How to Keep Chickens - A Must Read For You
If you are a pet lover, keeping a few chickens in your house will not be a bad idea! Chickens are quite useful as well as fun to be with.
And if you have children in your home, keeping chickens will mean bringing new friends for them as chickens are extremely friendly with young people.
But before you bring chickens to your house, there are certain things that you should consider.
First of all, find out whether the local law of your place allows chicken keeping.
This is important as some cities do not permit keeping of chickens and you sure wouldn't like some little birds to send you behind the bars! Next, research on the different breeds of hens and chose the one that best suits your purpose and bring them home.
But, hey! Wait! Have you got a coop for your hens? Where do you think they're going to stay and sleep? Before you bring the chickens home, buy or make a coop for them.
The coops need not be too large but they should be big enough for the chickens to roam, sleep and lay eggs.
An area of 4 square feet per chicken should be alright.
For your chickens to lay eggs when they become hens, you should make a special place in the coop with straw or something of the sort that will provide good bedding.
Hens always want to lay their eggs in a safe place so make sure you have taken care of this.
The coop for your hen should also be airy and should have shades in summer and some provision of keeping it warm during winter days.
A heat lamp or a water heater should serve the purpose well.
You should keep the floor of the coop covered with chips of wood or cedar.
The chickens are birds that enjoy roaming around freely.
So, they don't like it if they are cooped up for a very long time.
Besides chickens and kens have the habit of pecking.
This is a friendly gesture among hens under normal condition.
But if they are kept inside the coop for long hours and get annoyed, they can even peck each other to death! From the very first day make sure that you don't let this happen.
It becomes a little difficult to keep the chickens outside if you have other predators as pets.
For most of them, a chicken will make a good meal so they are always on the lookout.
A pet dog eating a pet chicken is one of the commonest problems faced by multiple pet keepers! In order to keep the predators away, build a good fence (even an electric fence if required) around the area where you will let your chickens lose.
Apart from these, following a few more tips like giving food and water to your chicken regularly, checking if they are eating and drinking properly, consulting a vet whenever you notice something unusual should make your life with chickens a perfect bliss!
And if you have children in your home, keeping chickens will mean bringing new friends for them as chickens are extremely friendly with young people.
But before you bring chickens to your house, there are certain things that you should consider.
First of all, find out whether the local law of your place allows chicken keeping.
This is important as some cities do not permit keeping of chickens and you sure wouldn't like some little birds to send you behind the bars! Next, research on the different breeds of hens and chose the one that best suits your purpose and bring them home.
But, hey! Wait! Have you got a coop for your hens? Where do you think they're going to stay and sleep? Before you bring the chickens home, buy or make a coop for them.
The coops need not be too large but they should be big enough for the chickens to roam, sleep and lay eggs.
An area of 4 square feet per chicken should be alright.
For your chickens to lay eggs when they become hens, you should make a special place in the coop with straw or something of the sort that will provide good bedding.
Hens always want to lay their eggs in a safe place so make sure you have taken care of this.
The coop for your hen should also be airy and should have shades in summer and some provision of keeping it warm during winter days.
A heat lamp or a water heater should serve the purpose well.
You should keep the floor of the coop covered with chips of wood or cedar.
The chickens are birds that enjoy roaming around freely.
So, they don't like it if they are cooped up for a very long time.
Besides chickens and kens have the habit of pecking.
This is a friendly gesture among hens under normal condition.
But if they are kept inside the coop for long hours and get annoyed, they can even peck each other to death! From the very first day make sure that you don't let this happen.
It becomes a little difficult to keep the chickens outside if you have other predators as pets.
For most of them, a chicken will make a good meal so they are always on the lookout.
A pet dog eating a pet chicken is one of the commonest problems faced by multiple pet keepers! In order to keep the predators away, build a good fence (even an electric fence if required) around the area where you will let your chickens lose.
Apart from these, following a few more tips like giving food and water to your chicken regularly, checking if they are eating and drinking properly, consulting a vet whenever you notice something unusual should make your life with chickens a perfect bliss!
Source...