How to Earn Money by Keeping Chickens

It is definitely not difficult to earn extra money or income for your family by keeping chickens. You can raise chickens easily at the backyard of your house.

But how can you make money by raising chickens? Its a good idea to engage your children in this activity. If they know for sure that they will get extra pocket money, don't you think they will help you in raising chickens?

Here you go...

1. How about selling those eggs in the market and earning an extra income? You can earn up to $2 or $3 for a dozen of eggs. Just think how much you can earn a day with a dozen of chickens at home and each laying a maximum of 2 eggs a day. It is definitely not huge money; however, an added or extra income for your family.

2. Rather than selling eggs you may sell baby chicks to local farmers for a good price.

3. Composted manure that you get by keeping chickens can be sold to gardeners as this is a form of natural manure.

4. You may even raise the chickens and sell them for meat.

Once you decide to make money by keeping chickens, take into consideration the space available for raising chickens and the amount of chickens you will be able to raise. Once this is decided, build a chicken coop. There are many ready-to-use chicken coops and runs available on the market or you may go in for a DIY chicken coop.

Jack Corrigan
jack.corrigan@chickens-at-home.co.uk
Articles, products and advice for keeping your own chickens at home.
http://www.chickens-at-home.co.uk

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Chicken Head Tracking VIDEO...

How to Increase Your Chickens' Health

You have to make sure your chickens have a lot of outdoor activity. It's good to have a chicken coop and a shelter facility for your birds, but sooner or later, you're going to have to let them go out and range in the open. Chickens need this for a variety of reasons - their emotional happiness being the foremost.

Chicken ranges vary depending on how you're letting them range, the size of the area you let them use as their pasture, and method that you use to keep them in. The type of pasture you use will have to be determined by the number of chickens that you own and the size of the ranging area that you have.

I mean, let's face it - you can't have a hundred-bird barnyard and keep them in an enclosure built for twenty birds. The land will be barren within days, if at all. What you want is to establish the kind of place where your chickens will be safe from the elements and still be able to graze a patch of land that won't die off due to the sudden influx of population.

Why do chickens benefit from chicken ranges? Simple - they need vitamins A and D. So yeah, what's the connection, right? Well, chickens are like human beings, in that their skin naturally generates vitamin D upon contact with sunlight. Meanwhile, the grass is a good source of vitamin A, among other nutrients.

Another good argument for letting them graze is due to the fact that they require ventilation. If you constantly keep them inside their coops for very long, they will be prone to diseases. Ranging will also give you a chance to clean their coops without any disturbance from the chickens as well.

There are a variety of ways in how you can set up your chicken range:

* The open-air coop is a simple set-up that you can build to make sure that your chickens are getting all the air they need.

* Management intensive rotational grazing is a type of yarding that changes the pasture area often so as not to deplete just one patch of land of its fertility

* Free-range pasturing is a method that employs a large tract of land with little or no boundaries to where your chickens can graze

Truth be told, there are other methods of letting your chickens graze. Do a bit of research before you start fixing your chicken range. Just remember - the idea is to let them roam about and give them plenty of fresh air and vegetation to eat, and you're sure to have a good brood of happy, energetic chickens.

Chad B. is an advocate for backyard chicken care and has been involved in raising chickens since he was little boy back in 1986. Find out more about chicken ranges and how you can get a free 10-lesson chicken raising mini-course by visiting Chad's site at http://RaisingChickenSecrets.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chad_B.

Keeping Chickens

Keeping chickens as pets is fun and useful. Chickens are easy to tame, not excessively noisy (as long as you don't have a rooster) and if you keep their house clean they are not dirty and are usually very healthy. Forget the old-fashioned barnyard full of dust and dirt; you can have a neat, pretty hen house in your backyard. You can buy a kit or a ready-made hen house from most pet shops or hardware outlets.

Chickens are good for your garden. They scratch around, disturbing any weeds and peck up garden pests like snails. They are good for fertilizing your vegies but make sure you compost the fertiliser first. It can be too strong in its fresh state. You can compost any food scraps the chickens don't eat, too.

