sledgehammer, pound the pole to the ground. Do the pounding until you are sure that it has remained firm. Sometimes, it is better to have someone hold the post for you to ensure better stability. Always practice caution and focus on what you’re doing because you might pound your assistant instead of your post.

If your first post is standing firmly, you can now start on your second, and third, and fourth, and so on. Give about a meter from where the first post stands. That will determine elaborate spacing. To serve as a gate, let 2 posts stand about 1½ - 2 meters apart.

The moment you have firmly put all the posts in place, it’s time to put the wire around it. For this to be made possible, carry the wire on one corner then using your regular hammer, pound the fence staples at the end of the wire to the post. Once the end is tightly secured, unroll the wire going to the next post then staple the wire that touches the post. Do the unrolling and stapling process till you have completed wrapping around the entire posts. If you ran out of wire, get more then start where you ended.

Making a gate is also easy. All you need to gather are hinges, latch and a particle board. Start by cutting the board to fit the two ends of the posts. Now attach it together with the hinges and the latch.

There you have it. Raising chickens is easy for as long as you know the basics.

Easy D.I.Y. Chicken Coop Plans

Raising Chickens 101: Introducing The New Birds On The Block

To raise chickens, there are procedures and adaptations to attend to. One very good instance is introducing a group of “new” birds to a flock of old birds. It’s like managing to merge two restaurants when one is Italian and the other is Chinese. Stress will come along. And that is not an assumption but a fact.

Many poultry owners who think that they’re ready to expand their chicken farm make certain measures of importing birds that came or was purchased from the outside, while others take their time and wait for hens to hatch their eggs. Adding new breeds into your peaceful and comfortable neighborhood of chickens can put a quite a rumble between the old and the new.

Admit it, nobody likes newcomers. And adding these newcomers into a flock of hens or roosters that already have certain territories inside their coop can be big mess. The newcomers will try to take their place too, and the oldies will try their best to protect their area.

Fret not, for this kind of attitude and feud lasts for only a couple of days. Adaptation can now take place. You can’t avoid this kind of predicament from rising but you can do certain adjustments that can make all of you happy and stress-free.

There are numerous peace-making strategies to help both parties adjust with each other. Isn’t it nice to see your new and old birds in one space without having to stop them from pecking one another?

One very good strategy is to let them see each other without having any physical contact. How? If you have a run (which is basically attached to the coop), you could put your old chickens there and then put a border (chicken wire) between the run and the coop. Put your new chickens inside the coop. This way, they are able to see each other minus the harm. Be sure that both parties have access to sufficient food and water. You can do this for about a week.

As transition day comes, that will be a week after the slight introduction, you can now “join” them in one area. You can transfer the newcomers to the resident flock’s territory during the night when all the birds are sleeping. Upon waking up, the old chickens will notice the new ones and they will, at any point, try to start a fight but will not because they are too groggy to initiate it. Not a strategy that has been proven effective but it’s worth the trying.

Distraction techniques are always effective in some way. This can alleviate tactics of war coming from the resident chickens. If you don’t do this, the old hens will chase the newcomers till all their feathers come off. That would be devastating.

Some of the distracting techniques are:

a. Cabbage heads can do the trick. By hanging a piece of whole cabbage just above their head, chickens will reach it until everything is finished. That is, if they don’t get exhausted by jumping to it and reaching it.

b. Make the pursuit an obstacle for the pursuing party. Add large branches inside the run and coop.

c. Let them run around at a wider and freer range. The oldies will be so thrilled to dig for grubs and insects they wouldn’t even notice that there are newcomers roaming around.

Easy D.I.Y. Chicken Coop Plans

Choosing a Chicken Breed to Raise

There are varieties of chickens to raise. Choosing a breed will depend on the kind of chicken that you want to raise. There are chickens that seem healthy but their egg-laying capacity is frail while other chickens give out lots of eggs every day. Before finally choosing the right chicken to raise, you have to consider a lot of things.

Different angles must be taken into consideration like the place where your chickens will live. Do you have a big backyard? Is it wide enough to let your chosen number of chickens to roam? You have to think about this factor because chickens differ in breeds – some are small and others are large.

