A woman is occasionally spotted on a New York City sidewalk, leash in hand, walking a chicken Ask her if chickens make great pets and you’ll get an enthusiastic, “Yes! They are wonderful” Her chicken lives with her in her apartment
Ask the same question of a family that raises batch after batch of Cornish Rock Broilers destined for the barbeque grill and you’ll get a resounding, “No, chickens are food animals”
Most families that keep a small
In many ways chickens are like people Both species come in a dazzling array of sizes, body shapes and colors On top of easily seen features are less visible traits Chickens, like people, are individuals They have personalities Watch a flock and soon behavioral differences appear, and close observation makes keeping chickens fascinating Sometimes their antics are downright hilarious
Physical characteristics and behavioral traits are generally predictable by chicken breed Orpingtons, for example, are usually calm, quiet, and inquisitive, while leghorns excite easily and often make a racket They can also fly like a pheasant Yet
Like most birds, chickens love heights Their natural perching instinct is to sleep on a high perch that’s relatively safe from predators while also giving an eagle eye view of what’s going on in the coop during the day
Chickens readily use roosting perches installed in coops, but they also love to sit on the top of feeders and waterers Perching birds often poop That may not be a problem beneath a roost but manure-fouled drinking water or feed is neither attractive nor safe
Visitors to Hawaii’s island of Kauai are surprised and often delighted to spot chickens nearly everywhere Kauai’s wild chickens lead strings of chicks across shopping center parking lots Rooster crowing seems to come from every direction, and often cars must stop to prevent hitting the abundant birds as they prance across roads
It wasn’t always the case Hawaii is one of the world’s most remote places with thousands of miles of the Pacific Ocean separating it from any continent
Pop open a carton of grocery store eggs and all 12 of them look identical Gleaming white and nutritious Open a carton of eggs laid by a mixed backyard flock of hens and the eye is greeted with a delightful array of shell colors, sizes, and shapes They are as fascinating as they are delicious
Chickens enjoy a genetic blend of 20,000 to 23,000 genes in over a billion base pairs That’s not far short of humans with 20,000 to 25,000 genes and 28 billion base pairs People come in all sorts of sizes, shapes, hues, and
Ducks scampering about the backyard are fun to watch and have the potential of laying at least as many eggs as nearly any chicken breed Like chickens they need healthy food, safety from predators and the weather, and adequate housing to thrive From there, specific needs differ
Ducks seem to love everything about water They’re great swimmers and drink much more water than chickens When caught in a downpour chicken feathers get soggy while raindrops run right off waterproof duck feathers Despite their love of water, it’s not necessary to have a pond or creek on the
A broody hen can either be a frustrating problem or a big help to anyone keeping a flock of backyard chickens
Broodiness results from a strong mothering instinct The hens of many breeds, especially those that lay white eggs, rarely go broody, while other breeds, often heavy brown egg layers with fluffy feathers, are well known for their mothering instinct
It’s easy to identify a broody hen She’ll stop laying, puff up her feathers, sit in a near trance, vocalize with a distinctive squawk when you disturb her, and spend day and night in a nest box
One of the joys of keeping a backyard flock of hens is learning that most people are wrong about chickens
Ask most folks what they think of chickens and they’re likely respond that they are simple minded, smelly creatures useful only for producing tasty meals But keep a small flock, watch them closely, and the truth emerges Chickens are intelligent, sensitive birds that behave in intriguing ways They are individuals Every chicken behaves a little differently than her coop sisters and collectively they make wise decisions
