When Can Chicks Start Eating Veggies?
Mom is the best teacher That’s true with both people and chickens
While a mother hen is teaching her chicks, she can also instruct observant people
Years ago, most baby chicks had the good fortune to have a mom In those preindustrial days broody hens patiently sat on fertile eggs for 21 days until they miraculously hatched into peeping babies Then, for the next couple of months, she kept them warm, protected them from danger, and taught them how to choose a healthy and balanced diet
That’s not common today Nearly all baby chicks are
How to Stop Egg Eating
Most families tend a small backyard flock for the precious eggs hens generously give each day Few human foods are as delicious or nutrient packed Add the pride of caring for productive chickens as a benefit beyond food
Sometimes problems arise Once in a while a hen becomes a thief She’ll eat eggs in the nest, making a mess in the process It usually starts when a hen spots a cracked or broken egg in the nest, pecks the nutritious contents, and decides it’s a delicious addition to her diet An egg eater is a parasite that can’t be tolerated
Prevention
VIDEO: Broody Hen Chicks and Integrating Them Into the Coop
What is a Chicken Breed?
It’s easy to get confused when buying chicks for the first time Should a family buy a breed”, “hybrid” or “sex linked” chick? It’s helpful to know what these terms mean
It was once simpler Chicken husbandry started before the dawn of history when people in Southeast Asia caught and domesticated wild jungle fowl For thousands of years chickens were so useful for producing food that they spread to nearly everywhere people lived For most of history chickens were mongrels roaming around villages and towns and mating without human interference These were tough birds well adapted to their local climate