Here’s some info on keeping chickens safe and healthy!
>>You can get chickens from a hatchery in your area, search the Internet or check the phone book. If there is a factory farm nearby, toy can check on rescue birds, or just ask.
>>Chickens Kay according to the number of light hours per day. More light (Summer) = more eggs: up to 1/day. In Winter, they lay fewer eggs, and sometimes not at all. Some people put a light in the coop to keep them laying, while others think that’s cruel, average lay is 2 to 3 eggs every 3 days.
>>Chickens need fresh water every day and chicken food that you can buy from the feed store. You can also feed them grains and veggies.
>>They love snails! They also love leftover veggies– Food Not Bombs is their best friend.
>>They love to come out and scratch around for bugs, but will destroy your garden– or be your chicken tractor, if you use a movable coop in early Spring.
>>Chickenshit is great for compost.
>>Raccoons and dogs think that chickens are tasty, so make a coop you can lock at night. Some people raccoon-proof the entire pen, in case they forget to lock up. Raccoon proofing means buying fencing 6″ deep (maybe extending it 6″ underground), covering the top, and constructing a tight gate.
>>Before you set all this up, check on local noise ordinance and zoning laws.
>>Roosters are loud! (And they’re loud, too). It is a myth that a rooster is necessary for hens to lay eggs, so to save your neighborhood some trouble, just keep hens.
>>Hens make noise, especially while laying, but most people won’t be bothered– still, ask neighbors first and give them some eggs.