Comments on: How to Care for Chickens

on 11/22/2005 Don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise, becaues it is not possible for a chicken to lay more than one egg per day. One hen can only lay, at the most, seven eggs per week while most chickens lay fewer. A hen that lays one egg every day is a good layer.

on 11/22/2005 If you have a lot of weeds, you might consider getting chickens. Chickens can kill the weeds, and they keep there pens very clean. Get a small cage, add a chicken, place the cage in the area you want cleared of weeds. You've got yourself a perfect weed killer.

on 11/22/2005 Roosters can make fine pets when kept with hens. Simply limit the number of roosters. There should be a 1 to 6 rooster to hen ratio. If you want to keep more than one rooster, there must be plenty of hens, and they have to grow up together. Roosters also make good guards against rats and stray dogs.

on 11/22/2005 My cats were acting rather aggressively towards the hens when they picked about in the yard. I worried for the safety of my flock. I had the idea of carefully introducing the cats into the hen house (rooster's included) so they might quell their curiosity. As I had hoped, the cats were so frightened by the sizable flock that they now leave the chickens completely alone.

on 11/22/2005 I would suggest that when a pen is being erected for the flock, take care to bury the fencing (or netting) at least 8 inches underground. This way, if a predatory animal decides to make an attack, it will not be able to dig under the pen. I have done this with all my pens, I have never had an unfortunate incident.

on 11/22/2005 To keep chickens healthy, add a little garlic to their water about twice weekly. This will help keep away lice and colds.

on 11/22/2005 To keep chickens healthy, add a little garlic to their water about twice weekly. This will help keep away lice and colds.

on 11/22/2005 Be sure you do research on incubating them (if you are a beginner).

on 11/22/2005 They make very good pets for kids. I had them when I was young and I still have them today!

on 11/22/2005 I think chickens are just like any other animal, so you should treat it like any other animal. When was the last time you saw a dog or cat give you an egg? Let it be free range in your garden and feed it and give it water every day. It just might get to like you--mine do

on 11/22/2005 I've just gotten two baby chickens ("Coco" who's brownish, and "Tweety" who's yellowish). My mother took them outside for them to breathe pure air and to have some sunlight since they had been in my room. Then a cat appeared from behind her and took Tweety...She did what she could to stop him and she even got bitten by the cat. She was careful the whole time. This tip is for everyone to be careful so that this will not happen to anyone again.

on 11/22/2005 If you build a run for the chickens allowing controlled access to two runs, you can keep up the area better. Do this by making two separate runs or fly pens that access the same house, but either can be shut off to contain the chickens in the other run. I find this allows me to clean the manure and even plant grass or other ground cover that is pleasing to the birds to eat and scratch around in.

on 11/22/2005 You can give your hen some space to run around (e.g. a back yard).

on 11/22/2005 Use NON-CRYSTALLINE , food-grade diatomaceous earth (D.E.) to control lice in your flock instead of chemical products. It will kill any insect with a waxy coating, including ants, silverfish, etc. Can also be used around the barn, house, etc.
**DO NOT USE SWIMMING POOL D.E.**--it is VERY DANGEROUS to breathe--causes lung disease.

on 11/22/2005 Be sure you know what you're getting into - chickens are extremely messy. If they're kept as pets, purchase newborns & spend loads of time with them to tame. Be patient & gentle; they're easily frightened so be slow. They groove on corn & rotten tomatoes!