Caring for Your Chicken - Hints and Tips
There are many hints and tips to be learnt when looking after chickens regardless of if you have a few or a few dozen chickens.
One important lesson which should be learnt is how to handle the birds.
Many people believe that hanging the birds by their legs is the correct way to handle them yet this method could actually cause injury and in some cases even death.
Chickens should be let out of there house every morning and their feeders filled with meal or pellets.
Nest boxes should then be checked and the eggs removed, this should be done at least twice a day as other wise you run the risk of the eggs being crushed.
Water feeders should have there water replaced daily.
If you use an electric fence to protect your chickens check it to make sure it is still working correctly.
In the evening chickens should be put back into their houses to keep them safe from harm but remember that its important not to leave it too late otherwise you could find that a fox has reached your chickens before you have.
Hen houses should be cleaned at least once a week and you should check daily that they have enough clean litter.
It's a good idea to paint the inside and outside of the houses with wood preserve as this helps kill parasites, however all chickens should be moved out of the house while this is being done and it should remain empty for several days afterwards.
Keep an eye out for broody hens.
You can tell a broody hen by the way they sit tight on their eggs and cluck noisily every time something comes near or disturbs them.
The best way to avoid this is to collect the eggs regularly as this reduces their broodiness.
If you keep a small amount of chickens and would like to produce chicks as well as eggs then its best to choose the natural method over an incubator.
If you can try to time you eggs so they hatch during March to June so the chicks can enjoy the best of the weather.
Make sure that there aren't to many fertile eggs, around 10 - 12 is a good amount as too many will mean the chicken wont be able to incubate them all properly.
Eggs usually take 21 days to hatch and when they do it's a good idea to move them to a separate house to avoid the other chickens harming or even killing the chicks.
One important lesson which should be learnt is how to handle the birds.
Many people believe that hanging the birds by their legs is the correct way to handle them yet this method could actually cause injury and in some cases even death.
Chickens should be let out of there house every morning and their feeders filled with meal or pellets.
Nest boxes should then be checked and the eggs removed, this should be done at least twice a day as other wise you run the risk of the eggs being crushed.
Water feeders should have there water replaced daily.
If you use an electric fence to protect your chickens check it to make sure it is still working correctly.
In the evening chickens should be put back into their houses to keep them safe from harm but remember that its important not to leave it too late otherwise you could find that a fox has reached your chickens before you have.
Hen houses should be cleaned at least once a week and you should check daily that they have enough clean litter.
It's a good idea to paint the inside and outside of the houses with wood preserve as this helps kill parasites, however all chickens should be moved out of the house while this is being done and it should remain empty for several days afterwards.
Keep an eye out for broody hens.
You can tell a broody hen by the way they sit tight on their eggs and cluck noisily every time something comes near or disturbs them.
The best way to avoid this is to collect the eggs regularly as this reduces their broodiness.
If you keep a small amount of chickens and would like to produce chicks as well as eggs then its best to choose the natural method over an incubator.
If you can try to time you eggs so they hatch during March to June so the chicks can enjoy the best of the weather.
Make sure that there aren't to many fertile eggs, around 10 - 12 is a good amount as too many will mean the chicken wont be able to incubate them all properly.
Eggs usually take 21 days to hatch and when they do it's a good idea to move them to a separate house to avoid the other chickens harming or even killing the chicks.
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