No trip through Missouri would be complete without a visit to Cackle Hatchery®. The facility is not merely a mail-order poultry hatchery. It also operates a year-around poultry-only products store and museum, and sponsors a popular annual chicken festival. The best time of year for you to visit depends on your purpose and on the […]
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Baby chick ship dates and Cackle Hatchery® store pickup dates change with each calendar year. For this year’s ship dates, consult our Chick Season® calendar. Chick Ship Dates We hatch and ship baby chicks from February through September. To avoid weekend layovers at the post office, we ship on Mondays and Wednesdays. We make exceptions […]
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Finding lots of feathers in your chicken yard is a sign that your birds are molting and will soon develop healthy coats of fresh new plumage. This annual loss and renewal of feathers is perfectly normal and is not an indication of disease. So let’s examine the question of why do chickens molt? What is […]
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Molting is energy intensive. Chickens therefore don’t normally molt during times when they need dietary energy elsewhere. For example, in the spring roosters use energy for fertility and hens use energy for laying eggs and hatching chicks. In cold weather chickens need energy to keep warm. During a molt, nutrients that otherwise go toward such […]
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Cold winter weather brings a different set of issues for a flock of chickens, compared to warmer summer weather. So what kind of care do chickens need in winter? Control Humidity The most important thing you can do during cold weather is to make sure the coop isn’t high in humidity. Relative humidity is generally […]
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Who says chickens can’t fly? Some chickens fly really well. Others not so well, or not at all. So rather than ask “Why can’t chickens fly?” we should be asking “Why don’t chickens fly?” Wing Power The short answer is that chickens have small wings relative to their heavy bodies. Why that matters relates to […]
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For some types of poultry, determining a bird’s gender is easy. Other times not so. Here’s a quick rundown on how to sex poultry, including chickens, turkeys, guinea fowl, ducks, and geese. Chickens Some baby chicks may be sexed at the time of hatch by differences in down color. Otherwise, the easiest way to sex […]
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Defining the differences between a purebred and a hybrid chicken can be complicated. Some breeds are not purebred. But even a pure breed may have started out as a hybrid. What is a purebred chicken? Purebreds, also called straightbreds, will breed true. That means all the breeder roosters and hens have uniform bloodlines, and their […]
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A chicken’s gender may be determined by a number of different methods. Which method works best depends on the bird’s age, breed and variety, and skill of the observer. Here are the four common ways to sex a chicken. Vent Sexing Vent sexing can be done soon after a chick hatches. Also called cloacal sexing, […]
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To some chicken keepers, a dual purpose breed is one that’s suitable for both meat and eggs. To other chicken keepers, dual purpose refers to a breed that’s suitable for neither meat nor eggs. So exactly what is a dual purpose chicken? Meat or Eggs Before the poultry industry developed into the behemoth it is […]
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