Chickens love fresh fruit and vegetable scraps, crusts, and other leftovers but don't give them orange peel, they don't eat it. Make sure to clean up anything they don't eat because food scraps lying around are unsightly and can attract vermin. It's a good idea to have a quick cleanup before dark each day. A quick rake and scoop into the compost bin each day only takes a minute and you'll have a nice clean chicken house. Generally, chickens are very healthy and live for about ten years. They lay every day except in winter. As they get older, they don't lay as often.

Chickens can survive on garden scratchings and food scraps but they really should get some extra vitamins and minerals. The easiest way to feed them well is to buy some layers pellets. Get chicken pellets especially formulated for laying chickens because they contain all the necessary elements for healthy egg-laying chickens. You will want your chickens to be in peak condition because their eggs will be in peak condition. You will benefit from having the best quality and best tasting eggs you have ever eaten in your life. There is a difference in the taste of a happy, well-fed, backyard pet chicken and that of a cage-bred battery hen.

When you first crack open an egg from your chickens you will probably notice the yolk is a very rich golden colour. This is because of the healthy fresh greens your chickens get to eat. Battery hens only get pellets so their eggs don't have real, natural vitamins. All their vitamins are from pellets. The eggs taste best when they are fresh and you won't get any fresher than one from your own hens each day.

If you have no rooster, the eggs will not be fertilised. This means they will never produce a baby chicken. Some children hate the thought they are depriving a mother hen from her children. You can safely explain the eggs will never have chickens and your children can enjoy their gift from their hens.

Chickens are not clever like dogs and cats but they can be friendly. They like a daily routine, so if you feed them and clean their house at the same time every day they will come to enjoy your company, as long as you are not too loud or make sudden movements. It won't take long for them to come running every time they see you with their food bowl. If you like gardening they will 'help you' by sifting through the freshly weeded or turned dirt, looking for insects and snails. Their chatter as they scratch through the dirt is quite amusing.

Wendy Streater has been interested in natural products for over twenty years. After discovering some disturbing facts about the ingredients in regular household products, Wendy has set up a site http://www.naturallythebest.info devoted to informing everyone about the natural, affordable alternatives available.

There is a lot of things most people take for granted e.g., the government controls the amount of dangerous chemicals in toiletries and make-up. This is not possible, given the amount of new chemicals and combinations of chemicals developed every year. We need to take a proactive approach and look out for ourselves.

http://www.naturallythebest.info

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Wendy_Streater

Five Crucial Mistakes to Avoid When Choosing the Location For Your Chicken Coops Or Chicken Sheds

One of the most overlooked, but important decisions you can make concerns the location of your chicken sheds. Making the wrong choice can lead to disease among the flock, decreased egg production, dirty and unsightly eggs, and other negative consequences.

Mistake #1: Not Choosing an Area with Good Soil Drainage

Probably the one specific item that can take all the enjoyment out of growing chickens is putting your chicken sheds in areas with inferior water drainage. This can result in water buildup, sludge, soaked litter, sullied eggs, disease, and a lower number of eggs produced.

If the water does not drain well it will most likely result in mud production. When chicken droppings are included in the mixture of soil and water, it can produce a contaminated mire. This will be easily tracked inside the chicken shed where the litter, nesting boxes, water, and food are located, which can cause the litter to get soaked and the eggs and poultry nests to get soiled. Chickens need an unpolluted house to continue being happy and healthy and produce lots of fresh organic eggs.

Mistake #2: Constructing Poultry Coops that Face the Wrong Direction

When constructing a chicken pen you will need to face it southward if possible. This is mandatory in climates where the winter months are severe. South facing houses will have the highest sunshine which will serve some essential purposes. It will keep the chicken sheds a bit warmer through the wintry weather which will help the inner area remain drier. And remember, chicken sheds that are drier will provide you with extra eggs and fewer health disorders.

