Raising chickens should not be a fuss. There are actually several reasons why people want to cultivate chickens in their backyard. Some of these are written below.

Below mentioned are some seasons why to raise chickens:

Reason # 1 – Chickens love leftovers.

A chicken’s appetite is incredible. They can eat almost everything, even their own kind! You can now say bye-bye to those unwanted leftovers being left rotten in your fridge. You feel less guilty of throwing them out into the garbage can.

Plus, you can save on chicken feed. But be very careful with what you give for it may be their last supper. Tone down on the onions and garlic.

Reason #2 – Eggs!

Who doesn’t love eggs? Have them boiled, scrambled, sunny side up, etc. Admit it, pets that live comfortably inside your houses don’t give anything more than barks, meows, purrs, and sometimes, chirp. Fishes, in general, can be eaten, but who would want to eat Goldie?

None of these domesticated animals produce something edible. Well, chickens, on the other hand, have lots of benefits. One of the many benefits to raise chickens is their eggs.

A coop is what you normally call a chicken’s house. It’s their kingdom! It is a hen’s castle. So you have to make sure to keep their house maintained at a four star accreditation for this will help the chickens grow healthy and happy.

Therefore, to keep it the way it should be, there are specific requirements to cope up with to build a coop that will satisfy both you and your chickens. You, the poultry owner, of all people should understand this.

Here are specific requirements to cope up with to build a coop:

Requirement 1:

Regarding its design, the coop must be secured from any kind of predator. Every single angle in the pen – sides, below and above, must be structured to withstand the wrath and longing of predators that are always on the lookout for a free meal.

When selecting a wire mesh, be sure it is the right one. Predators are more than one. They scour within the area of your coop unnoticed just waiting for the time when they can attack. You have to make sure that the coop is impenetrable because some predators like raccoons just reach out for their prey, easily.

For raising chickens, there are procedures and adaptations to attend to. One very good instance is introducing a group of “new” birds to a flock of old birds.

It’s like managing to merge two restaurants when one is Italian and the other is Chinese. Stress will come along. And that is not an assumption but a fact.

Many poultry owners who think that they’re ready to expand their chicken farm make certain measures of importing birds that came or was purchased from the outside, while others take their time and wait for hens to hatch their eggs.

Here are the things you need to know before introducing new chickens to the block:

Adding new breeds into your peaceful and comfortable neighborhood of chickens can put a quite a rumble between the old and the new.

Admit it, nobody likes newcomers. And adding these newcomers into a flock of hens or roosters that already have certain territories inside their coop can be big mess. The newcomers will try to take their place too, and the oldies will try their best to protect their area.

The brooding place is ready. All things are set. All you need are the chicks. Upon anticipating the day of their arrival, you must get yourself ready otherwise things will go out of hand.

Here’s what to do when the chicks arrive. This will be very helpful to get your way through raising your own chickens.

Here are the tips on what to do when the chicks arrive:

Tip 1

If the chicks arrived from elsewhere, you have to examine them very well. Chicks must arrive in a condition that is nowhere near “diseased”. If you noticed that the chicks arrived in poor condition, you could let the postal employee inspect the shipment again.

It is required that the employee certify the shipment arrive in good condition. Advise the proper authorities on what the problems are regarding the shipment for immediate action.

Tip 2

Before putting the chicks inside, the brooder must have its proper temperature, which is at least 90 degrees. Make sure the area is warm and maintain this for a week. You can reduce the temperature for 5 degrees every week that goes on for the first five weeks. After the first five weeks, the poultry will no longer require the heat supplemented.

There are two types of chicks to rise: the ones you practically took care of from the moment they were hatched and the ones that you bought from hatcheries, which are already taken care of and just needs further nourishing.

Basing from the two choices, there are also two ways of properly raising the chicks before becoming the perfect chickens.

Here are the ways of properly raising the chicks before becoming the perfect chickens:

Chicks hatched from your own poultry’s eggs basically need 4 things: comfort, warmth, food and water. Comfort can be based from your own personal touch and how you hold the chicks.

Warmth is taken from the mother or if you plan to separate the chicks on an early stage, an incubator or what others call as a heat lamp is essential.

Usually the incubator is composed of two or three light bulbs depending on the number of chicks that have hatched.

The very first thing to do is fix the place where you will put your hatchlings – the brooder. It must have a temperature that is neither too cold nor too hot. Either of the two extremes will contribute severe negative conditions to the chicks.

