Keeping Chickens and Selling Eggs From Various Breeds

By Tim Warrington

If you are planning on keeping a collection of chickens in order to supply the hatching eggs market then you will need to first decide what breeds of chickens you are going to have. You can buy in your breeding stock and it is probably a good idea to start off with about six different breeds. A variety of Leg horns are always a good idea and piles and Aruacana's are also popular birds. You may want to start off with adult birds and then you can immediately begin to collect the eggs. The first thing you will need to do is start to incubate your own eggs. There are various incubators out there that can hold different amount of eggs and you don't have to incubate on a grand scale. Hens will lay on average an egg a day but you must remember that in the winter month's egg laying will diminish and may disappear altogether. The time to collect and incubate your eggs is during the spring and summer. There is also a market for small chicks and POL (Point of lay chickens). However the most popular age to purchase chickens is about 20 weeks simply because most of the hard work has been done and the chickens are fed on adult chick pellets and this is also a good age to sex the chickens.

Hybrid chickens are also extremely popular and many people will want to purchase hybrids in order to have their own eggs. You should keep all breeds separate however and hybrids will need to be in their own enclosure, as will all of the other breeds. Keeping cockerels is a must if you are going to sell the eggs for hatching but one cockerel of each breed is enough. If you have more than one cockerel you run the risk of them fighting and sometimes they will fight to the death if they are evenly matched. Having more than one cockerel also can bother the hens and they may become restless. If there is constant fighting in the chicken pen this can cause stress and hens will temporarily stop laying.

Once your breeding stock is established you will be ready to start to advertise your eggs, remember to label and date your eggs to ensure you know what chickens they have come from and when they were laid. Once an egg has been laid it must be stored in a cool place and turned every day and all eggs shouldn't be kept for any longer than 10 days as every day after an egg has been laid it's fertility will reduce 2% every day.

ukchickens off a wide variety of chicken breeds as well as a wide variety of hatching eggs. We also offer advice and information on keeping chickens. http://www.fertilehatchingeggs.com

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

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5051019

Basic Care of Your Backyard Chicken Flock

Chickens are self-sufficient pets. As long as they have fresh water every day and a dry, clean coop to sleep in, they should be happy living in your backyard. You want to keep a clean coop to stop parasites and rodents from being attracted to your coop. Your cleaning can vary from how many hens, size of coop, etc. I do a weekly maintenance inspection and change floor bedding and nesting boxes if needed. Twice a year I do a deep clean and disinfect the entire coop from top to bottom.

Floor: Care can vary for the type of coop that you have. We use a portable coop that my husband built but I still put a piece of plywood in the run area with pine shavings. With our coop it is easy to remove the plywood if I just want to let the hens scratch up bugs and worms. We found that without the wood shavings they can create quite a mess digging up the yard. The plywood just helps with the cleanup by having a flat surface.

Floor covering options: pine shavings or sand (very coarse).

Sprinkle lime on the floor to help neutralize odors even before the wood shavings. Here is a good article regarding the use of lime in a chicken house - Liming the Chickenhouse. Some individuals have mixed emotions on the use of lime.

For lice and mice control use diatomaceous earth. Diatomaceous earth is a non-toxic, abrasive fine white powder made of the tiny fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of algae. If you ever take a microbiology class make sure you get to take a look at this algae under the microscope. They are absolutely beautiful! Diatomaceous earth is a 100% natural treatment for poultry ailments including mites, lice and intestinal worms. Sprinkle it in the nest box and run and coop bedding.

Nesting Boxes: Chickens like quiet, enclosed areas to lay their eggs. You can put straw or pine shavings in your nesting boxes and let them rearrange it to how they want it. I have heard that some people have problems with the hens laying their eggs in the corner on the floor but I have not encountered that problem yet. Our coop has two nesting boxes but for some reason the hens like to nest in the same box. Change the bedding when it looks like its getting dirty.