Mistake #3: Not Picking a Location with Decent Air Circulation

Sufficient air movement, along with correctly positioned windows, can allow clean air currents to flow all through the poultry house. This can keep strong odors from increasing to noxious levels and help the litter remain dry.

Additionally, take into account which direction the wind normally blows in your region. Chicken sheds will ideally not be placed in areas with no wind breaks. If there is the risk of intense winds in your location situate the coop in a site with a wind break.

Mistake #4: Not Putting Chicken Sheds Near Water and Electrical Outlets

Electricity and water are two factors that are not generally given enough attention before construction actually begins. In spite of this, manufacturing your shed in the vicinity of these sources will certainly save you a lot of work and help your hens supply you with more eggs.

Being in the vicinity of a water faucet will allow you to install a simple automatic watering system, eliminating the requirement of refilling the bird's water fountains each day. Electricity will allow you to add a light source in the interior of the poultry house if desired. Hens need a minimum of 14 hours of light each day if you want them to give you eggs steadily. During the times of the year with less than 14 hours of sunlight you can run additional light inside the shed which will usually keep the hens laying eggs on a regular basis even throughout the winter. It normally requires just a solitary low-watt light bulb to keep the hens laying eggs efficiently.

Mistake #5: Not Allowing for Upcoming Expansion

It is best to keep your options open. You may possibly assume that you will never want to keep a greater number than a handful of chickens, but it still pays to set aside a small amount of additional breathing room. Even if you don't expect to increase the number of chickens you keep, it is normally a fine idea to set aside adequate amounts of room to do so if you change your mind.

You may initially believe that just a few chickens is plenty and put up your chicken house where there is no extra space for future expansion. Then again, if something should cause you to change your mind and you decide to raise 20 or 30 hens you will want the additional room.

Joshua has raised chickens for over 25 years and has built all of his own chicken sheds during that time. He is an expert in raising chickens for meat and eggs. You can learn more about building high quality chicken sheds, raising chickens, and other valuable tips on his website at http://www.chicken-ark.net.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Josh_G._Harding

Why You Should Construct Your Own Chicken Coop

When you create your own chicken coop, this will not merely provide you with a self-sustaining mini farm, which generates fresh organic eggs daily, recycles food scraps and supply high quality fertilizer, but will also give you the added fun associated with constructing a coop on your own. Many people for a long time now have always been chicken keepers mainly for food reasons, but now there are other reasons why we raise chickens.

There was a rush of attention in chicken keeping, publicized by celebrity chefs bringing the buzz of troubles with battery reared hens, high prices at stores and reported credit crunch. The concept of keeping chickens in your lawn and the thought of acquiring fresh eggs from your own hens doesn't make you different from those who have home farms on their own.

Raising chickens is an economically smart hobby. If money is not a problem, then there are lots of fancy ready made chicken coops which you can avail from several chicken keeping shops. If funds is tight, you may opt of create your own chicken coop with just scraps of wood dumped in your garage or backyard.

Chicken coops simply require being big and comfortable enough for your chickens to stay during the night, and big enough to extend their wings during the day. The coop should be a place where the chickens can comfortably lay their eggs on.

When you are searching for ways to construct your own coop for raising chickens here are some of the plans which you can follow in order to come up with your own design.
There are no fancy equipments needed to design your own chicken coop all you need are basic tools such as handsaw, drill, hammer and some other materials that are readily available in hardware shops.

When you construct your own chicken coop you will be able to acquire the following advantages:

• Save you more money from buying the premade kits
• You are assure that you have created a warm and soothing environment for your chicken to lay more eggs
• You will acquire fresh organic eggs daily
• You can put up your own security measures against predators like cats, hawks, foxes and coyotes
• You are able to secure your chicken from the worst weather condition and sustain their health
• You will be able to lengthen the lifespan of your flock since you are able to give them a healthy environment

Before you start to breed chickens, make sure that you begin with a small flock. From there you will have to build a bigger coop so they will have more room. Select a location from which they will have enough sunlight to help them lay more eggs.

