Sounds simple doesn’t it? When I first started out with chickens and had a handful of ladies it was simple. They all knew and trusted me – so I could easily scoop them up and do whatever was needed.
When I was done, I would plop them down and give them a treat so they would always trust me and come to me.
This plan of attack worked well for most of the ladies, but… [Read More]
Todays’ article tackles one of the least endearing qualities of our beloved hens – bullying.
It is more than establishing the ‘pecking order’- it is systematically picking on one or two hens for no apparent reason.
Bullying can be limited to feather plucking or it can escalate into full blown warfare with the receiving hen being severely injured or possibly killed.
In this article we will cover what the usual causes of bullying are, how… [Read More]
We’ve all heard the phrase ‘the pecking order’. In our minds eye, we likely see colleagues and co-workers neatly arranged in order of ‘merit’. From the CEO down to the janitor, everyone has a place in the ‘pecking order’.
The term ‘pecking order’ was first coined in 1921 by Thorleif Schjelderup-Ebbe to describe the hierarchy of flock dynamics and it came into popular usage in the 1930s.
At times the pecking order can make life… [Read More]
The oldest chicken ever to have lived was called Matilda, and she was sixteen years old when she finally died.
Her life circumstances were not ‘average chicken’. She belonged to a pair of stage magicians who took great care of her. Also, she never laid any eggs! She had quite a luxurious life with minimal stress- she apparently enjoyed being a ‘stage chicken’, even appearing on the Jay Leno show!
Aside from exceptional birds like… [Read More]
Choosing your chickens’ fencing is not to be taken lightly. It should last for a long time, and protect your chickens from wandering and the many predators in the outside world that is your yard.
When you select your chicken fencing, there are a few things you should take into consideration to make sure your new fence is serving its purpose.
Ask yourself the following questions:
Will the fencing keep my chickens in?
Will… [Read More]