Chickens have been called nature's ultimate recyclers, and for good reason.
They will eat relatively inexpensive chicken feed and kitchen scraps, and then turn those into eggs.
Their manure makes good fertilizer and their insect-eating tendencies help with pest control.
If you want to employ nature's recyclers in your eco-friendly home, keep the following things in mind.
Everything likes to eat chicken.
You don't have to be out in the country for predators to destroy your flock in an instant.
Dogs, weasels, raccoons, coyotes, bobcats, hawks, owls, and possums can all take a toll on your chicken population.
So be aware of the predators in your area and what you can do to prevent them from helping themselves to a chicken dinner at your place.
Consider a chicken tractor for daytime protection.
This is ideal for the small-scale, urban or suburban chicken keeper.
It is certainly suitable for farms, too.
A chicken tractor is a movable pen, usually made from a wood frame that is covered with chicken wire or hardware cloth.
Part of the tractor needs to be covered for shelter.
This apparatus is moved to fresh ground daily.
If you live in an area with snakes make sure you purchase a fine chicken wire so your chickens are safe from these predators it will also keep your chickens safe from other reptiles such as the lizard family, iguanas will eat all your chicken eggs.
Make sure you have a coop where the chickens can sleep at night, and that it is secure and warm.
Use fine pine bedding, straw, and hay only - avoid cedar as it causes respiratory illness and even death in chickens.
On a regular basis you will need to clean the old bedding out of the coop because chickens are very prone to bird mites especially during spring time.
When you do, just toss it onto the compost pile.
It will make very rich compost in a short time.
The best way to keep chickens effectively is to educate yourself as much as possible.
Check out books at your local library, search the internet for websites like ours and talk to people who keep chickens in situations similar to yours.
They will eat relatively inexpensive chicken feed and kitchen scraps, and then turn those into eggs.
Their manure makes good fertilizer and their insect-eating tendencies help with pest control.
If you want to employ nature's recyclers in your eco-friendly home, keep the following things in mind.
Everything likes to eat chicken.
You don't have to be out in the country for predators to destroy your flock in an instant.
Dogs, weasels, raccoons, coyotes, bobcats, hawks, owls, and possums can all take a toll on your chicken population.
So be aware of the predators in your area and what you can do to prevent them from helping themselves to a chicken dinner at your place.
Consider a chicken tractor for daytime protection.
This is ideal for the small-scale, urban or suburban chicken keeper.
It is certainly suitable for farms, too.
A chicken tractor is a movable pen, usually made from a wood frame that is covered with chicken wire or hardware cloth.
Part of the tractor needs to be covered for shelter.
This apparatus is moved to fresh ground daily.
If you live in an area with snakes make sure you purchase a fine chicken wire so your chickens are safe from these predators it will also keep your chickens safe from other reptiles such as the lizard family, iguanas will eat all your chicken eggs.
Make sure you have a coop where the chickens can sleep at night, and that it is secure and warm.
Use fine pine bedding, straw, and hay only - avoid cedar as it causes respiratory illness and even death in chickens.
On a regular basis you will need to clean the old bedding out of the coop because chickens are very prone to bird mites especially during spring time.
When you do, just toss it onto the compost pile.
It will make very rich compost in a short time.
The best way to keep chickens effectively is to educate yourself as much as possible.
Check out books at your local library, search the internet for websites like ours and talk to people who keep chickens in situations similar to yours.
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