Being able to choose the right materials and the correct Chicken Coop design can save you hours of work and a lot of money. If your looking to save time and money when building your own Chicken Coop then building your own Chicken Coop may be the perfect solution, find out more here;

How to build a Chicken House.

Download your Chicken Coop plans right now, illustrated colour designs and a clear and concise guide to becoming self sufficient, saving money and time.

Click here to find out how to build a Hen House.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Will_Blears

Why Keep Chickens?

With the current global financial situation, affording a decent life is becoming increasingly hard. Prices of food items like all other commodities are on the rise. To survive these hard economic times many people around the world are now opting to grow their own food and rearing animals and birds to provide nutritional supplements. This applies to both the rural and urban setups. Scenarios of suspended farms on roof tops, chicken coops at the backyard etcetera are becoming a common phenomenon in the urban areas. As the prices of food products escalate, the cost of chicken and chicken products are not spared either. Keeping your own chicken can help save a lot on the cost spent buying chicken and related products as well as generate income from the sale of some products to neighbours.

The cost of keeping chicken is perhaps the lowest compared to other farm animals. They are cheap to buy and the cost of their maintenance is also low. The number of chickens to keep depends on a number of factors which include the requirements for eggs and meat on a daily basis, the size of your compound and whether or not you will be selling some eggs and meat to neighbours or friends. With an area of approximately six square feet you can keep a flock of between four to six birds which are enough to provide a family with a constant supply of eggs. Selling extra eggs and sometimes chicken, will help earn a few dollars on a regular basis which though unnoticeable at the time, will go a long way in complementing the normal family income. With the current economic times this can be a great boost.

Chicken products (meat and eggs) are rich in a variety of minerals, which include high percentage proteins, carbohydrates, Vitamins (A and D) and choline. These are the main components of a balanced diet, important for healthy living of your family.

Raising chickens should therefore be the dream of any home owner either in the rural or urban areas due to their ease of management and their contribution to the family well being both in terms of diet as well as increased income. This practice is a wonderful adventure which calls for a bit of commitment and investment as all animals either pets or domestic animals require management. For anyone interested in keeping chicken, making a choice on the chickens to keep would probably be the first thing to do. This will depend on whether you want your chicken only for eggs, meat or as pets. Whether you like to have good looking chickens around your compound or not is also a factor to consider. A good way to approach this is to get advice by talking to a breeder who should direct you on the best breeds for you. Breeds like White Star, Isa Brown, Loman and Black Rock are good layers and would be good for one interested in keeping chickens for eggs. Finding out about any restrictions by the local authority is also important before one starts keeping the birds.

If you found this article helpful and would like to learn more about choosing the right chickens to keep you can find lots of useful information at chicken keeping answers

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jason_H_Perry

Feeding Chickens VIDEO...