Also, another factor is the environment you are living in. If you’re living along the equator, it is expected that the temperature within that place be, most of the time, scorching hot. But if you’re living somewhere up above or down below, it becomes colder. Now, which of the two are you?

There are cross breeds that can resist whatever the weather that may come. Production Reds is one of many typical examples. They can be tamed and are resistant to cold temperature. That is why, when you live in a place where it’s always cold, this breed is the right one for you.

Bantams can be a little bit hardheaded. They love to fly around, a very good reason why pens can be worthless. These breeds are tough but pretty for their fluffiness is incomparable. They are not good in laying eggs but if they do, their product is very small and is not advisable for selling.

The Pekins and Silkies are two of the best choices when it comes to laying eggs. They come in various colors and types. If you try to crossbreed a silkie with a cochin bantam, you will have a wonderful breed because the outcome is a kind which never bit, hurt or clawed anyone as proven by top breeders.

Be careful with purebred chicken meat because they are very fragile, they tend to choke on their own food, and are prone to having heart attacks without any probable cause.

If you are looking for a cheap egg-laying chicken, you can settle with a leghorn. Although you have to eventually clip their wings because they are flighty. Also, they are a bit scrawny so watch out! Some breeders dare not choose a leghorn because they are ugly and are high strung.

Looking for a chicken that’s sweet? Try cross breeding Cochin bantams. Breeds that came from a Cochin bantam’s bloodline are amazing because of certain qualities like sweetness, manners, and you have a very good breed that can easily be noticed in exhibitions.

Barred Plymouth Rocks are also one of the top breeds. It’s like the best deal ever, all in one package. Why? Well, during summer time, they lay almost every day. They have a healthy and good weight, are astonishingly pretty, and are not vicious.

Americaunas have an impeccable beauty that is more radiant because of their feathers. They have a color resembling a falcon’s – dark, golden feathers. Their beaks are almost similar with a falcon’s because some breeds have pretty curved beaks. They are indeed beautiful breeds and can withstand the coldness of the night or during wintertime but if you like squeezing eggs out of these breeds, what luck! Sadly, they don’t lay very well.

Breeds that are unusual need more attention from the breeders so their breeds can survive. Choose the right chicken that you will raise.

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Raising Chickens: What Is Bumble Foot?

Bumblefoot is the growth and accumulation of the hard tissues in the foot that gets swollen, is inflamed and may be painful to chickens. Vets and pharma research terminologies explain technical terms and causes better, but for most of us these will only be gobbledygook and so here is how laypeople will see it and prevent it.

The symptoms

An abscess forms in the sole of the feet of the chicken and often these are overlooked as bumble foot in chicken looks very much like calluses. The foot of the chicken is swollen and often hard tissues build up. Then the chicken starts to limp, where in more serious cases there is blood in the footprints. Bumble foot in chicken could deform the feet severely but when detected early treatments are easier.

The Causes

Perches -Bumble feet starts with a bruise in the feet that results later to small wounds that are infected. These are due to the habit of chickens to perch anywhere and everywhere that suits them. Perching in very narrow wires, runs on floors made of wires and perching on narrow edges and sharp corners causes bumble feet. Another usual cause is jumping from too high perches and landing hard.

Improper Nutrition -Bumble feet is also likely to occur when there is insufficient Vitamin A in the system. Seeds, a chicken favorite are low in vitamin A. The vitamin promotes increases resistance to parasite infection aside from promoting digestion and appetite. An obvious sign that the chicken lacks vitamin A is when the plumage lacks the usual luster, is pale, and is rough. There is also the lack of color intensity in the cere and there is yellowish and scaly accumulation on the beak.

Infections – The little wounds and lacerations on the soles of the feet, is a good breeding ground for parasites and bacteria that when left untreated will eat the bone, become acute and endanger the life of the chicken.

Prevention – Provide good perching areas inside the coop and replace the chicken run made of wires. Provide the perimeter where the chickens are kept with perches with varying circumferences.

