# General Chicken care Question



## ThePigeonKid (Jan 15, 2009)

I was wondering what all it takes to keep chickens? 

I mean like just a general, feeding, housing etc. 

Thanks!


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

Well they'll eat about anything. Cracked corn, wild bird seed, chicken pellets of course, leftovers from the garden (they LOVE tomatoes), bread, grass...anything! We feed ours your typical scratch feed.
Our chickens are free range, so we have a little coop we threw together (doesn't have to be fancy, as long as it has perches and nest boxes). They go in to roost and we lock them in so they're safe through the night. Then they come right back out in the morning to start running around the yard looking for food again 
We do have a chicken lot to put them in. It's just a fenced in area around the coop. Some chicken wire for that will do. We used to clip their wings and keep them in there, but I like to see them in the yard, so I let their feathers grow. Makes it a little harder for anything to get them when they can fly.
Chickens are really easy to keep. As long as you have food, water, and somewhere safe and dry to sleep, you'll have happy chickens!


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## honey97 (Dec 7, 2008)

*keeping chickens*

It's really important to have warmth for them during the colder nights. Some chickens are better equipped to handle the colder nights with lower profile combs. I have one RIR that has a massive comb, to the point it lays over, I call it "a comb" over lol. I have seen it discolored from the cold, since then I make sure I have supplemental heat on the coldest of nights. But all in all if you have a good structure, that will break the drafts they stay pretty warm. They will huddle when they need to. One thing I have found is putting your grass clipping in their scratch yard will help keep the smell down. And I use hay in the winter because they enjoy turning it over looking for bugs, and that too helps with absorbing moisture from droppings. One draw back of having chickens is they will get into every flower bed/garden bed you have unless you take measures to avoid this--haha you will get inventive!! Would be glad to share my experiences if they are wanted. I have been keeping chickens for about 4 years on my own, but I was raised around chickens growing up.

connie


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## george simon (Feb 28, 2006)

ThePigeonKid said:


> I was wondering what all it takes to keep chickens?
> 
> I mean like just a general, feeding, housing etc.
> 
> Thanks!


 Go to google type in chickens and you will find all you need to know. ..GEORGE


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## ThePigeonKid (Jan 15, 2009)

Thank you for your answers. 

I was wondering, what breed of chicken are the best to keep?


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

there are too many to name, so you will have to do some research and decide if you want eggs or large size chickens or bantams or just unusual ones, this site may help you get familar with some of the breeds

http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

You have received some good advise.
I have had chickens for 15 years...all rescued hens. They are just as vulnerable to the same kinds of predators that kill our Pigeons. I used to let mine free range until one day, I watched in horror as a Peregrine Falcon swooped down to take my favorite. All I could do was pound on the window which was just enough of a distraction to allow her the time to hide under a bush. Now they have a house that they sleep in and an enclosed outside area around the back and sides of their house. I only let them out when I can be outside with them and even then I am very leery. You can see pictures in my album. it's a very cool chicken house and it looks expensive but it's made mostly from old house parts from a salvage place.
As for the smell...if you pick the poop up religiously, every morning, there will be no odor.
Chickens get sick too so you need to be prepared.
Check out...www.backyardchickens.com
There could be another forum in your future.


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

ThePigeonKid said:


> Thank you for your answers.
> 
> I was wondering, what breed of chicken are the best to keep?


All depends on what you're looking for.
There's basically two sizes of chickens, standard and bantam. Do you care how big or little they are? Most of the chickens who lay brown eggs are bigger, and the white egg chickens are mostly smaller. There's also breeds who are more broody than others, meaning when they lay their clutch, they'll go to sit on them. Other chickens are experts at laying a lot of eggs.

Since there's soooo many different types of chickens, I'll just tell you what I can about the kinds I've had.

*Rhode Island Reds* - Big chickens. I'm pretty sure there are bantam sized ones but mine were huge! They lay big deep brown eggs, which are our favorite. Mine were never the first to start sitting on their eggs quickly. They'd just lay eggs. I had two roosters that were interesting guys. The first one didn't have a name, but he was somewhat tame. You could walk up and almost pet him (I don't think he liked it much ), but he'd peck you. The other one I named Reggie. He was the same, and was full of himself...except...when the other, much smaller roosters came to kick his tailfeathers 

*Old English Game Bantams* - RIRs are my favorite big chickens, but these are my favorite small ones. We always had black ones, as well as some mixes I'm sure. They were always a bit more wild, but I do have Omar (mom was OEG, dad was Seabright), who is very friendly. You can pick him up and he'll sit on your lap for a long time if you 'preen' his neck feathers. They lay white eggs, and a lot of them. Mine love to sit on them too. I would sometimes get a little slack on collecting eggs, then go down there to find a few big nests of everyone's eggs, being incubated by all my OEG hens. Another plus is they can fly really well. We kept ours' wings clipped when they were in the pen so they'd stay, but now they're 'free range' so I like them to have full sets of flights in case a dog comes running out of nowhere.

