Keep Your Chickens Laying For an Amazing 12 Years

If you want to raise happy, healthy and productive chickens, your main concern should be the quality of feed you offer them. With all of the options for feeding your flock, it can be a daunting task to select the right method for you. One solution is to let your chickens roam around the yard, hunting for their own bugs and wild plants. This approach however, will drop their egg production to oblivion due to filling their stomachs with protein-lacking grasses instead of high-protein foods. Another choice is to use a premixed vegetarian diet, possibly this same type of diet with the addition of animal proteins. The last method that we will be covering is mixing your own feed grains.

Before we get into our lengthy discussion on chicken feed, let us first mention another important element, which is an integral part of feeding your chickens; hen houses. The reason I bring this up now is because, as you will soon see, hen houses also play a major part in feeding your flocks. Whether you call them poultry houses, chicken coops, hutches, pens, runs, or any other name, they are all the same. And properly constructed portable hen houses can provide valuable protein which can help keep your chickens healthy while saving you money on store bought feed at the same time.

The mass producers use a strict vegetarian diet due to the fact that their old style of feeding, using feed that included animal proteins, had the potential to pass animal diseases to their flocks. The no-animal-protein diet eliminates the risk of these serious diseases, which have been known to kill thousands of birds in a flock. The negative side to this diet is that it is possible for the birds to end up with protein deficiencies if care is not taken to mix the feed properly.

The mass producers obviously want their chickens to be as healthy as possible, but that is not their main objective. They are driven by the questions "how many eggs am I going to get and how much is it going to cost me?" Since they typically replace their laying hens every year they are not as worried about keeping them active and healthy for 10 or 12 years as they are getting the most production at the cheapest price. The home grower of chickens on the other hand, can use feeds containing animal protein relatively risk-free, so it is not as worrisome for the backyard enthusiast raising just a small number of birds. Backyard farmers can also let their flocks graze around the chicken coup for a portion of their protein in the form of bugs and insects, which has the added advantage of lower their feed bill.

The simplest and quickest approach is to get feed that is already premixed for you, where the feed is already packaged and bagged, ready to distribute to your birds. This approach saves time and work, but it also means higher feed bills. You can save money while still getting the same results mixing your own feed. You buy the individual elements and mix them on your own. It does not take a lot of work to do.

The final alternative we will mention is allowing your chickens to forage for their own food, but there are two potential problems here. One, if they roam unconfined they can quickly become the prey of a predator or neighborhood pet. Also, they can end up eating too many grasses and too little protein, and this will dramatically decrease egg production. Both of these problems can be solved with the help of portable hen houses.

As I said previously, portable hen houses are a terrific way to help you save money on feed. With poultry houses that are movable there are inside and outside sections, and your flock can find a portion of their food in the outdoor area. When your birds have eaten most of the grasses and plants in one area, you simply drag the portable poultry housing over to a new area where there are plenty of new plants for your chickens to feast on. It is the circle of life, simply moving your hen houses to new vegetated areas, so the recently used areas will have a chance to grow back their greenery. This is the best way to lower your feed bills while still giving your chickens a reason to be happy and healthy.

Mr. Harding has raised chickens and many other types of poultry since 1981. Feel free to visit his fun for more information about chicken feed along with exciting details about building your own hen houses. Also find entertaining reviews of products regarding poultry housing. You can visit his web site at hen-houses.org.

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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.

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Chicken Nesting Boxes Simplified

Those of us keeping Chickens are often looking for way we can keep our costs down. This can be done by trying to build Chicken nesting boxes for free or at very little expense. If you think about it there are lots of things that may be suitable for the purpose.

A Chickens nest box does not have to be complicated and you may find that you have things laying about that will be very useful for the purpose. Think about what Chickens would like to lay their eggs in and take it from there. They are not fussy birds and anything of suitable quality may just be ideal as a Chickens laying box.

Anything that is plastic has an advantage in that it is easy to keep clean. Cleaning out Chickens is a bit of a chore so it is in our best interests to make the area where they lay their eggs as easy to clean as possible. Something that can be wiped down in a short space of time means that it will be done more often. It also means there is less chance of bacteria building up where they lay their eggs.

So what could we use? An old washing up bowl would be ideal. If you can cut a little opening in to the bowl then the Chicken will have easy access to the bowl and will be more than happy to lay its eggs inside. A chickens nesting box can be as simple as this if there are monetary concerns. Chickens are really not fussy birds at all.

Of course you could also try old crates and wooden boxes as nesting boxes for your Chickens. If you have a surplus of these the you may find them ideal. Anything wooden is harder to keep clean though but if it is what you have then it may be worth trying. If you have lots of old crates then it makes more sense than throwing them away.

If you use a crate of some sort make sure to cut down one side so the Chickens can gain easy access to the area where it will lay its eggs. You want to make it as easy as possible for the Chicken to enter. This way it will get used to its new box quicker.

Although there are a lot of very reasonably prices Chicken nesting boxes on the market, if you have limited funds then these ideas may well be worth a try.

