Mean chickens occasionally appear in nearly any breed, more commonly among roosters than among hens. The first thing to do is try to figure out what triggers an attack. Sometimes it’s something as simple as he doesn’t like your new chore boots, your favorite floppy pants, or the way you swing the feed bucket. Making […]
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One of the most outstanding features of a rooster is his comb — that fleshy crownlike protrusion on top of a chicken’s head. So why do roosters have such ornate combs? At about 3 to 8 weeks of age, depending on the breed, baby chicks start developing reddened combs. A cockerel’s comb will gradually become […]
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Folks, we’ve officially entered the Year of the Rooster, so Cackle Hatchery went on a hunt to figure out what that really means for 2017. According to the Chinese lunar calendar, there are five types of rooster combinations, and animal signs must also coincide with one of five elements (fire, wood, water, earth, metal) that […]
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The optimal mating ratio for chickens, turkeys, and other poultry is not the same ratio in which they typically hatch. Most poultry naturally hatch approximately 50 percent females and 50 percent males. If your goal is to obtain fertile eggs for hatching, that ratio will result in males fighting excessively with each other, and when […]
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Roosters are strictly forbidden by Pittsburgh’s city code, but that hasn’t stopped one rooster from taking up residence in the Steel City. Now known as Rudy, the rooster began squatting on the property of 69-year-old Henry Gaston a few years ago. He was originally accompanied by two other roosters, but they have since been apprehended […]
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Wondering if you need to add a rooster to your backyard coop? The short answer is no, you don’t need to add a rooster into the mix to keep your hens occupied or to keep enjoying those tasty backyard eggs. But, there are some benefits that you’ll enjoy with a rooster that you might be […]
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Have you ever wondered what makes a rooster crow? Well, some scientists Nagoya University have recently made it their mission to prove once and for all how all of this crowing business works, and it might not be what you think. One widely accepted belief is that roosters crow at the first sign of daylight; […]
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A chicken’s beak is an important tool for gathering food, drinking water, and exploring and manipulating objects in the environment. A chicken also uses its beak for preening, nest building, and engaging in social interactions. But occasionally a chick hatches with, or later develops, a deformity known as crossbeak. Also called crossed beak or scissors […]
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Lakenvelder chickens are an ancient laying breed from the Utrecht area of southern Holland and the neighboring Nordrhein-Westfalen area of Germany. They take their name from the Dutch village of Lakervelt, in a region that favors the color pattern of a white mid section with black extremities. Besides Lakenvelder chickens, examples include goats, rabbits, pigs, […]
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The Buttercup is an ancient breed from Sicily, an Italian island long noted for its farmyard chickens with a cup-shape comb and greenish legs. Sicilian Buttercup chickens in the United States all trace back to hatching eggs imported in 1892. The breed was admitted to the American Standard of Perfection in 1918. Physical Attributes The […]
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