*Sex-links* - Another big chicken with lighter brown eggs. From my own chickens, I've seen that these are more broody than RIRs. You stick your hand under one of these on a nest, and you'll get a peck you won't forget 
I think there's only three colors of these? Black, blonde, and some are more red looking.

*Seabrights* - We had both the Golden and the Silver Seabrights. They're smaller than OEGs. Their color is really pretty IMO. They lay little white eggs, but I never saw any of mine attempt to sit on theirs. They can fly pretty well and make good pets.

*B.B.'s* - These are tiny little chickens, about the same size as the Seabrights. I only had two hens, and I wish I had more. They could fly of course, and laid white eggs. I can say basically the same for these as the Seabrights. But those two hens I had were my little buddies. They were really tame. So I'd definitely mark these as pet material (which really any chickens can be if you want them to be)

*Araucana* - Easter egg chickens! They lay light blue and green eggs. From what I've heard there's both sizes for these. Mine were closer to bantam size. I didn't have them long enough to tell you much, but they were interesting looking. They had 'sideburns' and 'mohawks', haha.

*Silkies* - I had some pretty big Silkies, all white. They were hard to keep clean, haha. Also didn't have these very long. I'm pretty sure they laid white eggs though. They look like fluff balls with blue feet and a blue face. There's buff, white, blue, and black Silkies I think. I think these are good pets too, since they can't fly. So they're naturally going to be more tame.

*Cochins* - Small with big fluffy legs and feathered feet. They're cute and don't run across the yard...they bounce! Or at least it looks that way. Mine were very active little guys. White eggs out of these. I can't remember how they did sitting wise, since most of my nestboxes were taken up by OEGs or sex-links. I had a few buff ones a long time ago, but a little more recently I had one black hen. She was really pretty most of her feathers were laced in gold.


I know I've had more than that, I just either don't know for sure what they were, or I can't even remember what exactly they looked like. All my chickens came from the local feed store in the spring, so of course I always end up with a big variety of bantams and probably mixes (who knows?). Either way I love them all. I don't think it really matters what kind you get, you're sure to like them regardless


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

MaryOfExeter said:


> All depends on what you're looking for.
> There's basically two sizes of chickens, standard and bantam. Do you care how big or little they are? Most of the chickens who lay brown eggs are bigger, and the white egg chickens are mostly smaller. There's also breeds who are more broody than others, meaning when they lay their clutch, they'll go to sit on them. Other chickens are experts at laying a lot of eggs.
> 
> Since there's soooo many different types of chickens, I'll just tell you what I can about the kinds I've had.
> ...


Thats cool Becky, I did'nt know you were a chicken person too!
I have always wanted some seabrights, they are so pretty and small and spunky.


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## ThePigeonKid (Jan 15, 2009)

Thank you for all of your responses and advice. 

One more thing: out of those breeds, how many eggs do they lay in a day?


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

Spirit Wings, yeah I'm kinda just an all around bird person  I've had chickens all my life (literally) and they were my buddies before pigeons came along 

Pigeon Kid,
I don't believe chickens can lay anymore than one egg a day.
I think out of that list the RIRs and Sex-links are the best layers, giving you an egg nearly everyday.

Here's some info I found on all these breeds. In this case I think wikipedia will do a good job 

Old English Game Bantam (note that BB's are OEG's. they're normally called 'BB Reds')
Rhode Island Red
Sex-link
Seabright
Silkie
Araucana/Ameraucana
Cochin


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## eyespyer (Jul 14, 2008)

ThePigeonKid said:


> Thank you for all of your responses and advice.
> 
> One more thing: out of those breeds, how many eggs do they lay in a day?



I have had red Sex-links, and am now raising the black Sex-links. They lay an egg almost every day. They are real good in the cold, and can tolerate the heat better than most.


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## Ed (Sep 18, 2008)

george simon said:


> Go to google type in chickens and you will find all you need to know. ..GEORGE




that is what this forum is for
telling someone to go google is not really helping them at all


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## bluebirdsnfur (Jan 20, 2009)

I don't have any chickens (want some) but I visit www.backyardchickens.com all the time and Charis is right, you will find everything you ever want to know about chickens there. It's a really great site! lots of coop pictures!