Roosts: Chickens like to "roost" on raised platforms. Its where they huddle together at night. Once it starts to get dark at our hen house don't even think about peeking in. We have one hen that will make crazy noises and even peck at you! Our roosting stick is removable so I will take it out at least once a month and give it a good scraping. Below the stick I used to lay hay down but found that cat litter works better. It is very easy to clean up. Learn as you go.....

Ventilation: It is very important to keep your coop clean and well ventilated. Ammonia fumes can build up and cause respiratory problems in your chickens. Ventilation also removes humidity and keeps the coop nice and cool in the summer and prevents frostbitten chickens in the winter.

Keeping of backyard hens is still controversial in cities. You don't want your neighbors complaining that it stinks! Keep your coop clean.

Feeding

Food: The best food for egg laying chickens is an organic feed. You can buy pellet or mash. Feed should contain nutrients, omega 3 oils, carbohydrates, protein and vitamins and minerals that your chickens need. Chickens will eat about 4 ounces of pellets a day.

Grit (small rocks): Chickens hold grit in their gizzards. A gizzard is an organ that ginds up feed making it easier to digest. Use more grit in the winter when rocks are harder to find. If you find that shells are thin and soft add oyster shells for calcium.

Oyster Shells: Give oyster shells to egg laying hens. It gives them extra calcium to help produce strong egg shells.

Scraps: Think of this as "treats". Chickens have their own likes and dislikes so see what your ladies like. This can be anything from fruits, veggies and bread.

Free Range:This is my favorite part. Let your hens out and let them run around the yard and let them look for their own food. Mine head straight for my perennial garden. There are some good nightcrawlers and bugs in their.

Water: Provide fresh water everyday. I sanitize the water containers once a week. If you use bleach make sure you rinse well.

Food Storage: Store in vermin-proof containers.

Health

Bugs: Keep an eye out for parasites, lice and fleas. You may need to give treatments if necessary.

* Provide a dust bath for your girls. This is where your chickens will roll, flap or run around in the dirt. It gets rid of bugs and lice naturally.

Stress: If your chickens are looking stressed find a cool dark place for them to go to and recover.

Miscellaneous Chicken Care

Handle: Don't chase your chickens or pick them up by the tail or wings. Get close to them by gaining their trust and confidence. Talk to them and give them treats. Gently pick them up and support under your arm. Patience!

Let Your Chickens Out: Let your chickens out of the coop to scratch and dust bath. I only let them out in the afternoons for a couple of hours under supervision. They destroyed my entire perennial garden one afternoon.

Watch for predators: Keep an eye out for neighborhood pest. This can be anything from cats, dogs, foxes, and racoons.

About the Author:
Tana Lyon can be found at http://www.backyardchickenfarmer.com and is always willing to answer any questions you may have regarding your chickens.

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

Building Chicken Coops to Earn Money

With the high interest in raising chickens in small urban farms on the rise there is a new opportunity for the enterprising person looking for ways to make extra money. All that is required is having basic woodworking and construction skills. Building chicken coops to earn money on the side can turn into quite a profitable side business as many people want to raise chickens but do not have either the time or the skills needed to build their own. If this sounds like something that might interest you then here are some tips:

Make Sure there is a Demand

Before you take up building chicken coops for profit you need to make sure that there is actually a demand in your area. While there are lots of people who are taking up raising their own chickens this does not necessarily mean that they all need someone to build their chicken coops. Many of them may build their own rather than pay someone else to do it for them.

Have Plenty of Options

In the world of building chicken houses there is no one size fits all and the more different styles you can offer your potential clients the better your chances of getting them to have you build one for them. You should be able to offer a selection of chicken arks, as well as various sizes of coops to capture the widest possible range of clients.

Guarantee Your Work

Building chicken coops can be a very rewarding job, but you must be prepared to stand behind the product you build. While this does not mean that you should be at the beck and call of your customers for life, you should be prepared to take care of the coops your build if anything should go wrong with your construction for a decent period of time.