Chicken will eat just about anything and so they respond will with vitamin supplementation. Provide food that is rich in Vitamin A. Carrot for one is a very good source that the chicken likes. Greens are also good sources of the vitamins and so are pumpkins and potatoes. Throw in vegetable and fruit peels, as chicken loves this. It has been shown time and again that once the vitamin deficiency is resolved, bumble feet heals.

The Treatments – Antibiotics cures bumble foot. When the infection is not severe, the method is to clean the feet first in warm water for ten minutes before applying the ointment or the antibiotic. If the bumble feet is severe, soak the feet in warm water for ten minutes, use a sharp knife, remove the scabs working around it removing the scabs the puss until you are left with a clean hole, apply the ointment or the antibiotic, bandage the foot or use a vet rap and repeat the process every day until the bumble foot is healed.

Incredible Chickens! The Complete Guide To Raising Chickens At Home!

Raising Chickens 101: Hatching Into Young Chicks

A couple of days before the baby chick hatches, you can here cheeps coming out of the egg. The hen waits, excited to see her new baby.

The day comes for the chick to start hatching. It’s a very hard job for the chick. It first has to peck a line down the center of the egg. Then, the chick has to peck through that line even harder and then actually get out of the egg. It can take up to 14 hours for this process.

The chick comes out wet. After a couple of hours, the fluffy, yellow coat will dry.

Once the baby chick is out of its egg, it waits for its siblings. All the chicks take a really long nap when they are all together. They don’t get too hungry because they still have some food left in them from when they were in the egg.

When the chicks finally wake up, they start exploring and getting some food.

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Chicken Hutch Plans

More and more people are starting to look at chicken hutch plans to help them through the process of constructing their chicken coop. There still are a large number of people out there however who do not see the need to consult a guide for the building process.

This is a very big mistake for a number of reasons. When you aren’t using a proper guide to help you along the way, you really risk running into a large number of problems that will seriously hold back your building efforts.

Here is why using chicken hutch plans is a must in order to get good results from your efforts.

Improper Size

The first reason why you absolutely must use chicken hutch plans is to make sure you’re building the right size for your chickens. Most chicken farmers have an idea in mind on the specific number of chickens they want to keep in their chicken coop, therefore making sure that you’re following a specific formula for this number of chickens will be essential.

If you don’t have a plan to follow and don’t know the formula for size considerations, there’s a very probable chance that you will build too small and the chickens won’t stay healthy within the chicken coop.

Improper Lighting

The second thing that chicken hutch plans are going to help you out with is making sure you’re placing the windows in the correct location on the chicken coop and building them to the right size as well.

Windows are going to play the dual role in the chicken coop of both letting in enough light and providing means for ventilation.

When the windows are not placed correctly in the chicken coop, you’re usually going to be forced to run in electrical light which gets extremely pricey over time.

Improper Location

Finally, the third reason why you need to be making sure you’re using chicken hutch plans is to locate the best place to build. There are a variety of factors that go into choosing the location for your chicken coop so you don’t want to overlook any of them.

Many people build where they think it will look or work the best in terms of their overall layout of their farm, but more often than not this is not quite in alignment with what would actually allow the coop to function properly – ensuring that you get fresh eggs every morning when you wake up.

So make sure you do use chicken hutch plans for the building process. You may think you can go without and just use your own general knowledge for the process but there are a lot more specifics than many people realize and it’s these specifics that often cost you results in the long term.

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Chicken Raising Tips: Give your Chicken Treats

Like children and adults, chickens also need treats that will motivate them to live healthy and happy. But! Unlike children and adults, the treats for chickens are different and are more nutritious. Compared to human treats that mostly comprises of chocolates, candies, and other sweets, chicken treats are more on veggies and fruits.

Yogurt is a classic favorite of them birds. They are tasty and are very good to the intestines. This is also a good source of calcium that can contribute greatly to the structure and health of the eggshell. But the most favorite and is very popular among every living chicken is the worm! They will eat it so fast and not a single evidence of it will linger.

