Raising Chicken Tips: Producing High Quality Chicken Eggs

The effort to produce high quality food sources and quality farm products has been a major focus in all sectors of the food industry. For the average man working in the poultry industry, the changes, complexities, and practices in producing high quality chicken eggs and meat could be stressful if not bewildering, but what happens in the farm determines directly the quality of the products that the poultry produce.

In egg production, the main focus of safety is to prevent salmonella contamination. It is also the ensuring that the chicks and pullets are not harboring the bacteria. One effective way at preventing this from happening is insuring that the feeds used are free from pathogens. Regular vaccinations are conducted to assure that the flocks are healthy and the observance of proper sanitation, eggs washing and refrigeration is observed from the farm to the market.

Producing high quality chicken eggs is straightforward. It only requires keeping healthy hens that are free from infection. The things to do:

• Reduce stress in the chicken house. Chickens that are not over stressed are more resistant to infections. For this the chickens must not be disturbed, if that cannot be avoided, prevent disturbances to the least possible. Chickens are naturally evasive to contact from those that it is not familiar with, even unfamiliar human scent.

• Except for scheduled management and maintenance, the supply of water and feed must not be interrupted. Even when the chicken can do with yesterday's water, the water supply nonetheless should be as clean and uncontaminated as possible.

• Maintain ample spaces for hens. A layer would need 4 to 5 square feet in moving space. When hens are crowded, irritations between hens occur that leads to pecking and fighting disturbing egg production.

• Make sure that the chicken house is secured from other animals and unauthorized personnel. Contact with poultry must be minimized.

• Do not feed broken eggs to the chicken. Doing so will develop the habit and will start them pecking at eggs. Instead, clean the chicken house of all residues of the eggs and dispose of it immediately.

• Keep a clean chicken house. Cobwebs, dust, dirt, and broken eggs harbor bacteria. This includes good housekeeping in all aspects of egg production like, egg packers, conveyors, elevators, and egg belts.

• All eggs must be collected promptly. Collecting eggs twice each day works well for most farms. For bigger farms the collection must be done often.

• Eggs must be handled carefully to prevent cracks, washed, and refrigerated soon afterwards.

• It often happens that pesticides are to be used to aid sanitation and cleaning. That being the case, only use pesticides that are approved for egg production. Likewise, use chemicals only when necessary.

The above-mentioned guidelines are sufficient practices in producing high quality chicken eggs. For further assurance, a common test it to place the eggs between a light and the eye. The yolk of high quality eggs appears translucent. Those that appear cloudy are already stale and may no longer be fit for consumption.

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

Chicken Raising Tips: How to Choose a Chicken Breed

Chickens are wonderful animals. They are like the coconut. You see, the coconut can be used in many ways- from the leaves to the roots. In more ways than one, chickens are bred and raised because it entails a lot of benefits. In Asian countries, chickens can be eaten from beak down to its funny-looking feet. Thus, making it one of the sought after poultry products in the animal community.

Yet, chickens aren’t used only for food but for ornamental purposes. It all depends on the owner of the poultry farm if he’s going to raise chickens for food or for exhibition. Whatever the purpose is for these critters, you can settle on one simple question…what breed should you get?

There are actually four ideas to consider when choosing a breed – egg production only, eggs and meat combined, exhibition, and meat only. Aside from these four, people also account chickens as a hobby and they very well enjoy watching and caring for their chickens.

Egg Production

If you are concerned with only the eggs and are not really a fan of chicken form and features, white leghorns or Red Sex Links and Golden Cornets fits the job. These breeds lay eggs in a very excellent way. There is a point to ponder upon though, if you wanted white eggs, choose a chicken breed that have ear lobes that are white. But if you wanted brown eggs, choose a chicken breed that has red ear lobes.

Meat

In meat, you have to purchase a breed that grows quickly and weighs big like the Cornish Cross. It is a cross breed between a White Cornish and a White Plymouth Rock. These breeds weigh four to five pounds in six weeks and weighs more than 6 pounds within 8 to 12 weeks.

Eggs and Meat

Breeds that are dual purpose is a combination of a breed that is both having the talent of vast egg production and grows larger and faster than the rest of the species. One typical and popular example is the Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes and Sussex. They are both English and American breeds.

Exhibition

These are the kind of birds that are appreciated for their eloquent beauty and features. Every part of their feather-covered body must be exceptional. Usually those that are chosen to wind up in exhibition during fairs are those that are crossbred. Exhibitions shows for poultry raising are most popular in places like the Midwest and Indiana.

Usually, chickens are judged based on their color, breed type that’s supposed to be ideal, their body weight and shape, etc.

Bantams are one of the chicken types that outnumbered larger fowls during shows. They have a characteristic that a judge would adore – takes less space, easier to feed, eat less, and easy to handle. Their eggs are also expected to be small but are pretty much good for eating like other ordinary eggs. Some of the popular breeds of bantams are the Wyandottes, Cochins, Old English Game and Plymouth Rocks. These bantam breeds can most likely win in exhibitions.

Bantams are not the only birds that can have the right to the throne. Larger fowl breeds also hog the limelight. Some of these breeds are the leghorns, Rhode Island Reds, and Black Australorps. These breeds vary in their type, size, color, comb type and shape.

Easy D.I.Y. Chicken Coop Plans

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

Keeping Chickens For Egg Production

There is never any doubt that keeping chickens for their eggs is not only an enjoyable endeavor, but also serves to provide owners with a lot of profit. If the idea of raising egg-laying hens has entered your mind, a comprehensive plan that involves quality of feeding, proper environment, and stress management should be undertaken to get the best results for egg production.

But before we proceed with a contingent plan, an introduction to the fundamental facts involving the laying of eggs should be tackled. This can depend on a lot of factors.

When it comes to breeds, the leghorns start the earliest in laying eggs, which usually takes approximately 5 months, while the bantams and silkies start in about 8 months. Using this knowledge will help you prepare accordingly before the eggs start pouring in. Take note that hens that have just started to lay eggs do so in haphazard fashion, but will soon start to get their normal rhythm as the days go by. Commercial hens usually get replaced after two years, but some owners, especially those who keep their hens as pets, collect eggs even from those that have already reached the last stages of their lives. This won't pose a problem since hens are still very capable of laying eggs even in their later years, albeit a lot slower, until it eventually stops.

There are specific reasons on why chickens suddenly stop laying eggs, and owners need to be aware of the signs so that they will know when to act accordingly or when to let things take its natural course.

MOLTING - Molting is the process by which chickens shed their feathers so they can grow new ones. This normally happens during the autumn/fall, and takes about a month. Once they've grown new feathers, egg production should start as normal.

BROODING - There comes a time in the cycle of a hen's life when it starts to stay in its nest box without moving much. This is called brooding, which can cause your hen to stop laying eggs for some time. It takes about two to three weeks before the hen can snap out of its "catatonia" and start laying eggs again.

STRESS - It's been proven that the least stressed hens produce better eggs, and that stress affects the quantity of eggs a chicken can produce. A favorable environment and constant companionship for your chickens can alleviate this problem.

Chickens have an internal mechanism to keep themselves warm. This expends some energy, which is normally used for the act of laying eggs. Be sure to set up a heat lamp in the coop during winter so that your chickens can have more energy required to lay eggs. As was stated before, egg production starts to lessen as a chicken gets older, and stops in its fifth year. If this happens, we should give the hens enough courtesy to deem them 'retired' and just allow them the luxury of living out the rest of their years with their happy disposition in mind. Hey, after all the eggs they've provided, it's the least we could do!

Chicken Keeping Secrets - Guide To Keeping Backyard Chickens