Advertise and be Prepared to Deliver

If you want to build your business of building chicken arks you need to get the word out about your business. This means advertising everywhere you can think of especially free bulletin boards around town and in your local feed store. You can use your local paper as soon as you can afford to pay for advertising. You should be prepared to offer your first few clients a discounted rate to get the word out and be prepared to deliver not only on time but the best possible chicken coops you can at all times.

With a little hard work and determination you can build yourself a decent business building chicken coops. Done right this can become a very successful niche market as there are not too many people currently offering these services.

For expert and detailed step by step instruction on how to construct your own Chicken Coop visit How To Build A Chicken Coop

Buying a Chicken Coop can be quite costly, and you can easily build one for a quarter of the cost of buying...plus you have the satisfaction of knowing that you did it yourself. Check out how to build it now at How To Build A Chicken Coop

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

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

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

Small Business Opportunities

If you are looking for small business opportunities, you might not have to look too hard. You may find that they are waiting in you own back yard. Right now the push is on to go green and to eat only organic foods. Well you can actually lower your carbon footprint and eat healthier at the same time.

Your perfect small business opportunities start with a chicken. All you need to do is to build a chicken coop. There are lots of how to books available if you are not sure how to proceed, or you may be able to hire a handy man to build one for you. Then you need to contact your local feed and seed company and order in some chickens. All you need to do is to feed and water the chickens until they mature enough to start producing eggs.

Once your chickens begin to produce eggs, your small business opportunities begin to multiply. Now you have a great organic product in the eggs. People are crazy for organic products and you are helping with the carbon footprint because these eggs do not have to be trucked in to your customers. You are not wasting gas and you are not using electricity. Everything about your small business is green, how politically correct is that?

Other small business opportunities include selling the chickens to the meat eaters of the community and you can also sell the chicken fertilizer to local gardeners to get them started on their organic vegetable gardens. Just think you will be making lots of money while saving the environment.

If you need money now, like I mean in the next hour, try what I did. I am making more money now than in my old business and you can too, read the amazing, true story, in the link below. When I joined I was skeptical for just ten seconds before I realized what this was. I was smiling from ear to ear and you will too.

Imagine doubling your money every week with no or little risk! To discover a verified list of Million Dollar Corporations offering you their products at 75% commission to you. Click the link below to learn HOW you will begin compounding your capital towards your first Million Dollars at the easy corporate money program.

Quickest-way-to-make-money-on-earth.com

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

Owning Chickens - A Guide to Domestic Poultry

Why keep chickens?

Whether you are thinking about taking the first steps towards self sufficiency or you are simply looking to save money by producing your own food, chickens are the perfect way to start.


Owning chickens is great for the environment. You'll be reducing your carbon footprint with zero food miles on your eggs. You will also have a constant supply of free organic compost.
Chickens make excellent family pets. Many chicken owners say keeping chickens is less work than looking after a dog. Friendlier breeds are ideal companions for children, and are fun and educational too - teaching children where their food comes from and how to look after a pet.
There's nothing quite like collecting eggs fresh from your garden each morning. They taste wonderful. You'll never want to go back to supermarket eggs.
Gardeners take note: chickens will gobble up garden pests, so you'll no longer have to use unhealthy, polluting pesticides.
Recent campaigns by celebrity chefs have rightly made people aware of animal welfare on farms. With chickens in your garden, you'll have an intimate knowledge of exactly how the hens that lay your eggs are looked after. The cruelty of factory farming is well documented. Less well known is that even 'free range' chickens are often kept in crowded barns with little access to outdoor space and their beaks cut blunt to prevent them pecking each other.
Feeding and Caring for your Chickens

