Late each winter, both new and seasoned chicken keepers run into the same happy problem You flip through the Hoover’s Hatchery chick catalog or browse the website, and every single breed looks perfect Placing the order suddenly feels impossible It is tempting to grab one chick of every breed, but most coops only have
When it comes to food, chickens are just like people Both need a nutritious well-balanced diet to be both healthy and productive
That’s a simple concept but visit a feed store and a customer confronts a dizzying array of feed types There’s starter feed, both medicated and unmedicated, layer feed in crumbles or pellets, feed for molting birds, meat bird feed, organic feed, scratch, and cracked corn Figuring what bag to buy can be confusing
There is a simple solution Read information printed on most feed bags and on the label to decide what’s best to
Spring can be slow to arrive, especially across the Midwest, where late snowstorms and cold snaps stretch well into April But once that first stretch of warm weather finally settles in, it’s the perfect time to tackle your coop spring cleaning The job is messy, no question about it, but a thorough clean turns the coop
A century ago most Americans lived on farms or in small towns That’s changed
Today’s people either live in suburban neighborhoods or big cities and are far removed from cattle, hogs, and chickens that produce their animal based food
That can be a problem for a family wishing to raise chickens in a small backyard As suburbs grew following the Second World War, many city councils believed that chickens were noisy, smelly, dirty animals that only belong on the farm and not in town They passed ordinances banning them Fortunately, the trend is reversing Ordinances are being
Anyone who has tried to herd an escaped flock back into the coop quickly discovers that chickens have a mind of their own Some run this way, while others go that way Few un where their owner intends The result is exercise for both humans and chickens and little else
Fortunately, chickens are easy to trick Herding doesn’t work well but tasty lures do Chickens can’t resist a delicious snack No matter where the flock is, as soon as one bird spots treats being served, she’ll cluck and summon her fellow flockmates to the feast
Here’s
Both people and chickens appreciate a good night’s sleep As warm months approach odds are better that humans will be more comfortable after dark than their chickens After all, people live in well-ventilated houses with screened windows to exclude pesky bugs When it really gets hot, they only need to click on the air conditioner
Chickens aren’t so lucky Often, they are forced to try sleeping while swarms of gnats and mosquitos attack them in hot humid air Air conditioning a coop is silly and not needed but simple preparation by owners will help hens enjoy hours
In the past few years, families across America have begun tending small flocks of backyard chickens for good reasons They are fun, produce delicious eggs, and are a wonderful way for children to learn where food really comes from Ducks offer the benefits of chickens yet far fewer people keep them
Chickens and ducks have similarities and some major differences Both species were domesticated from wild ancestors thousands of years ago Chickens originated from wild jungle fowl while most domestic ducks trace their ancestry to mallards, a common wild bird across most of the northern hemisphere Over
Most chick catalogs and websites reveal general characteristics of chicken breeds For example, Leghorns and most other white egg breeds are described as being flighty and noisy In contrast most heavy breeds, like Australorps and Wyandottes, are claimed to be quiet, gentle, or tame Some catalogs even go further claiming that certain breeds, often Orpingtons, are friendly
While biologists caution about affixing human personality traits to animals, catalog generalizations of chicken temperament are mostly accurate Light colored, white egg laying breeds are usually nervous, strong flyers that are somewhat difficult
Most families that keep a flock of backyard chickens have a front or side lawn, but few use it to advantage Even a small lawn can help chickens There are many ways you can reuse your lawn clippings when you have chickens, making the passes with the mower that much more valuable!
Some lucky families let their hens roam around the yard to forage for tasty insects and plants Often communities that allow backyard flocks prohibit free ranging birds The birds must be confined in a coop or enclosed run Even if there is no law
Perhaps the most intriguing of all birds are ring neck pheasants and wild turkeys Although mostly wild birds and popular quarries for hunters, many people raise their domesticated counterparts for beauty and delicious food
RINGNECKED PHEASANT
Like chickens, pheasants trace their origin to wild birds in Asia and are sometimes called Chinese pheasants These colorful long-tailed birds caught the eye of Judge Owen Denny, who was serving as a council in Shanghai In 1881,1882 and 1884 he had wild birds captured and shipped to the Pacific Northwest Some were released on his family farm in