Raising Chickens Pros and Cons

There are so many reasons why someone would want or wouldn’t want a chicken in their backyard. There are debates about it and here are some: Pros 1. Costs incredibly cheap. When we say cheap, not only does the chicken itself count but also the maintenance of it all. Compared to keeping a dog or a cat for a pet, it is much cheaper to take care of a number of chickens most likely because they are not choosy when it comes to food
. You can feed them scraps and table leftovers and they will happily gobble it up. With as little as $2 a day, you can spend on a bunch of layer mash. 2. You can get something from them. Eggs. Meat. Ornament. Who wouldn’t want it? In terms of eggs, it is seldom that you encounter a chicken that can’t lay eggs. It is a good source of iron, which is good for the brain. You could either sell these eggs or keep them in your fridge. With meat, every part of a chicken can be eaten. Yes, every. In cases of those who don’t want to see their chickens go bye-bye, they raise them as pets and for exhibition purposes. 3. Low maintenance. Unlike dogs who need everyday grooming and cats who need your undivided attention, chickens need none of those. You don’t have to bring them to your vet every once in a while to take shots and doses of vaccines. All you have to do is feed them and supply clean water every day. Their coops must be cleaned at least once a week or twice every month depending on the number of chickens that you own. 4. Fertilizers for free and an instant pest control agent. These are the two things that chicken raisers love about owning a chicken. When you allow your chickens to roam around your backyard, it is in their nature to peck on whatever it is that catches their interest and their hunger. Chickens love anything that came from the ground most especially the ones that are moving. They eat insects, bugs, worms and the like. For them, these are special treats. Furthermore, it is in their nature to eradicate their internal wastes anywhere they please. But their poops are considered as natural fertilizers that the ground needs to grow plants and root crops in a healthy state. Cons 1. They are not the best guard pets to have. While chickens can coo and make familiar sounds, it is not in their nature to bite or coo on anyone they see who looks suspicious. All they can do is grow, eat, and lay eggs. They are also not the ideal pets you would want to have especially if you need a response like waggling of the tail or a purring sound. 2. Chickens are messy. Indeed. Plus, their poop smells terrible that it can reach certain areas in your house. If you’re the type of person who doesn’t want to go through enduring hours of cleaning, chickens aren’t really the pets for you. 3. One for all, all for one. Well, in terms of getting sick this is a con. Because when one catches flu, everyone gets it too. And if one dies because of that flu, it is expected that every single chicken living with that infected chicken who also got that flu is also going to die after a few days. http://how-to-raise--chickens.blogspot.com

More People Are Raising Chickens

There is a movement across the nation, more and more people are starting to raise chickens. Whether it be the state of the economy or people just wanting to get back to the basics--people are looking for ways to be a little more self-sufficient and having eggs supplied by your own animals is one of many ways. Along with the interest in raising chickens you need to be aware of some of the poultry equipment required to maintain your new flock. Some people just jump right in without a thought--kind of like I did in the beginning--my husband brought home six chickens and we scrambled around looking for temporary housing until we could build better and something to dispense their feed and water. If you have a choice, first determine what is needed to start raising chickens and then get your chickens.

What comes first--the chicken or the chicken supplies?
At a local farm supply store I noticed a lady had purchased a new baby chicken and along with the chick she had a chick feeder, a chick waterer, and who knows what at home that was waiting for her new little chicken. She probably is not aware within a few weeks the baby chickens will about double in size and will not be able to eat out of the chick feeder without opening the top and the waterer will not hold enough to give them an adequate water supply. These are some of the things that you learn from experience in raising chickens. If I was considering raising a few chickens in my backyard for the first time, here are the preferred chicken supplies I would have on hand:

1.Chicken House--when raising chickens the chicken needs a place to call home. Whether it be a chicken tractor, a chicken coop, or a livestock barn, give the chickens a place to get out of the rain, lay an egg, and roost at night. Baby chickens require an area with a heat source for a short time so the housing requirements will be different.
2.Poultry Equipment--this includes the chicken waterer, poultry feeder, and nesting boxes. The type of poultry equipment you purchase depends on the age of the chicken. The feeder and waterer requirements for baby chickens is different than adult poultry. You will need the regular feeders at some point. Unless you buy a pre-fab chicken house most do not come with nesting boxes so you will need to supply the area where you want to gather the eggs.
3.Used Poultry Equipment--there are many sources to purchase used poultry equipment and the first place I usually look is Craigslist and from there I search for any local livestock or small animal auctions. And don't forget your local trading posts papers. We have one that comes from our local electric company and sometimes they have some items at good prices.
4.Chicken Feed--when you bring home your new chickens one of the first things they want to do is eat. Again what type you buy is determined by the age of the chicken. There are a variety of chicken feeds out there so do your homework to choose the one that is right for you.
5.Storage Containers for Poultry Supplies--what do I mean by this? Somewhere to keep your food and grain so other animals do not have access to it. The likelihood of attracting critters of some sort is very high with all the scratching a chicken does in its food that helps to spread it around. I use metal trash containers and they do the trick. I keep my food supplies in one and my chicken equipment in the other.
I have been raising chickens for over five years now so I have my preferred methods of feeding and watering along with my preferred poultry equipment, some homemade and some store bought. If you are just starting out and not sure where to turn, visit your local feed store. Check out their prices and then compare them to the online stores. Most of the time you will find if you buy local you will save on the shipping costs. And there is the chance that if they do not have what you are looking for they will order it for you.With the interest in raising chickens you need to have the correct poultry equipment to maintain your new flock.