Chickens are not fussy eaters. Their main diet should consist of layer pellets or mash and mixed corn seed.
Chicks (age 0-8 weeks) should be fed chick crumbs, whilst growers (age 8-18 weeks) should be fed grower pellets or mash.
Chickens love treats, such as leafy vegetables, sweetcorn, fruit, or brown bread. These should be kept to a minimum to stop your chickens from getting overweight. Overweight chickens lay fewer eggs.
Do not feed your chickens meat, fish, or raw potato peelings.
Water should be topped up daily with at least 200ml per chicken.
Chickens need access to a dust bath to clean themselves. You will need to clean out their nesting area at least once each week.
The Cost of Keeping Chickens

Domestic chickens cost £8-£15, and are available from poultry farms and some pet shops. Alternatively, you could choose to rehouse ex-battery hens, available free or at very little cost from rehousing charities such as the Battery Hen Welfare Trust.

Your main outlay will be a coop and fencing for a run area in your garden. Choose a good quality coop to last your chickens for their whole lifetime and to keep predators out. Coops cost from around £100 for a basic model up to £400 for a top of the range design.

Feed costs around £10 for a 25kg bag. The amount that chickens eat will vary depending on breed type, the amount of exercise they're getting, local climate, and the type of feed you use. A small laying chicken will eat 100-150g of feed per day (costing you between 4 and 6 pence for feed per day).

Choosing a Chicken Coop

A poultry coop is the ideal home for your pet chickens. Chickens are sensitive to too much heat, cold, or dampness, and a coop keeps your chickens sheltered from the rain and cold. A secure, well-built coop keeps chickens safe from predators such as foxes and cats.

When choosing a coop, bear in mind that chickens need 1-2 square feet of nesting space and 3-4 square feet of outdoor space per bird. For a small number of chickens, a coop will provide all the space they need. For example, our standard 5'1" x 2'1" poultry ark is suitable for housing three small chickens. To keep more chickens in this coop, you would need to let them roam free in your garden or a larger pen for at least an hour per day.

During the daytime, chickens will need access to exercise space and a dust bath. Day and night, chickens need access to fresh drinking water.

Chickens can live up to 15 years, so it is important to choose a coop that will last.

Living in a coop will help your chickens feel comfortable and secure, so they'll produce more eggs.

Order a coop now so you'll have a home set up and ready for when your chickens arrive.

Edwin Lloyd is the Managing Director of My Greener Home (http://www.mygreenerhome.co.uk), a UK based website offering a wide range of products to cut your household bills. If you are seeing your gas, electricity, water or food bills rising then come to My Greener Home and we can help you push them back down again. With products ranging from energy saving bulbs through to water butts, My Greener Home will have something to make your home cheaper to run.

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

Raising Baby Chickens

A nonbreeder chicken will naturally get broody every spring. They'll begin to fuss and cluck more than usual, refuse to leave the nest and generally get maternal. Usually they lay a clutch of about a dozen eggs over a two-week period and settle down to brood them so that they hatch at the same time. After the chicks have grown, the hens usually molt their feathers and begin laying again until the following spring. Because of the mother hen's body warmth, the chicks don't stay too far from her during their first week or so.

You could gather about a dozen large eggs and incubate them yourself. You then have the trouble and bother of purchasing or making an incubator and brooder. Then you must keep it properly heated so the eggs hatch. You also could purchase newly-hatched baby chicks from a hatchery. Just make sure it is a reputable hatchery whose flocks are registered and guaranteed.

Chicken Feed - Chickens receive calcium-rich egg shells and clam shells smashed up real fine. Also coffee grinds, herbal tea leaves and citrus rinds. Chickens will eat your regular garbage leftovers from raw vegetables, suet and meat scraps.

Pecking Order - The young hens will chase one another around to establish the pecking order. The top hen can peck any other hen but won't be pecked. The number two hen can peck any other hen except the number one hen and so forth on down the line. Roosters tend to ignore all this but can get henpecked by any of the females. If a bird is pecked to the point of bleeding, the others will gather around it and sometimes peck it to death. In this case, segregate the bird, apply some purple genital violet horse liniment on the wounds. Keep it segregated until the wounds heal and feathers begin to cover the bare skin.

