An adult hen will usually five to seven eggs a week. Chickens predominately lay eggs in the morning. You can check your nesting boxes each day for fresh eggs from your hens. You do not need a rooster in order for your hens to lay eggs. A rooster is only needed if you want fertilized […]
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Mites and other blood-sucking insects can pose a very serious threat to your flock’s health and safety, with health effects ranging from itchy or scaly skin to anemia and even death. Fortunately, both the prevention and the cure to an infestation of mites are relatively easy, and they all come down to keeping your chickens
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Chicken noises can generally be grouped into four categories—alarm noises, conversational noises, reassuring noises, and proclamation or assertive noises. Alarm noises include noises to signal for the presence of predators and or other threats, conversational noises include chatter between members of the same brood, reassuring noises are generally exchanged between mother hens and chicks, and
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Our feathered friends are flocking all happily around their pen or free-ranging around the plains when they are suddenly plucked from their haven. Foxes are a vigilant predator so it’s important that we learn how to keep foxes away from chickens. No matter whether you are in the planning stages or already have an established
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Flocks have a social hierarchy that is referred to as their “pecking order.” Chickens are always going to mildly peck each other to determine this order, but the problem comes when they start injuring each other to establish this. To get a handle on this pecking order, let’s look at the different types of pecking
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Raising chickens has become a natural thing for many. Over time many of us replenish our flock or replace the ones that you have used for food or lost. Sadly, mixing new flock isn’t as simple as putting them in the same coop as your existing flock. Check out these suggestions! Why It Can Be
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In this article, I’ll discuss some of my hard-learned best practices for catching chickens. It’s not difficult, but doing it right is important for the safety of the animal. The Best Case Chickens are easiest to catch when they’re hand-tame and bonded to you. This will make it easier to handle the chicken for medical
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Molting is a period when chickens lose their feathers and grow new ones. Chickens usually molt every year, and the annual molt will last between eight and 12 weeks. Chickens most commonly molt during fall and winter, and they usually stop laying or reduce egg production during that time. Although most chickens molt on an
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As a rule of thumb, if you free-range your chickens, they will need a coop of about 3 to 4 square feet per chicken. If the chickens will be confined to the coop, you’ll need a run of about 10 square feet per bird. Chickens that are allowed to free range and forage in the
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The cost of raising chickens will vary depending on several factors, but you can get started with a backyard chicken-setup for less than $1,000, or $500 if you’re thrifty. Monthly maintenance for a handful of chickens usually costs around $20 per month after the initial setup period. Factors that influence the cost of a backyard
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Experts recommend that you have one nesting box per five chickens. Best practices for animal welfare and husbandry recommend no more than three to four hens per nesting box. The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs recommends no more than seven chickens share a nesting box. As you can see, there is a fair
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The best method to determine the kind of chicken you have is assess 6 key indicators. These indicators are: Feather color, type, and pattern Size Egg color Comb Body shape Spurs So if you already have your chickens settling into their new home, and you want to know what kind of breed you’ve got, or
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Free range chickens can provide an easier form of raising chickens than chickens that are enclosed in a coop at all times. However, unless you live in an extremely temperate climate, the ins and outs of when to let your chickens roam free can be a cause for concern, especially in the cold winter months.
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The classic chatter from chickens is one of the most widely recognized sounds in the world, but what does it all mean? The constant clucking, cackling, and crowing is a form of language like most other noises, and while it can all seem a bit disorganized, it’s absolutely not meaningless. Like nearly every other form
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The best thing about raising chickens is that chickens can eat just about anything. While there are certain foods that they have to avoid, for the most part, chickens are incredibly resilient and can adapt to a varied diet. Whether your chickens are free range or barn raised, the wide variety of foods that they
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Stressful transportation can be one of the leading causes in illness in chickens, and can lead to weight loss, anxiety, and poor egg production. Obviously, transportation is a crucial part of caring for chickens, but the primary areas of concern when taking your chickens anywhere are air, water, and safety. While taking care of these
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The Lifespan of a Chicken How long do chickens live? Chickens live for between 5 and 10 years, but factors like quality of life, breed, and the environment play a significant role in their lifespan. Chickens in commercial farms obviously do not live nearly that long as they’re raised solely for their meat. When raised
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The answer to this question can vary from person to person depending on their need for chickens. Someone who wants chickens for meat versus an individual who wants chickens as pets can change the factor to this equation. Normally, an average livestock keeper holds anywhere from 12 to 15 chickens; 14 hens and one rooster.
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