Find all about Chicken Nesting Boxes at the authors site. Nesting Boxes for Chicken made easy.

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What Breed of Chickens Lay Brown Eggs and at What Age

There are all kinds of myths and misconceptions about what chicken will lay what kind of egg. You may have heard that the color of the chicken plays a role in the color of the egg, this is a common misconception. Below are some of the most common chickens that lay brown chicken eggs as well as the age you can expect them to begin producing.

Golden Comet Chickens

Golden Comet Chickens lay beautiful brown eggs and although some people believe rich in color rich in taste white eggs are just as nutritious as brown. These chickens mature at an early age, generally laying by 4-5 months and they lay golden brown eggs of excellent quality. The size of the egg is most always either large or extra large. She is a low maintenance bird that does not need protection from colder weather.

A Golden Comet Chicken is a quite a quiet bird. She is the perfect bird for your back yard, or smaller egg hatchers because of their low maintenance. Golden Comet Chickens are golden red and has beautiful white under feathers. However, you can also find these hens with White feathers with red tips.

Rhode Island Reds

Rhode Island Red chickens will also lay beautiful large brown eggs. They are used for both meat and egg laying; this is what you call a utility chicken. They are one of the more beautiful chickens around; they have reddish and maroon feathers with red/orange eyes and yellow feet. One of their other beautiful features are their reddish brown beaks. The Rhode Island Red is also a show bird because of their beauty.

Rhode Island Reds lay a variety of brown eggs some are light brown and other can lay very dark brown eggs. They can lay 250 to 300 eggs a year. These eggs are almost always extra large eggs. These hens like to be feed more and have a great diet they also like to have good weather standards of comfort, such as cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The better treatment they have the more and bigger eggs they will give you.

Conclusion

The most common way to find out what color egg your chicken is going to hatch is to look in their ear area. There is a tiny tuft close to where the ear would be that would tell you what color the eggs they will lay will be. You cannot look at the total color of their feathers to tell what color eggs they will be hatching. Here are several other varieties of chickens that lay brown eggs are:


White, Silver Laced, and Columbian Wyandot
Light Brahmas, Buff Rocks, Delaware, Sussex, Turkens
Buff and White Orrington's
Red Star and Black Stars
Golden Comet Chickens and Rhode Island Reds are two of the most beautiful chickens that produce brown and larger eggs than others. Both of these birds would be great choices for laying hens, and the Rhode Island Red can even be used for meat.

Suzie O'Connor is the owner of ChickenHousesPlus.com which carries a variety of fertile chicken eggs and eggs for hatching. The site also offers an extensive library to help customers raise happy, healthy chickens. The company is located in sunny Florida and can be reached at 866/579-1347.

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

Raising Chickens - The Benefits of Keeping Chickens As Pets

Keeping chickens as pets has actually become quite popular these days. But if you are someone who lives in an urban area you need to check the rules and regulations with the local zonal authorities, so that you don't have any difficulties with the law in the future. There are some cities which have strict rules and regulations against it.
People usually want to keep chickens as a hobby nowadays. You can also keep a few hens, if you have children as these provide excellent sources of entertainment for them. If you keep your chickens as pets and give them a little training, they will even start to peck food out of your hand. You can even talk to them and they will listen. Often these chickens even learn to follow you wherever you go.
Moreover if you keep a chicken as a pet, your children will play with them, learn to give them food and older children will even help you raise chicks. There are various advantages to keeping chickens at home, you get a fresh supply of eggs everyday, throughout the year. A chicken will usually produce eggs for 4 to 5 years and they will live for almost 15 years!
On top of this, the chicken manure you get is full of nitrogen so you can use it as a fertilizer in growing small gardens. There are a few disadvantages to keeping chickens as pets, especially in a city. The first being lack of space. Again the manure which we have talked about needs to be utilized or else disposing it turns out to be quite a headache. There may just be some laws which won't even let you keep chickens in gardens.
But let's look on the bright side. It's very easy and simple to keep chickens, unlike other pets. You barely need a maximum of 10 to 15 minutes to play with the chickens' everyday. Now when you go for buying a chicken, make sure that you get a good breed which has all the vaccinations given.
You should also try and avoid roosters as they are impossible to take care of. They are also quite loud and very aggressive. You children can even help you with your chickens. They can feed them and change the water everyday. You can give them table scraps, wheat, corn or even soaked bread.
Another thing you could do, if you want to keep chickens as your pets, is read up books on them. Go in for some research and this will help you out a lot.
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Raising Backyard Chickens For Fresh Eggs

Backyard chicken raising is easier than you might imagine. As a first step you will need to know how to build a chicken coop . Once the building is over the fun begins and raising baby chickens can be a lot of fun. Additionally it is educational for kids and has the added bonus of producing farm fresh eggs right from your backyard. Here are some other reasons for Backyard Chicken raising:

1. Chickens love leftovers

A chicken's appetite is incredible. They can eat almost everything, even their own kind! You can now say bye-bye to those unwanted leftovers being left to rot in your fridge. No more throwing leftovers into the garbage can. Plus, you can save on chicken feed. But be very careful with what you give your chickens for it may be their last supper. Unfortunately backyard chickens can't eat everything. For example tone down on the onions and garlic.