Diseases - If you get day old chicks from a reputable hatchery, you shouldn't have any serious disease problems. Occasionally a bird will just lie down and stop walking. Paralysis has probably set in and is incurable. The bird must be killed, but do not use it for food.

Intestinal worms are present in nearly all natural soils and are parasites to chickens. They are harmless unless they get into small chicks. Do not let the chicks onto soil until they are a month or more old.

By keeping chicken netting over the top of the run, wild birds that can carry cholera and other bird diseases can be kept out.

For more information on chickens please refer to the author's blog at http://buildingachickencoopebook.blogspot.com/

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

Bring The Chickens Home To Roost

With the rising cost of food, urban agriculture is becoming a hot topic. Growing your own food can be an exciting experience and help decrease your ecological footprint since your home-grown food requires less fuel to get to your plate. You may have already considered a garden, but what about a backyard chicken coop?

That's very nice in rural areas, you might say to yourself, but not in my backyard. You may surprised to know that there are plenty of cities that already allow chickens in urban areas, including Portland, Seattle, New York City, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, Austin, Denver, and Atlanta. You might already have neighbors with birds in their backyard. Roosters are not usually allowed because they can be noisy, but well-kept chickens won't make a racket.

In addition to being a cute, chickens can do great work for you. They are an optimum means of pest control - these cheerful characters will keep all sorts of nasty insects out of your garden including slugs, snails, earwigs and pill bugs. If you want a bed turned over, just let your feathered helpers go to work: they'll scratch up the earth and take care of weed control. If you have a compost, they can help with that too! The chickens will pick through it, eating a lot of it and helping to break down the rest. The birds' final product, chicken manure, makes an excellent fertilizer for the garden.

The best part is the fresh eggs that your chickens will lay for you. Imagine collecting your Sunday morning omelet fixings right from the backyard. Some studies suggest that free-range hens with access to pasture produce eggs with less cholesterol and saturated fat and more beta carotene, omega-3 and vitamins A and E. Whether or not your backyard eggs are better for your health, they always taste better when you raised them yourself!

There are a few basic needs that you will need to sort out before you procure your new feathered friends. Where will they sleep? How will you protect them? If you choose to let your chickens roam freely in the yard, you'll need to alter your yard to be sure those curious characters stay put. You might choose to use a portable chicken run so that you can rotate the areas being covered by your birds.

Feeding them isn't too hard if they have access to the yard and some greens (these birds love greens) - you may want to supplement with a bit of grain. Remember, chickens can eat a lot of things, but they shouldn't be fed any meal made of other chickens.

There are, of course, many different breeds of chickens and a little research will help you chose the best type for your needs and your location. Most species take at least six months to mature, so you won't be getting your eggs immediately, but don't give up hope - they're coming. In this case, the chicken definitely comes before the egg.

Let Jim Hirschman Realty guide you professionally through your Sarasota real estate transaction. Check SarasotaLandAndHomes.com to view all the Sarasota community listings, including Downtown Sarasota real estate.

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

Chicken Head Tracking VIDEO...

Silly Chicken Jokes, For Kids

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road halfway?
A: She wanted to lay it on the line.

Q: Why did the rubber chicken cross the road?
A: She wanted to stretch her legs.

Q: Why did the Roman chicken cross?
A: She was afraid someone would caesar!

Q: How did the wealthy rubber chicken cross the road?
A: In her Cadillac stretch limo.

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?
A: To prove to the possum it could actually be done!

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road twice?
A: Because it was a double-crosser

A farmer with lots of chickens posted the following sign:
"Free Chickens. Our Coop Runneth Over."

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

Understanding Breeds of Chickens

Understanding Breeds of Chickens
Group Specifics From Ornamental to Dual Purpose
Allene Reynolds

Chickens are kept for a variety of reasons; egg production, meat, pest control, even for ornamentation and show. Knowing the breeds will help decide the purpose.



