postheadericon Raising Healthy Chickens In Your Backyard

Raising chickens in your backyard provides a cheap and economical way to get your own eggs and chicken meat. All you need is a chicken coop and a few chickens and you can raise your own chickens. They chickens are easy to maintain and you can have eggs that do not contain chemicals. Let’s take a look at some tips that can help you to keep your chicken safe and healthy.

Before you start raising chickens in your backyard it is important to check whether your local laws permit people to raise chickens. There are some states that do not allow this and you may run into legal issues for keeping chickens in your backyard. Check with your municipality to see if it is allowed to keep chickens in your locality.

If you have chicks, you will need to make sure that they are provided with enough warmth. Pine shavings can be used on the floor. Wait until the chickens start to feather so you can move them to a coop.
Protect your chickens from predators by providing a safe coop. The coop should have a wire mesh to keep predators away. In addition, use strong locks.

Besides providing you with eggs, you can keep your backyard clean by raising chickens. Chickens feed on weeds and you can let them out of their coop once in a while so they can feed on the weed in your backyard. Not only that, chicken waste can be used as manure to fertilize your vegetables. If you have kids, chickens can be great pets and you can use them to teach your kids about responsibility by asking them to look after them.

So, when is the best time to start raising chickens? There are some things you will need to consider when deciding when to keep chickens. Feed is one of them. The spring time is the ideal period to rear chicken since during this time there is enough feed in the backyard. However, this may not be a good idea since chickens require lots of heat to grow healthy. You can wait until the summer to buy chickens or provide artificial warmth.

Amish Chicken Coops

Amish Chicken Coops

An incubator will be enough to keep the chicks warm. However, you will need to move them out once they start feathering.
How about the chicken’s diet? You can get chicken pellets from your local store or feed them on vegetables. Alternatively, feed them on weeds and small insects. Chickens should be let out once in a while to hunt for insects.

Once the start laying eggs, be sure to provide a nest box. Chickens will usually start laying eggs when they are 6 months old. Raising chickens is an easy and inexpensive task since all you need is to provide them with warmth, feed and enough space. You can pace a chicken coop at the backyard. Be sure to clean it regularly since a dirty chicken coop can affect the health of your chicken.

Chicken can be kept as pets or farm animals. As you can see, raising chicken is not only beneficial but also easy.

postheadericon Some Tips that will help you Identify Sick Chickens

Birds in general are good at hiding illness or injury and chickens are no exception. This can make it hard to tell if your chicken or chickens may be sick and sometimes it is too late by the time you would notice. There are several different signs that a chicken may show when they become ill or injured and you should learn to look for these if you are raising chickens. Chickens seem to have average life spans ranging from seven years to around twelve, but some chickens have lived much longer. Learning to tell if your chickens are ill will help you keep them alive longer.

Every time you feed or clean up after your chickens you should be looking for clear and alert eyes. Clouded or glazed over eyes are a definite sign that something is wrong. Sick chickens will not be as responsive as normal and the eyes may not track your movements as well. Any discharges around the eyes may also be a sign of illness. Chickens are naturally alert and curious so a chicken that appears to be downcast and listless with clouded eyes should be quarantined until the cause of the illness can be determined.

Checking the color of the comb is also a good way to see if your chickens are healthy and well. A pale comb is a sign that many sick chickens will display. This is normally from reduced blood flow to the region and this may be a sign of infection. Combs may also appear drained or limp when your bird is feeling ill. Both the eyes and combs can be checked with ease and doing this daily when you feed your chickens can help you keep your birds in good health. Healthy birds will also produce more eggs and this is always a good thing.

There are times that you may need to be more attentive to find sick chickens. A bird that isn’t eating or eating lightly may have problems. It is not uncommon for a bird to eat lightly at times but if you notice a bird of off their food for more than a day you will want to take a closer look at your chicken. One you learn to look for this behavior it will be second nature and you should take the time to observe your chickens while eating once or twice a week to keep tabs.

Some injuries may be hard to see on sick chickens but you should look for feathers that look out of place or excessive molting of feathers. A broken wing may stay folded still and go unnoticed until you see the chicken attempting to use it. Many times broken bones will heal themselves if they go unobserved but they may also lead to infection. If you watch your chickens both inside their chicken coops and outside in the yard and learn their personalities finding out when one of them has fallen ill or become injured will be easier. Learning to see the signs sick chickens show can help you have success at raising healthy chickens.

postheadericon The Role Of a Rooster in a Flock of Hens

Some people have often argued that a rooster is not technically that important in a flock of hens. Among some of the reasons that they have used to justify this claim are that hens can lay eggs even in the absence of a rooster in addition to the fact that when it comes to crowing, a roosters can be a nuisance. The above reasons can be excusable for those who keep hens just for the homely atmosphere that they provide. However, for those who prefer keeping laying hens for the benefit of fresh eggs as well as reproduction, a rooster is a very important part of the flock. It’s true that a rooster is not that very technically important for hens to lay eggs. However, we do not include a rooster in a flock just for the role it plays in fertilization, which is what most people tend to assume. Having a rooster in a flock, has other benefits that most people are not aware of.

To begin with, the first and the most obvious benefit of having a rooster in a flock of hens is that, it is a free way through which you can naturally expand your flock. In this case, a rooster plays its role in fertilization in the production of fertilized eggs that can be hatched into chicks. Once you get your fertilized eggs, all you need is to take them to a safe place in the chicken coop and have your hens nest on them for you to have chicks. Even after doing this, you will still be able to eat fertilized eggs the same way that you have been eating unfertilized eggs. This hence means that the presence of a rooster in your flock opens you up to increasing your flock without affecting the benefits that you draw from fresh eggs.

