Farm Animals

Humans have been keeping chickens for hundreds of years. Popular for their meat, eggs and feathers, chickens are generally low-maintenance. Laying hens are particular about where they lay their...

Raise your own laying hens to ensure the freshest possible eggs. You should follow some basic procedures when undertaking the hobby of raising laying hens in order to allow for the best outcome...

There are many different breeds of egg-laying hens. The majority of hen breeds were developed over 100 years ago. Every breed of hen will lay a different color, size and amount of eggs each year.

Whether it's a backyard chicken coop or a large-scale operation, it is essential to know how to properly feed laying hens. This will ensure their health and a high yield of quality eggs. If the...

According to researchers at Mendel University, a hen must deposit 25 mg of calcium on the developing egg surface every 15 minutes during the 20-hour period in which the eggshell is formed. A...

Laying hens require a special diet to promote egg production and develop strong shells. You can buy feed through dealers in premixed formulas that contain the proper nutrients for each stage of a...

Wondering how to identify a rooster from a hen, or better put, tell the difference between male and female chickens? While it's hard to tell young chicks apart, by the time they are about 5 to 8...

If you have a little backyard hen farm with a woodsy area there'll be predators waiting for a chance to strike when you least expect it. After all you're not always there to safeguard your...

If you are a caregiver for live chickens, it is important to feed them properly. These birds will be providing eggs and meat for human consumption, and must be healthy and well developed.

Bantams are small-breed chickens, either those that have been bred that way from a standard-size breed or true bantams, which have no large counterparts. About one-fourth the size of regular...

When buying or building nesting boxes for your chickens, there are a few things you need to consider. Hens like to have a semi-confined space for laying and enough privacy to feel secure. Chickens...

Allowing your chickens to roam around your backyard gives them a chance to dust their feathers, scratch in the grass and sample worms and insects. The problem is, once your chickens are out, it...

Raising chickens can be both a rewarding personal experience and a worthwhile investment of time and energy, as they will provide you with a year round supply of fresh eggs with proper care....

You want to start your own backyard flock of hens. You may want fresh eggs, a little extra income from selling the extra eggs, and an organic way to control the pests in your yard and garden. Now...

When you are working on building up a small flock of chickens, culling is an unpleasant but extremely necessary part of the process. The smaller the flock, the more necessary it is to cull...

Whether you have urban backyard laying hens or a rural chicken coop, lice as well as mites and other unwanted critters may show up, and there are easy, inexpensive and natural ways to remove pests...

You might not have heard the term of broody hen before. It’s a hen that will sit on her eggs and everyone else’s eggs. We have a white silkie hen that is a good broody. We named her Nannie. It’s...

One hundred and fifty years ago there was only one way to raise chicks and that was by hatching and raising chicks using a broody hen. Chickens can still be raised today in this same time tested way.

Raising roosters can be a fun hobby when a new owner knows what to expect. Not all roosters are aggressive and difficult to manage. Taking good care of a rooster while he is a baby chick and...

Building hen nesting boxes does not have to be a complicated, large-scale operation. Hens are just as happy to lay their eggs on the ground as they are to lay them in a box that took you hours to...

The thing to remember about building hen nest boxes is that hens are not picky. They don't need anything fancy to sit in to lay eggs. All they need is a box with walls that lets them feel secure...

Without a rooster, you're missing out on a fascinating aspect of chicken behavior, as well as missing out on raising your own baby chicks. Roosters can be some of the most chivalrous creatures...

This article is about choosing chickens at an auction or a swap meet. You will learn how to choose a healthy chicken. You will learn some tricks sellers and auctioneers pull to sell a bad...

This ehow article is about starting a backyard 'farm yard' that has chickens. I will tell you how I convinced (begged) my husband for pet chickens. How to feed, and basically treat them like...

The worst way to try and catch a chicken is to chase it round and round the run. Whether you catch it or not, you will certainly succeed in stressing the bird and it's egg laying ability will be...

Chicken owners of newly laying hens often find themselves asking, “How do I know if my chickens are laying fertile eggs?” Whether you want your chickens to raise a brood or to incubate your own,...

Female chickens, also called hens, lay eggs. Hens can lay eggs with or without a rooster present, although unfertilized eggs will never develop into a chick even if incubated. Chicken eggs are...

Every farm needs fresh farm eggs. And what could be fresher than raising your own flock of laying hens to provide you with plenty of eggs for breakfast and baking and some left over to sell at the...

Hens lay eggs based on the amount of sunlight they receive. They usually begin the process in the early morning when daylight is crowning. Once an egg has been produced, the hen will not lay...

Chicken Nesting Boxes are convenient holders for the fresh eggs that your backyard poultry flock will produce. When properly constructed, and placed within your chicken coop, they can make the...

The average age for hens to begin laying is 5 to 7 months. Your hens will lay small eggs at first and will continue to lay larger ones as time goes on. Young hens will begin by laying one egg...

In this article you'll learn how to pedigree breed a chicken, very useful for those who show their poultry.

In the middle of the 1970s, poultry farmers were finally able to give a name to a problem that had been plaguing them for years, Egg Drop Syndorme. Egg Drop Syndrome is a contagious disease that...

There is no sure-fire way to get a hen to adopt a chick raised in an incubator, but there are steps that you can take to increase the chances that the mother will accept the surprise addition. By...

Learn the difference between a hen and a rooster chickens with expert tips and advice on caring for chickens and farm animals in this free video series.

Learn how to sell pant hens in this free video on chicken care.

For maximum egg production from your backyard flock, choose the same breeds of hens that large commercial producers use. Then you feed your hens correctly and maintain them with proper upkeep.

Chickens often eat their own eggs or the eggs of other hens. Eggs are nutritious and good-tasting, and domestic chickens have not been bred for their parental skills. In large commercial poultry...

The Rock Cornish Game Hen was fist bred in 1950 in an attempt to replace the guinea hen—due to a farm fire a large flock of guinea hens were lost. The Cornish Game Hen is a product of...

Predators of all kinds(neighbors dogs,coyotes,hawks,etc) can easily damage and minimize your flock of hens and roosters,unless certain steps are taken to keep them safe.

If you have a bit of space on a small farm, you can raise laying hens for farm-fresh eggs of your own. While the chickens do take a bit of work, you can count on having eggs so fresh that no...

What you will learn: Raising Chicks Breeding Pairs

Raising chickens is a simple hobby that provides eggs and meat for you and fertilizer for your garden. Like all animals, chickens require suitable housing. You can build a coop for your chickens...

If you're lucky, you have a hen that will handle egg-hatching duties. Otherwise, an incubator will do. Here are the basics on both hatching methods.

The type of coop you pick for your chickens depends on whether you're raising chickens for meat, eggs, or both. It also depends on how large a flock you're planning to keep.

Chickens make a good 4-H project for people with limited space and younger children. The birds can also provide your family with meat, eggs and entertainment.