There are two basic groups of chickens; large and bantam. Large breeds are generally classed by the country of their origin which includes England, Asia, America, the Orient, the Mediterranean region and Continental. Bantams are grouped by individual aspects such as feathering and the shape of their comb. Some are classified as game breeds, other ornamental.

Egg Producing Breeds
Some Mediterranean breeds are known for superior egg producing qualities. Among those are the Leghorns. Good laying hens of any breed have similar characteristics such as smaller bodies than those chickens used for a dual purpose. They mature early and lay early but they also, especially the Leghorns, have a nervous disposition and are hard to manage. Among the American breeds that lay abundant and good quality eggs are the Rhode Island Reds. They have a more docile personality and are easier to manage although the cocks can be aggressive. English breeds include the Australorp and the Orpingtons. All chickens, including bantams, lay eggs but if that is your primary reason for keeping chickens you may want to invest in a group specifically known for egg production.

Meat and Dual Purpose Chickens
If you want a good layer but also a chicken for meat there are a number of dual purpose breeds. Among these are the Plymouth Rock, the Wyandotte and the Sussex. Breeds better known for meat purposes, due to the size of their bodies, are the Red Sex Link and the Black Sex Link. The Red Sex Link is a cross between a Leghorn hen and a Rhode Island Red rooster. The Black Sex Link is crossbred from a Barred Plymouth Rock hen and a Rhode Island Red cock. Bantams are generally not kept as meat chickens because of their small size.

Ornamental Breeds
If keeping chickens for fun is what you want then you might consider the ornamental breeds. The Necked Neck and the Frizzle chickens are the most eye catching if not necessarily the most aesthetic. Necked Necks have feathers everywhere except their necks making it appear elongated. The curling feathers on a Frizzle chicken give it the appearance of just having a permanent wave. Other ornamentals include the Araucana because of ear 'tuffs' , their absence of a rump appearance, and the fact that they lay blue eggs. The Faverolle is a bearded, booted beauty with great personality. Almost all bantams can be kept for show and ornamentation even those classified as 'game' chickens.

Endangered Breeds of Chickens
As with all domestic animal and fowl there are some breeds that, for various reasons, become less and less popular until they reach the endangered species list. If you wish to keep chickens in order to preserve a strain that might be lost to the world then two North American breeds are worth your consideration. The Dominique, or Dominiker, is a beautifully barred chicken that claims the title of the first American breed. They were bred in the early 19th century and nearly became extinct until recent interest was sparked in preserving this dual purpose breed. The other is the Chantecler which is known as the oldest Canadian breed. It is rare to still find stock in these birds even in Canada. They, too, are dual purpose and were bred in the 20th century.



Read more at Suite101: Understanding Breeds of Chickens: Group Specifics From Ornamental to Dual Purpose http://domestic-birds.suite101.com/article.cfm/understanding_breeds_of_chickens#ixzz0dvZ3EKMA

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

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

Raising Chickens in Cold Weather

Is this your first winter keeping chickens? When the temperature drops, it's important to know how to properly care for your backyard flock. Here are some common problems, along with must-know tips for preventing them:


Frostbite. Shows up as white spots on their combs and wattles; the spots eventually blacken and the affected part falls off. Not a huge worry unless you have prolonged periods of subzero temperatures. Gobs of petroleum jelly will protect frosbitten parts and encourage healing. Also, a 100 watt bulb or heat lamp on a timer works wonders for keeping small coops above freezing.
Dehydration. Avoid this by making sure your birds always have fresh, non-frozen water to drink. Instead of a plastic waterer, put out a galvanized or rubber bucket of warm water each morning, replacing the previous day's bucket (which has probably frozen overnight). Electric warmers also work well, if you can afford the additional electricity.
Breathing problems. Don't try to warm your chicken house by closing up all the vents! Remember, chickens put out tons of moisture through breathing and in their poop. Humidity and condensation (which can lead to frostbite) get worse when the air doesn't circulate. Also, deadly ammonia from their manure will build rapidly.
Few or no eggs. Given a choice between staying warm and laying eggs, chickens usually divert most of their food energy toward making body heat. If your chickens stop laying, try to get them to eat more. An old trick is to pour some warm water over their feed.
Low light. Winter days mean less daylight -- which leads to fewer eggs. Another source of winter blues: Chickens won't eat in the dark. Fight this with artificial light: Use a 60-100 watt bulb on a timer to maintain about 14 hours of light each day. Early morning is a good time for the light to be on, since those are the coldest hours of the day. (Remember to turn off the light after sunrise.)

