Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) are large, attractive birds that originated in India and Sri-Lanka. They are about the same size as turkeys (Meleagridis gallopavo), to which they are closely related. The term peafowl denotes the species. The male is a peacock, the female is a peahen. The babies are peachicks. Like everything in life, raising peafowl […]
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A broody hen stops laying eggs when she starts setting. Therefore, throughout the ages poultry keepers who have raised chickens primarily for eggs have culled persistently broody hens. In other words, they selectively bred in favor of non-setters. As a result, the breeds best known for superior laying ability are less apt to brood than […]
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The earliest documented instance of a “rooster” laying an egg occurred in Basel, Switzerland, in 1474. The “rooster” was sentenced to death for the “unnatural crime of laying an egg.” A similar event took place, again in Switzerland, in 1730. In the United States, in 1922 a brown Leghorn “rooster” in Madison, Wisconsin, began laying […]
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If you would wonder what the word poultry means, you might think first to look in the American Poultry Association’s Standard of Perfection. At the front of the book is a glossary covering 8-pages of terms from “A.O.C.” to “yearling,” but no “poultry.” So, what is poultry? Definitions of Poultry Even though the Standard doesn’t […]
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Whether or not using more than one incubator makes sense depends on how much hatching you plan to do and how many different chicken breeds or poultry species you wish to hatch. Most incubators for home use are designed for batch hatching. Sometimes, though, you might not want to wait until the eggs hatch before […]
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Furnishing nests for your ducks to lay in helps keep the eggs clean and protects them from being cooked by sun, washed by rain, or frozen in cold weather. Eggs laid in nests are easier for you to find than eggs hidden in the grass. And, buried in nesting material under cover, they are hidden […]
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Ringneck pheasants are traditionally raised to be released as game birds. But people have plenty of other reasons for raising ringneck pheasants. They are also raised for their excellent meat, tasty eggs, gorgeous feathers, or simply for their awesome beauty. Game Bird The ringneck pheasant is a native game bird in China. Since the late […]
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Unlike cows and sheep, chickens are not primarily grazers and cannot digest large amounts of tough fiber. Short pasture perennials are therefore more suitable than taller plants as forage for free range chickens. But, like any pasture, forage for chickens must be suitable for the climate and properly managed. Warm Season Forage Among warm-season greens, […]
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Ducks and geese get along well and may be kept together in the same area. Since most domestic duck breeds don’t fly well or at all, and some are too heavy to even walk fast, and since geese tend to be aggressive toward trespassers, keeping ducks and geese together offers the ducks some measure of […]
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A rooster intent on mating a hen grabs the feathers on her head with his beak while he attempts to stand on her back. To get a good grip, he braces his claws against her shoulders. More often than not, his feet slide on her smooth feathers and — to get better balanced — he […]
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