Chickens, even with puny brains, have in it the command to like or dislike a certain treat. Below are some of the things that in general, chickens will come running for. If the first one didn’t work, scratch it off then proceed to the next. Bon appetite!

Apple

May come in raw type or in applesauce. The seeds contain a small amount of cyanide but it’s so small that it can’t affect the chicken’s health.

Banana

One of the good treats. This is also high in potassium thus; it is good for muscle activities.

Broccoli and Cauliflower

A fun way of giving them this treat is to tuck it on the side of their cage and let them pick on it till the very last piece comes off.

Cabbage

Given as a whole, you can hang this from the ceiling coop especially during winter days so they have something to put their mind and energy to.

Carrots

Either given in a raw or cooked state, they will, at any cost eat it wholeheartedly. You can even give them the leaves without even worrying that it will just be another rotten veggie inside the coop because they will eat it all up.

Chicken

You, yourself know that it is a sin eating your own kind. They might just like it but then the feeling would be wrong.

Live Crickets

You can choose to hunt it or otherwise buy it in a pet or bait store. This is also a nice treat to give them. You can watch them run around chasing the critters plus it is a good source of protein.

Mature Cucumbers

Give the mature ones because they love it when the seeds and flesh is soft enough to peck on.

Cooked Eggs

Still a good source of protein. Do not give anything that is uncooked because if you do, then you’re teaching them to eat their own eggs in a raw state.

Fish or Seafood

Give moderately so as not to give your eggs a different kind of flavor.

Flowers

Nasturtiums, marigolds, pansies are good treats. But make sure that these flowers are all natural. Meaning no kind of chemical or pesticide has touched it.

Fruits

There are exceptions. But the best fruit treats are peaches, pears, cherries, etc. Some say that it is not wise to give fruits to egg laying hens but some would beg to differ.

Grapes

If you are giving grapes to baby chickens, don’t forget to cut it in pieces to make it easier for them to swallow.

Leftovers

When you say “leftovers”, it must be something that came from a human’s plate minutes after mealtime is over. It must be edible. Anything that came out of your fridge that is considered as moldy or spoiled is not advisable. Don’t give anything salty.

Easy D.I.Y. Chicken Coop Plans

Raising Chickens 101: Growing Up A Chicken

Only a couple of weeks after the baby chicks are hatched and they are starting to grow their new feathers. For a while, it’s hard to distinguish which chicks are male and which are female. But after sometime, the comb and wattle will grow bigger on the males and the hen will stay smaller.

Young hens are called pullets. Pullets are mostly for egg-laying. They will start to lay eggs at five months but can’t start laying fertile eggs until a year old. Chickens lay most of their eggs their first year. Then a little less their second year. And so on.

If a chicken wasn’t killed for meat and was treated okay, the chicken could live up to 12 years. Think about how many eggs that would be in all.

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Raising Chickens: Getting Started The Pecking Order

Keeping chickens is a practice that dates as far back as when people started domesticating animals. They are fun to have around, are a good food source, and are low maintenance. If you have an ample backyard the idea of keeping chickens may have occurred to you but needed a little more information before getting started.

Of Hens and Roosters

You do not need a rooster. Keeping a rooster is a matter of choice but not actually a necessity. While having these handsome, brassy, noisy, aggressive characters to have around your hens is an attractive choice, the hens are quite content not having a rooster that keeps mounting them as they can lay eggs without the help of the rooster. Chickens are sociable birds. They want to hang around each other most times and cuddle around each other on cold days. You may need only one chicken for a pet however, chicken are happier when in the company of chickens. If you want to keep a few have at least two or three.

The Hen House

Where there are hens, there are predators. Chickens will be happy to be strutting around free range-like but sooner, without a place to roost, you'll end up losing some. In the country, they attract a lot, in the city they attract rats let alone cats. The hen house then is a good area to shelter and raise them. There are fanciful chicken pen designs that are available everywhere if you do not want to go through the trouble of building them. Fancy chicken pens are good and attractive accessory to your backyard. There are however the basic elements to have for a good chicken house. First chicken love having dust baths during the day. They do it all the time so they must have access to dirt where they can scratch and dig and have fun.