We've covered some of the important things to think about when keeping chickens in cold weather. Egg production may suffer, but health usually isn't an issue unless your birds will be exposed to subzero (F) temps for weeks at a time.

Do you want to learn more about keeping chickens, and how to properly manage and care for your flock? Visit Harold's Web site at http://chickenhousesonline.com

(c) Copyright -- Harold Blackmon, Jr. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

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

Keeping Chickens For Beginners

People who do not have experience in cultivating livestock do not have to worry since you can easily go about it. Experience maybe an advantage but not necessarily a prerequisite. You will be surprised that keeping chickens for beginners can be as easy as ABC. You just have to be aware of some important points which will help you to slowly get the hang of it. As you go through the whole process, remember that every step is a crucial one. This will help you to get a better understanding of the basics of raising poultry.

The first thing you should do is to assess the main reason why you have decided to get into this kind of industry. A lot of questions are probably running in your mind right now and you will surely get the answers as you learn more about it. Remember that passion gives you the drive to learn and improve yourself. Same thing goes with keeping chickens; you need to be passionate about what you are doing to yield good outcomes. It will be difficult for you to raise them properly if you are not even interested. People who engage in this type of industry are truly passionate about it.

Once you are certain about your purpose and you have already decided to commit to the craft then the next thing to do is select the right type of breed for your flock. Your intended purpose will be the basis of the selection. Be aware that there are three types of breeds available. These are the egg laying stock, meat-type birds and dual purpose breeds. Each of these birds is genetically cultivated to serve a specific purpose.

You will now have to decide how you would want to cultivate them. You have an option of caging them within a pen or let them enjoy the beauty of nature. If you have very limited space 3-4 hens is a good number to start with. You do not actually need a large number all at once. Do not forget that you are still learning you will need enough experience to accommodate a larger flock. In the meantime, try to go about a smaller group and learn from it. A larger space is a more conducive area since it will give them enough room. Allowing them to grow in their own habitat is proven to be an effective means of developing them properly. Also, you need to construct a coop to house your flock. Even if you decided to raise free range birds you will still need to have one.

When you have completely satisfied all the basic requirements of raising livestock then it is now safe to say that you are good to go. Keeping chickens for beginners is truly something you would look forward to. The idea of being challenge into doing something you are not used to makes it all the more interesting.

Discover The Secrets, Tips and Tricks To Raising Chickens At Home - In Your Back Yard - In The City or Suburbs!

Visit The Complete Guide to Raising Chickens at Home in Your Back Yard http://keeping-chickens.info.

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

Interesting Facts About Chickens

On average, a hen lays 300 eggs per year.

Nine egg yolks have been found in one chicken egg.

A mother hen turns her egg approximately 50 times in a day. This is so the yolk does not stick to the shell.

To produce a dozen eggs, a hen has to eat about four pounds of feed.

The largest chicken egg ever laid weighed a pound and had a double yolk and shell.

A chicken with red earlobes will produce brown eggs, and a chicken with white earlobes will produce white eggs.

A chicken is 75% water.

In the U.S., approximately 46% of the chicken that is eaten by people comes from restaurants or other food outlets.

Hens will produce larger eggs as they grow older.

A chicken loses its feathers when it becomes stressed.

A chicken once had its head cut off and survived for over eighteen months, headless.