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Being a new chicken owner can be overwhelming. You have done the research and asked all of the questions. Maybe even some expert chicken owners have given more information than you can even process. You just got that order of fifteen chicks from the post office and you are starting to wonder if you are really ready to care for them. In this article, you will learn what not to do and you will find out things about chickens that are not widely known.
Knowing more about chickens at a personal level will help you to be a better chicken owner. Let’s not worry about walking on eggshells. We will get into the grit of caring for chickens that explores deeper into knowing about them. This will help you to not be a pathetic chicken owner. If you thought that you can keep chickens and not get emotionally attached to these sweet animals, you are in for a surprise...
Having a rooster will be your best ally and partner in keeping hens. Unfortunately roosters have gotten a bad reputation and because they are vocal they have been banned from most neighborhoods. If you are allowed a rooster, you should get one. A good rooster is a faithful rooster. He only has eyes for your hens and is guarding them 24/7. He will look for food for the hens while still watching for predators. Hen will have squabbles between each other and your rooster will stop the fight by putting himself between them, and the hens will listen to him. Your hens know he is their best chance at survival and what is great is he speaks their language!
Your hens require a safe place to lay their eggs, and your rooster will help them to find a nest. Not only that, he will make it comfortable for them as well. When a hen is feeling vulnerable while laying the egg, he will stand guard in front of her and sing soothing sounds to her until she is done. WARNING: Being aggressive towards your rooster in any way, can make him mistrust you and become aggressive towards you. You can get an occasional “bad seed” rooster who is violent either with the hens or with humans. Keep looking for one because there are many roosters who are gentlemen and will care for your hens when you are not able to be there.
Even though having a rooster can complete your flock, your hens are resilient for themselves as well. Some believe that chickens are dumb, but in reality they can learn things like most animals, including their name. Ken Adams says: “I used to think chickens were just good for food until I experienced them first hand and saw how they could communicate with you.”
Who knew you could communicate with your flock by signs and speech? Chickens can understand basic body language and tones. From early on you need to come up with repetitive sounds and hand motions to use them with your chickens. The way to use sounds, is to tell your chickens, I have food for you. Or its okay, don’t be scared. Using the same signs before an action will teach them what the sign means. One example would be to hold your hands out and make a obvious, slow motion that points back towards you. Then pick up your chicken to pet and cuddle with them making them feel safe. They will now know this means, I want to pick you up; and when they see you do this and they want to cuddle with you they will come over to you, no more chasing hens!
Body language and sounds are important communication methods with chickens and it is a great way to keep chickens as pets with the extra benefit of eggs! Every hen is capable of learning her name. She can live with nine other sister hens and hear their name, and only respond to her name. Hens have individual tastes and personalities, so why not an individual name? Be imaginative, name your bird after your favorite dessert or your favorite band. When they are young pullets start teaching them their name similar to how you would teach a puppy theirs: Repetition.
Sit down with their favorite treat such as raisins, and while offering the treat they will make eye contact with you and the raisin. Once they do, call them their name while giving the raisin. Do this to each bird every time you give treats or make eye contact with them. Once they learn their name, you can call them from afar and they will come running, especially if it means you have something they want to devour. Your hen’s desire for food is fueled by egg laying.
Be Patient with your hens.. they will give you 200 plus eggs a year!
Be Patient with your hens.. they will give you 200 plus eggs a year!
Be patient with your hens when it comes to egg laying. For the first few months of your chicks lives, it will seem like forever to you until you get an egg. You have dished out pounds and pounds of feed and treats, and there is still no sign of an egg yet. The day will come and since you are new to chickens, it will take you by surprise. Once they start, your hens will become laying machines. It is really important to your hen to lay eggs, it seems to be a trophy to them as they sing loudly the fact that they have just laid an egg. Laying an egg can be physically draining for your hen. Many times in their lifetime they will need to have breaks where they do not lay at all. Do not panic, they will come back with a fury and give you those 200 plus eggs a year once again! There are many opinions on how to handle a chicken that isn’t laying at the moment.
According to The Self Sufficient HomeAcre, their method is to seclude the hens in their own cage to see if they are laying. After three days if there is no egg, they will cull the bird saying she is not worth feeding.
Regina Phalange states: “I have had many hens take breaks longer than 3 days and once they were done they got back to laying. If I had followed that method of 3 days then cull, I would have missed out on thousands of eggs overtime from those hens.”
Remember your hens go through a lot to lay those daily eggs and need those breaks to keep them living healthy, egg laying lives. You will work hard with your hens for the eggs, so be patient when they need that egg-cation!
Now sit back and enjoy your new chicks as they explore the brooder. Feel confident now that you can go the extra mile in owning your chickens. It will be a lot of fun and you will love sitting with your chickens enjoying the outdoors with them. Going the extra mile will help you to not be a pathetic chicken owner.
Website Title: The Self Sufficient HomeAcre
Article Title: How to Tell If a Hen Is Laying Eggs
Date Published: January 4, 2015
Date Accessed: March 5, 2018
http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2015/01/how-to-tell-if-a-hen-is-laying-eggs.html
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