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Secrets to Raising Healthy Chickens on a Small Budget

There are two mandatory ingredients for raising chickens as far as health is concerned. One is food and the other is shelter, which often comes in the form of a chicken ark. Chicken arks are also known as chicken coups, chicken sheds, hen houses, chicken pens, chicken runs, poultry housing or a whole assortment of other names. Once you have purchased a good set of chicken house plans, and after you have built your chicken ark, you will find that the next step, after adding poultry to your chicken coup of course, will be to provide healthy and nutritious food to your birds.

The health of your pullets has a lot to do with the type and quality of chicken ark that you provide for them, but it is also dependent on giving them a high quality feed. To raise chickens that will provide you with the highest production, in other words the highest quality and quantity of eggs, you must be certain that your chickens are healthy and happy by feeding them a well balanced diet.

First, you can let them free range for all of their food. This is easy since all you have to do is provide them a portable chicken coop. Plus it will save you some money. Unfortunately, it will also cause your egg production to plummet. Second, you can prepare and mix your own feed by following one of the many online recipes that will include grains and fish meal. Next, you can buy premixed rations, which will take all of the guess work out of mixing your own. And lastly, you can use a combination of the previously listed methods.

If you are looking to avoid any extra hassle, the easiest way, although it is the most expensive, is to purchase a premixed package.

Chickens need animal protein, which naturally comes in the form of bugs, but it should be supplemented with grains and fish meal. These foods will keep chickens healthy and productive for many years. Some pullets can continue laying for 10 or 12 years when provided with this type of diet.

Allowing them to forage for their own food is a natural and normal activity, but you should also realize that letting them scratch, hunt and peck for food around their chicken ark too long makes it possible to for them to devour too much of this free food. This is a sure-fire way to reduce their egg production and a compromise needs to be made. Allowing your poultry to free range in limited amounts will save you money on feed, while still allowing your chickens to remain healthy and productive in the chicken coup.

Another choice is to buy a prepackaged feed. This is the easiest, but most costly method. All you have to do is read the package to make sure it is for the right type and age of bird. Each feed is specially formulated to give a particular breed what it needs nutritionally. Sex also plays a factor, so if you are raising pullets, you will want to purchase feed that is formulated specifically for them, which means it will contain more calcium along with the proper amounts of protein and other nutrients.

If you are doing your own mixing, you will need to do more research. For beginners it is usually wise to begin their new hobby by purchasing chicken feed at the store. As you become more experienced, you will be able to save money by mixing your own. You will also learn how often to allow your poultry to scratch around their chicken ark for juicy bugs and plants.

An ideal situation for small backyard farmers is to use portable chicken coups. This way, the hens can free range in a small area, pecking around happily for big fat bugs and succulent plants, while still getting their staple of prepackaged or self-mixed food. When you are ready to allow your birds some greener pastures, you will simply move the portable chicken ark and let them do more hunting in the new location. By allowing them free range opportunities, it will save you money on feed while still giving them the protection from predators that portable chicken sheds can provide.

Remember, the two most important aspects of raising healthy and productive chickens are food and shelter. Well-built stationary chicken coups will provide the shelter, while a portable chicken ark will provide the shelter along with plenty of free food that your birds will savor. This can give you the best of both worlds, by lowering your feed costs while maintaining the productivity of your chickens.

Mr. Harding has quite a lengthy history when it comes to raising chickens. He has raised many breeds of chicken along with a variety of other poultry for both meat and eggs. If you are interested in raising chickens in your own backyard, you will find valuable information on his web site at chicken-ark.net. Learn the 3 things you need to know before building your own chicken ark. Also available are entertaining reviews of products about building chicken coups.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joshua_Harding