The Bigger the Better

While chicken are not territorial, they need also their spaces. Crowding them would result to pecking at each other, sometimes even to death. They do this to protect those that catch their fancy. For example, they'll start pecking at another chicken if it goes too near a string of water droplets running through a hanging string that caught their interest. To prevent overcrowding, allow at least three square feet of space for every chicken. During colder days when they will be huddling hang grass and vegetables that they eat to keep them occupied.

Settling Down

Other people prefer buying pullets and raising them, others want to start with hens. No matter, they will be brought inside their pens to familiarize them to the chicken house. Once there, do not let them out for a while. The chicken has to know very well where the home is otherwise, they will be roosting on branches, roofs, awnings, anywhere they feel safe.

Getting started with chicken is also knowing that they enjoy people leftovers and would fight over it. Their normal fare though is chicken pellets and clean water.

Answers To Raising Chickens - A Complete Guide To Keeping Chickens

Raising Chickens 101: Preventing Chickens From Eating Their Eggs

Chickens love to peck. Normally though they do not peck their own eggs but when it starts and nothing is done to keep them from doing it, they would develop the taste of the eggs and the habit could form. To prevent chickens from eating their eggs, try the following.

Feed your chicken grits. Grits are purchased in your local farm supply store or you could make your own. To make grits, roast eggshells until they are brownish and crunchy. Pound the shells and mix it with chicken feed. Chicken that does not have enough calcium in their diet will try to find it elsewhere and eggshells are an alternative source. Make sure that the feed has enough calcium and protein.

When an eggshell is weak, it could easily break and when it does, the chicken will start pecking on it. Weak eggshells are signs that the chicken lacks Vitamin D3, protein, calcium, or has an infection. Check for infection aside from feed composition.

When there are no infections and the feed is sufficient, it could be that the nest box is too hard. Provide padding for the nest to prevent accidents to the egg even when the chicken shuffles and scratches around the nest box. Keep the nest box dark. Chickens are less likely to keep on moving around in darker places. Dark nest boxes keep the chicken relaxed. When hens are less agitated they are less likely to trample on eggs. Limit also the number of chickens in a nest box. A typical nest box could accommodate four hens. Less hen for every nest box is better.

Do not feed the eggshells to the chickens. Gather the shells and clean up the coop, likewise, do not feed the dirtied eggs to chickens. Introducing the chicken to the egg will start them developing a taste for it that could start the habit. Chicken could also start pecking at the eggs if they are bored. Keep them busy by hanging vegetable scraps tied to a string for them to peck.

Collect eggs as often as twice a day if you can. That way you could monitor the production of the eggs better. When the eggs are reduced, and the causes are eggs that were pecked on, isolate the chicken pecking on the eggs. You could find that out when a chicken has egg residues in the beak. When the chicken is isolated, feed the chicken with liquid milk for a while. If isolating the chicken is not possible, try trimming the upper beak.

Another method to prevent the chicken from eating their eggs is to place golf balls in the nest box. Pecking on a golf ball will discourage the habit from forming. If you have done this and the egg supply does not return to normal, find out if rodents are getting into your nest box. Whatever the case though, prevent the chicken from tasting their eggs because when the habit is formed, it will almost be impossible to break.

Chicken Keeping Secrets - Guide To Keeping Backyard Chickens

Chicken Raising Tips: Gearing Up For Chickens

Certain equipments must already be present upon the arrival of the chickens in your own backyard. You have to be geared up before presenting your not so baby chicks outside the world. The transition period can be quite stressful therefore being prepared can help you rid of half of the stress.

You have to purchase a lot of items for your chicks to stay comfortable from where they would lay. You need to pamper them so that when selling or butchering day comes, there are no regrets.

1. Food

Without this, who will live? The food you will give will entirely depend on the kind of chicken that you have. But to sum it up, just give something that is “complete”. It must contain the right food substance that your chickens will need like carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and minerals and if the budget can still take it, buy them vitamins. There are two kinds of feeds: conventional and organic. Either of the two can be purchased online or at an agricultural poultry store.