2. Farm Fresh Eggs!

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

With chicken raising you can eat fresh eggs right from the source. Either raw or cooked, eggs taken from your own backyard chickens minutes or hours ago are far more tasty and nutritious than those purchased in the grocery store. You'll notice the texture and color of your backyard chickens' fresh eggs is way different than that of the grocery store ones.

3. Source of natural fertilizers

Your lawn or backyard will never look better. Chickens love to freely walk around. Backyard chickens also love to peck on anything they see that can be considered as food. And what is food to them? Possibly anything that's organic. If you let your chickens roam around your yard they will eat pests that would otherwise attack your garden - grubs, beetles, insects, earwigs, and anything that comes close.

After the digestion has worked its way through your chickens , they will transform what they've eaten into poop. But this is not just any kind of poop but a treasure a "natural fertilizer". And you know what natural fertilizers do right? They keep the soil healthy for plants to grow.

4. Backyard Chickens are Low Maintenance Pets

Unlike dogs that need combing and brushing everyday to keep their fur alive and shiny, a chicken doesn't need such hands on treatment. All you have to do is provide for their daily needs like food and water. You also have to clean their pad at least twice a month and change the bedding too. In return, you can gather all the eggs as they are laid. You might even start a small business of your own by supplying poultry stores with fresh eggs.

5. Grass and weed clippers

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

With these reasons, why bother getting yourself a dog or a cat? No offense but they can't even water the plants nor lay eggs for breakfast. In cases of chickens, you can have a best friend, a lawn mower, a supplier of organic fertilizer and an egg producer all in one.

For more information on raising backyard chickens visit http://www.handsomehens.com

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Raising Chickens For Eggs

Raising chickens for eggs is the latest growing trend around the world. Both in country and urban areas people are making the decision to raise chickens for eggs. Join the urban revolution and you too could have a fresh daily supply of great tasting eggs for your table. Raising chickens for eggs can be far more beneficial than just producing your own eggs. They also make great pets, are very friendly if you raise them correctly, and will give you and your children many hours of fun and amusement.

There are five basic steps to raising chickens for eggs.


The first thing you need to do when making the decision to raise chickens for eggs is to find out if you are allowed by law to keep chickens in your back yard. This varies significantly around the world. For example in New York City you can have as many chickens as you like but you are not allowed to have roosters because their crowing may disturb your neighbours. In London you are also allowed to keep chickens but in some cities it is totally banned. There is a growing movement of people protesting in these cities so that they too can enjoy the experience of raising chickens for eggs.
Look at the space you have available in your yard. Chickens do not need a lot of room but the size of the chicken run will determine the number of chickens you will be able to raise. It is not necessary to have a huge flock and if you are just starting out I would recommend 3 to 6 chickens. This will allow you to manage your flock easily and as laying chickens will produce approximately one egg each per day, you will have plenty of eggs.
The chicken coop is your next consideration. You can buy ready made chicken coops or you can make your own. A simple steel garden shed can be converted into a chicken house and recently I saw a childrens cubby house that was no longer being used, converted into a great chicken coop. There are some really inventive coops around, let your imagination run free. You need to make sure your chickens are protected from the weather, have a place to roost at night and have some nesting boxes to lay their eggs in. Also they need to be locked in every night so that predators can't get to them. This is very important.
Ordering your chickens is next. Do you want to raise them from baby chicks or do you want chickens that are ready to lay. Baby chicks are more time consuming and you have to wait for them to grow up before you get your eggs, but children find them irresistible and can develop relationships with them right from the start. However if you are new to raising chickens then I would recommend you buy hens that are ready to lay. You can get them at your local fodder store or you can order them and have them delivered to your door depending of course on where you are in the world.
Enjoying your chickens is the next step. Make sure they have fresh clean water, this is very important for their health. If you want to save time, you can buy automatic waterer's that will ensure they have fresh water all the time. You just hook the waterer up to a hose and the chickens will always have clean water. They need feeding every day with grain or pellets and all your kitchen and garden scraps. Providing them with scraps and green food i.e. weeds, is the secret to producing great tasting eggs. You can also save time by having automatic feeders as well but I find that I end up feeding the local bird population as well if I do this so I prefer to feed them daily myself when I collect the eggs. Scattering grain and scraps around their yard is not difficult.

There are so many reasons to raise chickens for eggs. Join the growing trend and turn your urban yard into a food producing haven. The next step is to grow your own vegetables, but that is another story on the way to sustainable living and you may not have the room or the inclination. A good start however is to get your own chickens and see how you go from there. If nothing else you will get great tasting eggs and a great deal of satisfaction from raising chickens for eggs.

Dianne Maher is an artist who believes in sustainable living and wants to encourage city dwellers around the world to produce their own food.

http://www.raisingchickensforeggs.com

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