More and more people are raising backyard chickens. Chickens are really simple to keep in comparison to other pets. They require protection from predators. Chickens will eat your entire kitchen scraps, they really like people food!

If you are looking at starting your personal backyard flock there’s some good info on raising chickens for eggs.

If you’d like to start out with older chickens it is another option. Young chickens are offered from feed stores. If you take this road the hens will become laying eggs within about a month or possibly even longer. If you decide to raise chicks they’re going to take about five to six months to start laying eggs.

Raising chickens for eggs is a necessity for any survivalist. If you have children they will love collecting eggs on a daily basis. You can add for the excitement by keeping chickens that lay all sorts of colors.

Why Backyard Chickens Are Important

The benefits of poultry keeping that are typically cited include: offers enjoyment and relaxation; acts as method to obtain fresh, healthy meat and eggs; provides entertainment and education for kids; as pets, chickens are affordable to maintain as compared to other popular pets; being a hobby, poultry keeping can establish an extra method of obtaining income, via eggs, meat and bird sales or prize money from show birds.

Backyard flocks offer more benefits beyond those mentioned. Poultry keepers often realize that chickens are ideal for gardens. Chickens will scratch for insects and occasionally eat small lizards and mice, provide insect and small bug elimination. Chickens often eat leaves and will therefore offer weed control in flower beds or grassy lawns. Chicken manure includes scary levels of nitrogen which enables it to serve as being a nutritious independent fertilizer or maybe a balanced addition to compost mix. Chickens’ natural scratching behaviour is additionally helpful for turning and aerating the soil.

Best Breeds for Backyard Chicken Coops

First off the Egg layers, then the meat types and dual purpose breeds lastly the Bantam breeds. Chickens have already been genetically developed in the past to fill the requirements for the chicken keeper. But, no breed of bird is going to be perfect for all from the above purposes.

The egg layer kinds of chickens is usually traced returning to the Mediterranean Class of chickens, which had been classified by the American Standard of Perfection. They happen to be picked genetically for high egg production and have absolutely small bodies that produce them easy. All of their dietary nutrition enters into egg production, and so they can come all-around producing an egg every day. The egg layer can lay whether white or some shade of brown egg. The Leghorn breed is one on the best white egg producers. The best brown egg producers have already been developed largely on the Rhode Island Red breed. Due to extensive breeding programs, these days there are many good egg laying breeds accessible to choose from.

The varieties of chickens used in meat will not be actually breeds, but alternatively, they’re hybrids or combinations of a number of breeds. A combination of breeds are picked to create a chicken while using heavy weight and big white meat breasts how the market demands. Some meat chicken breeds grow fast, others acquire more white meat, still other use feed well and others might have an overabundance disease resistance. The problem with this of these breeds is because don’t lay many eggs. These are the chickens you normally find in the supermarket meat case.

What To Feed Chickens

Feeding your chickens a whole and balanced meals are essential when to stay healthy and lay plenty of lovely eggs! Chickens will eat most jobs so to prevent deficiencies and health conditions, numerous foods ought to be offered.

A quality poultry pellet ought to be the mainstay in their diet. If the poultry pellet is provided in the commercial dispenser this will likely help keep the pellet dry. Grain (including wheat and corn) can be scattered in their environment to reinforce their diet.

In addition to a high quality poultry pellet, a range of fresh fruit and vegetables can be given daily. Examples of raw vegetables and fruits that is usually fed include: Bok choy, silver beet, spinach, endive, chickweed, cabbage, vegetable peels and fruit (e.g. banana).

In addition, table foods including wholemeal rice, rolled oats, cooked pasta, beans, bread and legumes is usually offered also occasionally. If you are unsure in regards to the safety of an particular foodstuff consult your veterinarian and/or experienced chicken owner first.

For birds which might be laying more and more eggs, an uncomplicated and high lime scale is dried egg shell ground into a powder and included with their normal feed. Layer pellets are supplemented with calcium also. Soft or thin shelled eggs may suggest calcium problems as part of your birds.

Chickens are really sociable animals and must stay in variety of two or greater. For this reason, feeding chickens is really a group exercise. Monitor the chickens to make certain dominant birds will not be excluding weaker or even younger birds which could need to be fed separately. If you notice any changes within your birds feeding behaviour or appetite please seek advice from your veterinarian.

• Make sure scraps don’t contain most things that is high in fat or salt, and prevent feeding something that is rancid or spoiled.
• Provide a relentless supply of coarse shell grit and entry to earthworms and burrowing insects in leaf litter and compost.
• Provide having access to garden plants including pulled weeds (beware and prevent any poisonous plants). A weed lawn instead of the monoculture lawn is suggested for free range hens.
• Do not feed your chickens avocado, rhubarb, chocolate, garlic, citrus fruits, onion or mower clippings (as the can become mouldy quickly and mouldy food might make chickens very sick).
• Clean water should be easily accessible. In winter, make sure that iced waterers are cleared every day to allow access.