Types Of Chickens

This applies to store-bought as well as farm-fresh eggs. Regardless of whether they are farm-fresh or store-bought, there are right and wrong ways to store eggs. Store Eggs in a Closed Egg Carton This applies regardless of whether you keep them in your...

Home-improvement stores carry fence staples. Galvanized staples are best if they're available, as they are coated with a gray layer of zinc that keeps the underlying steel from rusting when used outdoors.

I am so excited! We're getting four new chickens to add to our flock . I'm not sure what breeds we will be getting, as the farmer who is growing them out for us has many chicken breeds and suggested we come out and pick out the ones we want in person.

Smaller and more active than other breeds in the Asiatic class, they can be used as a table fowl. Use: The Langshan is the dual purpose breed of the Asiatic Class, being the best layers in that group.

History: The Leghorn is an Italian fowl, originally bred for high egg production in Northern Italy. Other non-recognized varieties include Mille Fleur and Exchequer and Blue. The White Leghorn is the foundation of the modern commercial egg industry worldwide.

Use: The Belgian Bearded d'Uccle (pronounced dew-clay ) is a bantam chicken breed primarily used for exhibition, though hens are modest layers of small, creamy-white eggs, averaging two to three per week.

However, as the hen lays more and more eggs during the season, her ability to color them so intensely diminishes. How accurate is your knowledge about eggs? Fact: If you don't turn eggs during incubation , some will hatch, but if you do turn them, the...

A board can effectively be used in addition to the deep-litter method, and with both methods combined, might save additional costs in bedding than if you were simply employing one.

“They normally can't live off of an avian host.” “Lice may crawl on people when heavily infested birds are handled, but will quickly fall off and die,” Murillo says. This article originally appeared in the March/April 2017 issue of Hobby Farms.

Changing seasons, establishing a new flock or evaluating the health of your existing backyard habitat should always include assessing your bedding or litter choice. While it works well in the coop, it can float into waterers and feeders because it's so...

The Deep-Litter Option For chicken keepers who can't rotate their chickens' pasture and need to keep the flock in one place, Rhodes recommends the deep-litter coop method . They Give Your Crops A Nitrogen Boost Joseph Heckman, a soil specialist for Rutgers...

“Because they're s cte.” So even though having chicks meant dealing with brooders and heat lamps and mortality rates, I went ahead and picked up a batch of gold sex-link chicks from the local feed store.

In the evenings, train your flock to come home by taking a few minutes to tidy inside just before dusk. Having a hard time getting your birds to bed at night? Scoop her up, carry her to the coop, and gently place her inside.

Many factors determine when a pullet will begin laying eggs. Grit acts like teeth inside the crop, so the better they can grind up their food, the more nutrition they can absorb, just like humans do when we chew our food more thoroughly.

You can even toss the leaves and heads together to make a fresh salad for your flock. In addition to the golden-yellow xanthophyll pigment that enriches egg-yolk color, dandelions are also rich in vitamins A, B2 and K .

Repeat a few times, and your chickens will quickly pick up on the pattern. Having an expression that signals to the bird that they did something correct (and that a treat will be provided) is essential if you want that behavior to be presented again.

We are first-time chicken keepers and are stumped. Molting is stressful to your chickens, so try not to add additional stressors to your their routine. Some chicken keepers delay molt by artificially lighting their hen houses 24 hours a day, but hens...

Injured survivors might also have broken wings or legs if they were confined while trying to escape. Cunning foxes will keep a low profile and stalk your flock until they're ready for a swift, clean attack.

Typically raised as ornamentals—with a few exceptions—these breeds are relatively docile, love free-ranging and, best of all, are a gorgeous addition to the landscape. Their tails require care and dedication that's not for the faint of heart.

But to keep chickens means to be a steward of life and sometimes death. Pullets may be flightier, but they'll be at “point of lay” (meaning you get eggs right away), and because they're sexually mature, you'll know there won't be any surprise roosters...

Chickens will often peck at each other until blood is drawn. Nutritional deficiencies of salt and sulfur can also instigate pecking by increasing the appetite for blood, which contains both of these nutrients.

Not all scientific terms have to be complicated! As the owner of a flock of chickens, you swiftly learned to identify each bird's comb, wattles, ears and beak. Can you identify the cloaca, the hock and shank, or the proventriculus?

That's pretty special to me. Just a few years ago, I didn't know anyone else who raised chickens. Today, my brother and I both keep chickens: his rural and mine urban. Folks used to keep chickens on city lots before grocery stores and factory food became...

That's a gardening win! The hens and the pullets have been taking turns turning it all morning. Have I mentioned my patio? That's a win-win! Warm day make for a happy flock. (Just ask my dog.) Relief from the bitter temperatures is nice, but mud is a...

They're active but generally calm and docile birds. Dual-purpose breeds like Rhode Island Reds fill the bill. And because roosters weigh about 8½ pounds and hens about 6½ pounds, they are large and meaty enough to make tasty eating, as well.

Because hens lay eggs that are already contaminated, scrubbing and refrigeration won't stop salmonella. Once chilled, keep them refrigerated until use. The United States is one of only a handful of countries in the world that scrubs its eggs for market.

Prepare a steam inhalation treatment by adding several drops of peppermint or eucalyptus essential oil to a quart of boiling water. Kill mites by spraying affected chickens under their wings and around their vent areas using water infused with garlic...