|
|
Chicken
Keeping Chickens as Pets
Isa Brown = Road Island Red / Rhode Island White mix hen.
|
Chicken
Quick Fact |
| Female Chickens are called Hens |
| Male Chickens are called Roosters |
| Hens lay eggs, roosters do not. When a hen lays an egg
it will only hatch into a chick if a rooster has fertilized the egg by mating
with the hen. The hen and the rooster must mate before the egg is laid in order
for the egg to be fertilized. If a rooster does not mate with the hen the egg will not be
fertilized. Hens will lay eggs even if a rooster is not present. Most eggs you buy in the store are not fertilized because there was
no rooster present. |
| A hen and a rooster do not have to mate daily for all
eggs to be fertilized. If a rooster is removed from the presents of a hen the
eggs may still be fertilized for about a week or so. |
| A free range chicken is a chicken who is not caged and
has a yard to run around in. Eggs laid by free range hens are lower in
cholesterol than commercial chickens which are caged in small cages. The cages
are too small for the chickens to get the proper exercise. |
| Hens actually make great pets, so long as the zoning
laws in your area allow you to keep chickens. |
| Chickens can be trained to come to you by picking a
call, and offering them a treat when they come. For example, if I go out to our
chickens and yell , "Chiccckkkennnns!!!!" they all come running for the white
millet treat I have for them. Some of the more socialized chickens will even eat
out of your hand. |
| Chickens love to eat white millet as a treat. |
| If a hen does not get enough calcium in their diet,
the eggs they lay will have soft shells. Most feed their chickens a diet high in
oyster shell so they obtain a high amount of calcium. |
Believe it or not, chickens love to eat their own
eggs. They will not eat an egg that is not already cracked, but toss an egg onto
the ground and watch them come running to eat the white and yoke. They just love
it! NOTE: Some have claimed this may cause egg pecking, where the chicken pecks their eggs on their own. Could be, however I have been tossing my free range chickens eggs for 10 years and never had an egg pecking problem. I tend to think that the issue of egg pecking is more caused by over crowded conditions along with the hens not getting their bird instincts met. It's not natural for a bird to break their own eggs. My free range chickens rather try to protect their eggs clucking at me when I reach under them to gather them up.
If you ever run into an egg pecking issue here is a suggestion to try and stop the behavior. Get plastic Easter eggs. Fill them with plain yellow mustard and place them in the nests. The chickens will peck them open, and be disgusted by the mustard. Give them several such eggs every day until the egg pecking stops. If the chances of getting a mustard-filled egg outweigh the chances of getting an actual egg, they will soon stop pecking, and you will have eggs to collect again. |
| Frizzled Bantams chickens are rare bantam with curly feathers. If two
frizzles mate and four eggs are laid, often only one chick will be frizzled. |
| Roosters make a Cockadoodle
Doo Sound (Clip of a Banty Rooster surrounded by Road Island Red, Barred
Rock (Black) and New Hampshire Red Hens) |
| The study of eggs is called oology |
| Chicken Eggs Hatch After About 21 Days of Incubation |
Isa Browns = Road Island Red / Rhode Island White mix hens.
_____________________________________________
"These are my 2 chickens
named Turkey and Goose. My
cat. Cloey, was fascinated by them when they were baby chicks.
Now they are full grown and she is scared to death of them. They
just laid their first set of eggs today, so I am a proud
chicken-momma."
Cloey the cat
smelling a baby Chick.
_____________________________________________
Frank a Banty Rooster.
Elvis a Banty Rooster.
Road Island Red Hens with Banty Roosters.
Elvis and Frank - Banty Roosters.
Road Island hen laying an egg.
Road Island Red hens lay brown eggs.
Roy the Rooster.
Chicken Pictures 1
Chicken Pictures 2
Chicken Pictures 3
Types of Eggs
|
|