Clipping chicken wings is an owner’s way of saying “You can’t go anywhere.” Clipping chicken wings is basically defined as the method of preventing backyard chickens to fly anywhere they want.

Some, who think that wind clipping chicken wings is inhumane, would rather see their chickens flying and wasting their time chasing them around the pen so as not to lose them.

But others, who do it, believe that clipping chicken wings is more of an advantage than a disadvantage.

Basic advantages of clipping chicken wings:

One of the basic advantages of clipping chicken wings is that if you keep your chickens in a free-range status, you lessen the thought of worrying that your chickens will go flying around and say “Bon Voyage!” If you wanted to keep your chickens inside their pen and make them lay those eggs, you have to adapt to certain measures no matter how brutal it seems.

For those, who agree in the idea of clipping and are fascinated on how to clip, the wings of their chickens don’t dare think that there is bloodshed involved because there is none. Well, maybe just a drop.

There are so many reasons why someone would want or wouldn’t want a chicken in their backyard. There are debates about it and here are some:

Pros of raising chickens:

1. Costs incredibly cheap.

When we say cheap, not only does the chicken itself count but also the maintenance of it all.

Compared to keeping a dog or a cat for a pet, it is much cheaper to take care of a number of chickens most likely because they are not choosy when it comes to food.

You can feed them, scraps and table leftovers and they will happily gobble it up. With as little as $2 a day, you can spend on a bunch of layer mash.

2. You can get something from them.

Eggs, Meat, Ornament. Who wouldn’t want it? In terms of eggs, it is seldom that you encounter a chicken that can’t lay eggs. It is a good source of iron, which is good for the brain. You could either sell these eggs or keep them in your fridge.

With meat, every part of a chicken can be eaten. Yes, every. In cases of those who don’t want to see their chickens go bye-bye, they raise them as pets and for exhibition purposes.

Even though it seems like chickens are fragile creatures, chickens have certain characteristics that can let them survive through whatever weather may come. But you have to take note that not all chickens are alike.

While some chickens can withstand winters, others preferred to sun bathe during summer sunshine.

It will all depend on the weather that you are having when you decide to purchase the right kind of chicken so as not to waste money and time raising them and just have them end up in a chicken graveyard.

Raising chickens during winter:

During wintertime or in cold weather days, never try heating your chickens just because you fear that they might catch a cold or freeze.

You may find your flock dead in the morning. F.Y.I., chickens can adapt to extreme cold conditions because their body can change the metabolism as the cold weather approaches.

If you live in a place where winters are more prominent than summer or is literary winter all the time, you might as well take certain actions for your chickens that will not put any of your chicken’s lives in danger.

Chickens are wonderful animals. They are like the coconut. You see, the coconut can be used in many ways- from the leaves to the roots.

In more ways than one, chickens are bred and raised because it entails a lot of benefits.

In Asian countries, chickens can be eaten from beak down to its funny-looking feet. Thus, making it one of the sought after poultry products in the animal community.

Yet, chickens aren’t used only for food but for ornamental purposes. It all depends on the owner of the poultry farm if he’s going to raise chickens for food or for exhibition.

Whatever the purpose is for these critters, you can settle on one simple question…what chicken breeds should you get?

Here are the ideas to consider when choosing chicken breeds:

There are actually four ideas to consider when choosing chicken breeds – egg production only, eggs and meat combined, exhibition, and meat only. Aside from these four, people also account chickens as a hobby and they very well enjoy watching and caring for their chickens.

As the chickens get older, they would require less maintenance.

Meaning, there are still some things to take care of but it’s less delicate than when dealing with babies.

Differences between taking care of newly hatched chickens and those that are like 2 weeks up to a month old:

There are quite a few differences between taking care of newly hatched chickens and those that are like 2 weeks up to a month old. These are the chickens that already have prominent feathers and their bodies are bigger compared than when they were quite smaller. These are also the chickens that you bought from hatcheries.

Here are some raising tips for grown up chickens:

The basic needs for chickens are still important like food, water, comfort, and warmth. Those four essentials for chickens can never be taken away from the list even if they are already old enough to lay eggs.

The list remains the same, although, now that chickens are more grown up, their needs have increased. Their appetite and hunger increases, their need for space increases, their need for water increases. Everything about them increases. Thus, you should make proper adjustments and see to it that every matter is taken care of.