Archive for August, 2010
Having a pet is a wonderful thing for any family, but pets do have some problems. Some can be very expensive, including the veterinary bills, some tear up the garden, dogs bark at the neighbours and scare visitors, and what do you do with your pet when you go away on holidays?
But chickens don’t bark at the neighbours, aren’t expensive to buy or to feed, don’t get sick often and can safely be left for a week or more on their own if you do it right.
Not only that but chickens are productive, a fridge full of fresh free range eggs is the mouthwatering result from keeping chickens. In many respects chickens make the perfect family pet.
Whilst you can’t really put your chickens on your lap at night in front of the television there is still no doubt that children love chickens as much as adults, ours absolutely adore theirs.
Like all pets however you need to make a little effort to learn about keeping chickens. They will need a place to live, which is variously called a chicken coop, or chicken house or henhouse, and you will need to find a good place to buy one or else learn to make it yourself. The latter can be the cheapest method.
The chickens will sleep in the coop at night but generally are allowed out of the coop during the day, in many cases to run free around your garden. If they do this they will clean up many of the nasty bugs in your garden, though they may scratch the soil and peck at your flowers as they do.
One of their great loves is to peck at ripe tomatoes.
And if you prefer not to allow your chickens to free range around the house you can build a chicken run around the coop to allow them to roam there.
You will need to learn about feeding your hens. There are certain minimum requirements for protein and calcium which are important to meet if you want to get eggs, and so you will need to source some high protein foods, some shell grit to add calcium to their food and you will need to find appropriate appliances to deliver food and water.
And when holidays come it’s quite possible to provide your chickens with a large reliable supply of food and water and to go away to enjoy yourself.
Without doubt keeping chickens is a great way for the family and in particular the children to enjoy having pets. Although there is plenty to learn it’s fun and rewarding and the children will love having their chickens. So learn a bit more about housing and feeding them and then start looking for your first hen.
And once you have your chickens you’re on your way to a healthy lifestyle of eating plenty of healthy free range eggs.
1970′s vintage Shasta 25 foot camper trailer. My challenge–to convert it into a massive chicken coop for 150 egg layers.
Much work needs to be done-the interior needs to be demolished, removed, and disposed of. Automatic water, and feeders will be incorporated into the final design. I have to get it home first by tow truck next week.
Must be completed by 3/16/08!
Duration : 0:1:17
I made this video for my friend in NY who is getting Rhode Island Reds. These are the answers to your questions and more.
1)HOW TO YOU KEEP TRACK OF WHICH ARE THE FRESH EGGS IN THE FRIDGE?
2)HOW LONG DO EGGS KEEP IN THE FRIDGE
3)HOW TO SEPARATE EGGS FOR INCUBATION
HOW DO YOUR TELL WHICH EGG IS A HEN OR ROOSTER
4)HOW TO MAKE IN A MINUTE AN EGG VIEWER FOR SORTING; HOW DO YOU KNOW IF THERE IS A BABY CHICK INSIDE OF THE EGG
Duration : 0:5:54
http://www.EliteGuideOnline.com/chicken-coop — This guide will provide you:
1. Easy step by step building instruction plan for small, medium and large coops.
2. Ideas on how to find inexpensive building material.
3. Instruction and how and where to place the chicken coop.
4. Tips on raising chicken that lay fresh and delicious eggs.
5. Special reports on city ordinances and other rules for raising chicken at home. and much more….
You will also learn information such as hen nesting, chicken feeds, automatic watering system, eggs collection, care for chicks etc. There are also 4 special reports on chicken breeding and brooding chicks. For detail information about this DIY guide, please visit: http://www.EliteGuideOnline.com/chicken-coop
“Music by: Kevin MacLeod”
Duration : 0:1:40
These Plymouth Barred Rocks, one of several endangered chicken breeds raised at Sunnyside Farm in York, PA, crow like geese! They’re hanging out in a mobile chicken pen, which owners Homer and Dru move every day so that the chickens always have fresh grass and bugs to consume, and so that they needn’t live in their own excrement. Revolutionary!
Duration : 0:0:15
This video will share with you, the songs of the new baby chickens, that will warn you, when she’s going to start laying her first eggs.
1) HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU HAVE HEN-BABY CHICKS OR ROOSTER-BABY CHICKS?
It’s difficult to identify at a glance a rooster or “COCKEREL” from a future hen “PULLET”. Usually between 5-8 weeks old a young rooster will start crowing at dawn.” A PULLET or female baby chicken will chirp like a bird and coo just before they start laying eggs.
2)THE YOUNG FEMALE CHICKEN WILL LET YOU KNOW WHEN SHE
IS GOING TO START LAYING EGGS BY HER SONG!
PRELAYING-STAGE-SONGS:Before a young “PULLET”-female baby chicken’s chirp and sing
WARNING GOING-TO-START-LAYING EGG SONG: The female Pullet’s voice changes and she begins to shriek, scream and cackling just before she starts laying her first eggs. When you hear this warning of egg laying song start checking your nesting boxes everyday. She’s ready to lay eggs.
Duration : 0:7:17
Me telling about our chicken coop, random stuff about the birds, etc….for my blog.
Duration : 0:5:22
So you want to build a chicken coop? The first thing you have to do before getting chicken coop building plans is determining on how many chicken you actually want to keep. The overall size of the chicken house will depend on this calculation but keep in mind that every chicken should be given at least 5 sq.ft. of space.
I am sure you already had a look at some chicken coop plans and this is why by now you are probably aware of the tools you will need: planks, chicken wire, plywood, and lots of nails. Keep in mind that you shouldn’t paint the interior of the coop because the chemicals can be very harmful for poultry. In addition to that, make sure that you buy the materials from a well-known store in order to ensure superiority as far as quality is concerned. In case you are on low budget it will be wise to approach a furniture store and ask them for plywood and nails. If you are lucky you will get it for free.
The next step is making sure that the birds get enough fresh air through the day.
The hen house plans will recommend the inclusion of 4 windows, no matter how big or small it is. It is vital that you make sure that the design of the coop is such that it is easy for you to clean it regularly. Coop owners suggest using trays for the droppings because otherwise, it will become too dirty and you will spend half your life cleaning the coop. In addition the floor should be inclined. Why? Because this will make it a lot easier to remove water once you are done mopping and spraying
Lastly, don’t try to finish off the job quickly or ignore certain warnings because one mistake in the hen coop building plans will haunt you for the rest of your life. What do I mean by that? An example: the doors should always be pushed open and the windows have to be placed high enough so your chicken cannot jump out easily
We started to build a new chicken coop this 4th of July weekend for our new pullets, 3 Polish pullets and 3 leghorn pullets. The weather finally turned nice this afternnon and sunny weather tomarrow so will try to finish this over the weekend.
Duration : 0:9:56
If you are planning to build a chicken coop yourself be aware that it can be a very tedious task. If you are very particular in caring for your birds, good chicken coop plans will help you a lot in protecting them from harm. However, there are some things that you have to consider in choosing a proper chicken coop plan in order to get the best results.
First, consider the size of the coop. You will want your chickens to be comfortable, hence, you should give them enough space. Before starting to make your coop and before getting plans you will have to know how many chickens you want to keep. If it is too overcrowded, there will be hygiene problems that may cause the chickens to be ill.
By using a good chicken coop blueprint you will minimize the tasks you will have to do.
You should keep in mind that you will have to do a lot of work inside the coop e.g. cleaning and this is why it is a good idea to build a slanted floor, which will make cleaning a lot easier. You will also have to find the right location where you want to build the coop. You should place it in a location with good ventilation. If you there is too little sunlight, egg production will be greatly affected. On the other hand, if there is too much sun, your birds will suffer.
Third, you might want to protect your chickens from pet predators or wild and stray animals like cats, dogs, foxes and badges. You can build fences but you will also need to take the necessary precautions to prevent some of these animals from digging their way into the coop. This can be prevented by burying your outside runs with chicken wire. A depth of one foot will be OK, but make sure that you build it all around the coop. Finally, consider a good design as part of your chicken coop plans. Some people might say it does not matter what a chicken coop looks like, bug you do not want an ugly chicken house on your backyard, do you?? You should choose a chicken coop design that looks nice, so everyone can live around it.
