Comments on: How to Care for Chickens

on 11/22/2005 Be responsible! Once I forgot to close the coop and thought it wouldn't matter - we live in a small neighbourhood with a creek nearby and have a big wooden fence. I figured my chickens would be fine. That morning a raccoon got Ducky but didn't get Phoebe.

on 11/22/2005 Never let your hens be stepped-on, dropped, or handed roughly. If an egg breaks inside of them it can hurt her very badly. The results are bad. Never let an aggressive rooster take advantage of weak hens. He just may end up breaking an egg.

on 11/22/2005 When roosters mature, you may not have more than one rooster in each pen. I have four roosters and four pens. I have lost many of roosters to fights. Don't let it happen to you. Also just wire is not good enough. Put tin or something around the bottom.

on 11/22/2005 Place chickens where you want them to sleep at night; they'll develop a habit in a few days. Chickens eat almost everything. Feed them what your family doesn't want to eat (cut into smaller pieces). My two chickens also eat selenium leaves and flowers.

on 11/22/2005 When you're raising chickens (especially as pets), make sure you keep a close eye on them, and notice little details such as stool samples, skin color, laziness, habits, etc.
Early detection may prevent a lost life. Trust me.

on 11/22/2005 Don't think that you can just feed your chicken leftovers and they'll be fine. Like any living thing, they need a certain amount of vitamins and minerals fresh water and quality of life to stay healthy. Just because they don't complain doesn't mean they're happy. I work in a poultry farm and have brought several casualties home because others think they're only chickens. Get to know them. They all have different personalities. They are individuals - just like you!

on 11/22/2005 My cousin has a chicken coop and about 10 chickens (about 5 roosters and 5 hens). He feeds his chicken loaves of bread and that's it (well, water too)! Last week he got 52 eggs! Is a plain bread diet good or not?!? [Ed. note: Probably not.]