Another important role that a rooster plays in a flock of hens is that it acts as the flock’s shepherd. This is through providing guidance for your hens on a social hierarchy basis. It instructs them on where and when to move around. In the absence of a rooster, a laying hen can take towards the male behaviors in order to fill the role that the rooster is supposed to play. This might make the hen to stop laying eggs and in some cases take to crowing. A roster hence plays an important role in establishing order in the flock hence letting the hens exhibit their naturally characteristic behavior.

Affordable Chicken Coop ChickenHousesPlus.com

Affordable Chicken Coop ChickenHousesPlus.com

A rooster also plays a very important defensive role when included in a chicken flock. By instinct, a rooster plays the role of the guardian in a flock. He is always the one who first responds to danger hence warning the entire flock of lurking danger. If a predator attacks, he remains to fight and hence is often the one who first gets killed while trying to buy some time for the rest of the flock to run for cover. He is vocal to be able to warn the hens on what is happening around them. A rooster varies it vocalization to suit the current situation. The call that it makes as it seeks roost in the portable chicken coop at night is much different from the call of danger. In case a hen wanders from the flock, it can trace its way back to shelter by following the rooster’s call.

Last but not least, a rooster plays a very important role with its beauty. When compared to hens a rooster’s feathers are more brilliantly and brightly colored. This works to its advantage as hens get attracted to it for mating reasons. In addition to this, the bright feathers act as a distraction to draw predators away from the hens towards the rooster since he is more aggressive and can fight back.

postheadericon Southern Fried Chicken Easily Made In Your Kitchen!

Are you raising chickens so that you have healthy food?  It’s important these days that we all know where our food is coming from.  Below is a fantastic recipe for traditional southern fried chicken that’s not only very easy – it tastes fantastic!

Whole chicken cut up or just the pieces you prefer (breasts, legs, etc)

Buttermilk

1 Egg

Flour

Salt, Pepper

Stick Butter

Shortening

  1. Wash chicken and pat dry.
  2. Put stick of butter and shortening into skillet (iron skillets are the best).  Melt both then reduce heat to low or medium low.
  3. Mix flour, salt and pepper (to taste) together in a baggy.  If you’d like spicier chicken, add seasoning salt and paprika.
  4. Whisk egg and buttermilk together in a bowl.
  5. Put chicken in buttermilk mixture then into flour mixture in the baggy and shake to cover chicken completely.
  6. Place into hot butter & oil mixture in skillet.
  7. Brown on all sides.
  8. Remove and put to the side.
  9. When all pieces have been browned, remove grease from skillet and put chicken back into skillet.  Add water to cover bottom then put lid on and reduce heat to low.   When chicken is cooked through, remove from heat. (If you have too much chicken, put into a roaster pan, cover bottom with water, cover with foil, then into the oven at 350 degrees and cook for approximately 1 hour.)
  10. If you’d like gravy, use the drippings left in the skillet after you remove the chicken and whip up a tasty chicken gravy for mashed potatoes or stuffing.
That’s it!  This may just become your favorite Sunday dinner!

postheadericon Fertile Chicken Eggs Become A Great Backyard Hobby

For those who are looking for a good backyard hobby, you will find that raising your own chickens for eggs can be a great way to spend your afternoons and weekends. Raising your own birds from fertile chicken eggs to chicks to hens and roosters is a great way to learn more about nature, and you will find that caring for these animals can help you develop a sense of responsibility for the environment. As far as backyard hobbies go, you will be hard pressed to find one that will match raising your own organic chickens.

Chickens are best when raised for their eggs, as they are fed well, provided the best house, and will usually live in comfort. You will find that the birds will repay your good treatment by providing you with a daily stream of fresh eggs. These eggs can be left in the coops to be incubated and hatched by the chicken, or you can collect them and cook them up for your breakfast, lunch, or dinner. What you do with the eggs is up to you, but you will find that chickens that are well cared for will provide you with as many eggs as you could ask for.

Fertilized Chicken Eggs Ameraucana Chickens

Fertilized Chicken Eggs Ameraucana Chickens

If you are interested in raising your own fowl, you will find that there are special incubators where you can help the eggs to hatch. There are certain things you will need to know about how to raise chicken eggs in an incubator, but you will find that raising your own birds from the time they are an egg until they are full grown fowl can be a great way to spend your afternoons.

The eggs should only be incubated once they are between 7 and 10 days old, and you should always ensure that the eggs are clean. Look for the ones that have the thickest shells, as the ones with porous shells will not incubate as well as the ones with thick shells. Make sure that the eggs are turned as often as necessary. A mother hen will turn her egg up to 4 times every day, so you should do so as well. Finally, make sure that the temperature is just right when setting the eggs, as you don’t want to cook the eggs but they have to be warm to allow the chicken to hatch.

It is important that you do sufficient research when considering raising your own birds in your backyard. You will need to research how much humidity is enough, what temperatures are too high or too low, what ventilation is needed, and a host of other details. If you are going to use your own backyard chicken egg incubator to raise fertile chicken eggs, make sure to read the instructions on the incubator carefully. Getting it right is important, so it will pay off as long as you do your research before trying to raise your own birds.