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## UncleBuck (Dec 23, 2008)

I raise and sell chickens. My favorites are... ALL OF THEM! I usually get fifty Barred Rocks (hens) every two years and use them to cross with my Rhode Island Red (RIR) cocks. I get the black sex links from those eggs. The black sexed links usually lay between 320 eggs to 340 eggs a year. They are comparable to the RIR. I like the sexed links because I honestly believe in the hybrid vigor.
My wife likes her bantams. Bantams have a Napoleon attitude and their diminutive size does not stop them from believing they rule the world.
I have a thing about people who put human feelings and emotions on animals... But each, or most of these, chickens do have a personality. My favorite is Miss Henny-Penny, a buff orphanton who thinks she is in charge of the farm yard. She sits on the half door to the barn while I am feeding the critters and I think she finds fault with everything I do. Always clucking at me (Put another scoop of wheat in that bucket! C'mon, you can give us a little extra wheat grass today! Corn Corn Corn, whats with the corn?) while I am getting the feed ready for them.
Anyway, like someone mentioned above, backyard chickens is a wealth of information and is a wonderful forum to join. Just make sure you come back to this forum!
Hope everyone is doing well and staying warm.


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## bluebirdsnfur (Jan 20, 2009)

I want, want, want, one silkie pullet and one cochin pullet this summer


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## ThePigeonKid (Jan 15, 2009)

I want to thank everyone again for all of the great advice.


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## teebo (Jul 7, 2006)

Depends on how many chickens you are getting.during the winter months ,all my hens and roos cuddle together to keep warm,but you don't need to heat the coop,but i know some who do.i have been raising chickens for 5 yrs,and i love it,especially my silkies they are so docile and friendly,but not to good for egg laying,they are good for brooding eggs and make great mommies.i feed layer pellets,cracked corn,grit and oyster shell,and lots of left overs from dinner.they are easy to keep,what i love is during the warmer months i let them out of their run and sit and watch them for hours,its very relaxing.good luck!


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## teebo (Jul 7, 2006)

*Silkie Pullet*



bluebirdsnfur said:


> I want, want, want, one silkie pullet and one cochin pullet this summer


i have 2 white silkie pullets right now they were born dec,21.believe it or not i still have them in the house...its too cold to put them out right now,and because of them always seeing me and feeding they have become so tame...they are so cute.i will have to post some pics soon.i will also be getting blues and splashes this spring.


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## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

I love chickens! I have rescued hens and it is very rewarding.
I also have made a chicken care book so you can pm me for that if you want. It's mostly copied from mypetchicken.com


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## bluebirdsnfur (Jan 20, 2009)

teebo said:


> i have 2 white silkie pullets right now they were born dec,21.believe it or not i still have them in the house...its too cold to put them out right now,and because of them always seeing me and feeding they have become so tame...they are so cute.i will have to post some pics soon.i will also be getting blues and splashes this spring.


Lucky you! I have heard they make great pets. I am hoping , maybe late summer, to get a couple of silkie pullets. I look on backyardchickens.com all the time. I just have to get the coop thing right so I can separate them from our little pij, Flurry.


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## conditionfreak (Jan 11, 2008)

I didn't read all of the threads posted here, so forgive me if I repeat what others have said. I will avoid the obvious and tell you some things others might not have metioned.

If you want eggs, I would get "Comets" (maybe called Red Comets). They lay brown eggs at the rate of about 3 eggs every four days. If you want a lot of white eggs, I would get White Leghorns. They lay at the rate of about four eggs every three days. Or more likely 1 egg a day.

You do not need a rooster at all to get eggs and as a matter of fact, they are a hinderance. They will fertilize the eggs and sometimes you will get little embryo's (blod spots) in the eggs if you do not get to them shortly after they are layed.

Leghorns are "flighty" chickens. What I mean by that is they are high strung and prone to panic. What I did was get some Comets, whcih are more calm, to keep with my White Leghorns, to help keeping the Leghorns calm.

You also have to understand the flying capabilities of chickens. They can not fly very well, but they can fly. They will get out of a fenced in area. Even if it is a 6 foot high fence. I covered my fenced in area with wire, but clipping their wings will also work to keep them from flying over the fence. You will need to clip their wings twice a year. Clipping is done by using a pair of scissors and cutting their flight feathers half way. Please do not do this until you are sure what you are doing. I can go in more detail about it (also others here can as well), if you want to go that route. It does not harm the chicken except to limit their flight ability.