If the time has come for your chickens to lay eggs or is about 20 weeks old, purchase a layer feed. But if they are younger than 20 weeks, starter feed is highly recommended.

2. Waterer and Feeder

Purchase a waterer and feeder that are suspended from the ground. They should hang at least a couple inches off it. A very good advantage when purchasing such items is that they will prevent your chickens from jumping on top of it and smudging off their feet filled with feces inside the container. An automatic refill feature is also included which is very reliable during times when you have to go somewhere and will take you a couple of days before you come back. Worry-free.

3. Bed

Yes, no matter how absurd it seems, you have to provide them with the proper bedding to keep them warm, comfortable, healthy and happy. But this doesn’t mean that you have to buy them sheets from Best Buy. Beddings can be in the form of a pile of clean haystack, old or used newspapers, or if you wanted it to be extra special, there are beddings that can be bought online or in a poultry store.

Beddings are best inside the coop where it can provide chickens a soft surface to roam around with. Beddings are also beneficial for your flock because it absorbs the odor and droppings. You don’t want a foul-smelling coop, right? Another advantage of the bedding is that is saves the eggs from cracking making it an area where eggs are safe to land.

There are a lot of bedding varieties. But whatever the bedding that you’ve chosen, always make it a point that it is at least two inches thick and is truly absorbent.

4. Dust Baths

If you see your chickens digging a shallow hole and creating a mess with dirt, they are dust bathing! Chickens enjoy bathing in dust. But did you know that when chickens take dust baths, they are actually protecting themselves from parasites and those creatures that find it interesting to live inside their legs and feathers. Therefore, it is necessary to have dust baths.

If you have a dry area in your chicken run that has patches of fresh ground, it’s the perfect spot to do their thing. But if your pen consists of entirely cement, worry not, because there are artificial dust baths available in agricultural stores.

Easy D.I.Y. Chicken Coop Plans

Keeping Chickens As Pets

Chickens by nature are evasive of human contact as most animals and birds are. Chickens raised as pets would not tend to run away as much when the bond and the trust have already been established. They would not mind too much the stroking and the cuddling when truly acclimatized to human contact. The chicken may run to you when they know that you bring a treat but that is just as far as it usually goes.

The evasiveness is not totally lost. From time to time, even, with the best care, they would try to steer clear of people. Staying clear out of people and other animals is its natural inclination and often its only defense to survive longer. To raise chickens as pets that will follow you around, seek your company and even nap in your lap, hand raise the chicken while still a baby chick. When the chick is handled gently and treated well, good bonding results, so does trust.

Chicks are one of those gentle precocious creatures and they are fun to watch and nice to have around. They could very well eat whatever little morsels given to them and walk around after hatching. Very young chicks though will need a heat source. In place of the mother hen, that provides the heat by gathering them under the wings, you will need a lamp as their source of heat.

You will also want a place to keep them. Young chicks would fit well in a shoebox or something similar so long as there are small openings for ventilation. Stuff the box with paper towels, as they are easier to replace daily. Clip the lamp in the lip of the box and cover it with cloth to regulate the heat. Ideally, the heat inside the box should be warm to the touch but not exceed 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

The chick will also need layers mash or starter mash inside the box and clean water. Provide the water in a shallow dish weighed down with pebbles to keep the water from spilling as chicks would scratch and walk about in the box. You would know if the chick in uncomfortable or hungry when they peep loudly, when not, the chick chirps contentedly. As the chick grows, food consistency will be different. Starting from a starter mash, it will need crumbles and then pellets. This is no cause for worry though as the feed is basically made of the same mixtures and components, the differences accounts for the degree of coarseness of the milling only.

As the pullets grow, it will eat just about anything that catches its interest. It will also need a dirt run, preferably a sunny spot, to take dirt baths on. For this reason, it is best to supervise its activity if you have a garden, as it would peck at grass as well as the next Begonia.

Keeping chickens as pets is great to those who love its very sociable nature.

Chicken Keeping Secrets - Guide To Keeping Backyard Chickens