When chickens are allowed to free range, certain breeds fare far better than others, especially in terms of avoiding predators. Ideal characteristics for free ranging chickens include wariness, inconspicuous plumage, acute vision, and foraging ability. Predator Wariness Chicken breeds that are best able to evade predators are the wary, high strung, excitable, so-called […]
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Ducks have been called the New Chickens, in honor of their increasing popularity. But the first time-duck owner who attempts to manage ducks like chickens can be in for an unpleasant surprise. The two main issues are that ducks like it wet while chickens like it dry, and ducks don’t have the same sensible sleeping […]
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Chicks shipped by mail require a little extra TLC compared to chicks you might hatch at home. Think about how you feel after a long journey — dehydrated, exhausted, probably a bit cranky. What you look forward to most is a long drink and a warm bed. Baby chicks are no different. They suffer the […]
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Pasty Butt — also known as pasting, paste up, or sticky bottom — is a common condition in newly hatched chicks. It occurs when soft droppings stick to a chick’s vent, then harden and seal the vent shut. If the condition is not corrected, the affected chick may die. Although pasting may be caused by […]
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The hatching of a chick out of an egg — whether laid by a chicken, duck, goose, or other bird — is a remarkable process. Each chick enters the world with a built-in food supply that can sustain it for up to three days after the bird hatches. How does this happen? Starting on the […]
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When an egg is ready to hatch — whether chicken, duck, goose, or other poultry — the baby bird inside breaks a hole through the egg’s shell. The hole is called a pip and the process of creating the hole is called pipping. The little bird pips with the help of its egg tooth—a small, […]
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Lining your hens’ nests with something clean and soft protects eggs from getting cracked in the nest and also simplifies nest clean-out. Every chicken keeper has a favorite nest liner. Here are some poplar options: Turf Nest Liner Plastic turf nest pads have grass-like tufts on the upper side and a smooth surface on the […]
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Some chicken keepers deworm their chickens too often. Others don’t deworm often enough. How often your chickens need deworming, or whether they need it at all, depends on numerous factors. These factors include your climate, how your flock is housed and managed, the kind of worms that are present in your chickens’ environment, and the […]
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We know that eggs must be properly incubated in a warm environment for them to form healthy, well-developed chicks. But what if the amount of light that eggs are exposed to during incubation could have an effect on the temperament of chickens as well? According to a paper recently published in Applied Animal Behavior Science, […]
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The eggs you collect from your chickens develop through a process that is nothing short of miraculous. A hen’s reproductive system consists of two main parts: an ovary and an oviduct. A young female chicken, or pullet, starts life with two ovaries. As she matures, the right ovary remains undeveloped and only the left one […]
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