One thing to consider is that some chickens are mighty heavy as birds go. If their perches are very high in their roost, the can injure therselves when coming down in the morning after resting on the perches all night. So, if you clip their wings, you have to make the perches no higher than three feet, IMO.

Also be aware, if there are dogs about and your chickens are fenced in away from the dogs, the dogs may go over or under the fence, and will also bite the heads off of your chickens when the chickens stick their heads through the fence to grab a bug or blade of grass or whatever. The chickens WILL do this, no matter how much you feed them. They can not resist a bug or worm. They also have no understanding that they are sticking their heads where the dogs are waiting.

Chickens will eat just about anything. We here at my house, waste nothing. Paper, plastic, glass and tin cans go to the recycle bins. Pop cans get sold at the metal recycling plant. Scrap food either goes to the dogs, goats or chickens.

I sometimes wonder why I pay for trash pickup. We average one small bag of trash a month and they pick it up weekly.

Silkies are an interesting chicken to look at, but a little frail IMO, and you just don't get any eggs to eat, worth mentioning. I am all about the eggs for the table, when it comes to chickens.

Another interesting chicken breed is the "Araucana", also known as the Easter Egg Chicken. They lay various hues of green and blue eggs. They lay about one egg every other day or so, in my experience.


Roosters can attack you, if they are in the mood. But not usually much of a problem. They will also hurt the appearance of your hens when they get on their backs to mate with them. The backs of the hens can sometimes become bare patches, whcih is not good in cold weather.

I have never had any chickens need any warmth, other than protection from the wind in the winters.

Oh. There is no difference between the eggs, as far as color of the shell goes. They are all the same and taste the same. Eggs can be cleaned with a wet rag, but do not soak them. Clean the muck off and let them dry for about twenty minutes on top of a paper towel on your kitchen counter. Then refrigerate them. Try to get them form the coop within 24 hours, although I have got some two days later and had no problems. Any older and I feed them to the dogs (without the shell although some dog owners think the shells are good for the dogs). A raw egg every other day to your dog/s will make them have really healthy and shiney coats. it really does.

Hope this helps.


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## conditionfreak (Jan 11, 2008)

I would like to add a little something about obtaining chickens. My first chickens came from an egg farm. There was an add in a local newspaper that said "retired egg laying hens for sale". I called and they said that the chickens were less than a year old and that they replace their laying hens on the egg farm every year, because production goes down every year of a laying hens life and they are all about producing as many eggs as they can get for the same amount of feed.

So I go there expecting to see some chickens running around a farm. What it actually was, were several huge buildings containing thousands of small wire cages. In each cage were two white leghorns. One facing one way and the other facing the other way. Side by side. They fit in the cages exactly and could not walk, turn around or even lie down as far as I could tell. Their beaks had been snipped off, making them blunt, so that they could not peck and injure each other. The worker there told me this and told me that they stay like this for the approximately eight months they are used for egg production. He showed me another building where they are very young and do have a little room to move in a big and crowded area as very young chickens. Too young to lay eggs.

I felt so sorry for them that I purchasd all that I could handle (one dozen), at .50 cents each and took them home. I put them in a coop and pen that I had recently built and they acted like they had little concept of how to walk. They appeared to not understand what they could or should do next.

I had to feed them a mash mixture (which is what the egg farm people fed them) because they could not pick up seed with their beaks being short and smashed in. They literally had to smash their faces into the feed mixture, to force the feed into their mouths.

I do not know what happens to the thousands and thousands of birds that are not obtained by others like me, but I assume they are sold for the meat pot or for dog food or some other such type thing.

I raised young ones off of these birds (I purchased a normal leghorn cock) and as I previously stated, the leghorns are diffinitely a high strung breed. Which makes it twice as troubling that they were kept in that type condition for months on end.

The cages were slighty downhill, so that when a bird would lay an egg, the egg would roll out from under an opening and onto a catch trough. Then someone would come by everyday and pick up the eggs from the trough. The cages were all half inch mesh wire, including the bottoms.

I guess my point is, if you want to have some chickens and do a good deed at the same time, try to obtain some from an egg farm. They are cheap, less than a year old, and will make you feel good for doing it. You would have to feed them a mash formula though, or they will starve.

I should mention that they became more normal after just a few days of "freedom". They just looked comical trying to eat what other birds normally eat. They couldn't pick up seed, worms, nor insects. Poor things.

I would have got more over the years, from this place. But I moved several hundred miles away from there several years ago.

I should check and see if there are any around my new location. I hadn't thought of it until this thread. Thanks for reminding me.


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## conditionfreak (Jan 11, 2008)

Wow. I "talk" too much.


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