Backyard Chickens on The Food Show
Posted on Oct 17, 2009 under Breeding Chickens | No Comment
A short discussion of Backyard Chickens on The Food Show with Andew Coppolino. Originally aired on 570 News on May 3, 2009
Duration : 0:9:1
Rare Breed Chickens
Posted on Sep 29, 2009 under Breeding Chickens | No Comment
Rare Breed Chickens filmed on a visit to Ireland
Duration : 0:1:28
First Hatch
Posted on Sep 15, 2009 under Hatching Eggs | 25 Comments
The first of 13 baby Chicks to hatch from the first full run of my home-built incubator. This one is a Rhode Island Red.
Duration : 0:5:22
Chicken Breeds - Which Should You Choose?
Posted on Aug 26, 2009 under Breeding Chickens, building a chicken coop | No CommentWhen you’re starting out it can be rather bewildering knowing which breed to choose and also to decide whether you are into building a chicken coop yourself or want to buy a hen house.
Let’s look at the chickens themselves now, and I’ll come back to the chicken coop question later.
There are large chickens like the Orpington and smaller types such as bantams, there are beautiful birds such as the Leghorns but they can be flighty - and then you need to decide whether you are going to go for Chicks and rear them yourself, or broody hens that are ready to lay.
Start by making a list of what you want from your chickens: e.g. good layers, type of eggs, good as pets, good in larger numbers, highly attractive etc. Then you can research the different breeds and start to take a view.
You may also be influenced by what kinds of chicken breeds are available where you live - and which work well in your climate - some are better than others in colder climates, or damp conditions for example. And then there’s the simple matter of supply. if you want broody hens you may want to go and pick them out at the farm, so you’re likely to be limited in the choice available.
Finally - if you want to raise chickens, which breeds are better for beginners.
We’ll be coming back to this subject over the coming months as I work through some of the options.
Potty Training Puppies On A Farm Isn’t As Important As In The City
Posted on Jul 23, 2009 under Family activities | No CommentPuppies and chickens co-exist pretty well.
Potty training puppies isn’t a topic you’ll hear many farmers talking about. With all that’s involved in running a modern day farm, it would be low on the list.
In the city, where dogs spend most of their time inside, potty training is very important. On a farm, dogs can spend most of their days outside.
The type of dog training for a farm dog depends on whether the dog is going to be a pet or a working dog. A puppy that is going to be a pet would go through training much like a city dog.
However, a working dog, such as a Shetland Sheepdog (which is a herding dog) would require extensive training. If you’ve seen the 1995 movie ‘Babe’, you’ll have a good idea of a working dog’s life.
Despite the differences in training, a city dog and a farm dog can still be a person’s best friend.
Building a Chicken Coop and Introducing New Chickens
Posted on May 15, 2009 under building a chicken coop | No CommentThis story illustrates the problems that can arise in introducing new chickens and the importance of observing your chickens closely:
1 week ago I got 3 black Orpington bantam pullets (4 months old and put the newcomers in with my Porcelain D’Uccle hen. They all have become comfortable with each other except for 1 of the Orpington birds. We have been building a chicken coop, so they all went in together in the new swanky quarters.
I have not seen her being picked on but she does not eat while the Porcelains are eating, she constantly looks at the ground and now she spends time hiding in a little hut in their hen house. She seems to be quite healthy as they all do.
She may be feeling stressed. Moving from one environment to another is stressful. With a little time, most chickens adjust to a new environment. She could be homesick, so it should pass.
Another possibility could be that she’s just shy. Chickens have distinct personalities just like people and other animals. The way she holds her head down and stays away from the others leads me to believe she could also be naturally
shy. If that’s the case, she’ll probably stay that way - that’s fine as long as she is healthy.
I’ll report back on her progress.
Are Chicken Ark Eggs Free Range? Just What Are Organic And Free Range Eggs?
Posted on May 14, 2009 under Keeping chickens, chicken ark | 9 Comments
Britons are buying record numbers of Free Range, Barn and Organic Eggs. Research shows shoppers bought 2.04billion of them last year, up from 1.64billion in 2002 (Article from the Daily Mail - 09/08/2006).
With increasing media attention on battery chickens since then, most of the large supermarkets have moved to barn and free range eggs. Waitrose only sell barn and free range. Of course, if you’re keeping chickens at home, either letting them free range or keeping them in a chicken ark that you move around, then you have free range eggs.
if you keep your hens in hen houses with a run, your hens are not ranging free but if you look at the definition below they would count as free range. They may be organic too, if you provide organic food. The important thing about home grown eggs is that you control the conditions you keep your chickens in.
The Benefits of Eating Eggs
Eggs are low in calories and could actually protect against heart disease, breast cancer and eye problems and even help you to lose weight. Eggs are actually good for you. They are rich in nutrients, one egg provides 13 essential nutrients, all in the yolk (egg whites contain albumen, an important source of protein, and no fat). You should keep eggs in the fridge in their box and eat them by the use-by date.
We now know the benefits of eating eggs but does the welfare of the chickens matter?
Eggs are produced in 3 types of production systems.
1) Laying Cage System. Laying cages are the most common method of commercial egg production in the UK - representing around 66% of eggs produced in 2004.
Typically a laying cage system consists of a series of at least three tiers of cages. The cages have sloping mesh floors so that the eggs roll forward out of the reach of the birds to await collection. Droppings pass through the mesh floors onto boards, belts, the floors of the house or into a pit to await removal.
2) Barn system. Around 7% of eggs sold in the UK are produced in the barn system. In the barn system the hen house has a series of perches and feeders at different levels. In the deep litter system the birds are kept in hen houses in which all the floor area should be solid with a litter of straw, wood shavings, sand or turf.
3) Free range system. The free range system accounts for around 27% of eggs produced in the UK. And the Welfare of Laying Hens Directive stipulate that for eggs to be termed free range, hens must have continuous daytime access to runs which are mainly covered with vegetation and with a maximum stocking density of 2,500 birds per hectare. The demand for free-range eggs is also growing by 10 per cent a year. Somerfield will be the first supermarket in the country to switch to selling French free-range eggs. Tesco is also understood to be lining up suppliers on the Continent if it is not able to guarantee supplies at home due to this rising demand.
Endangered Chicken Breeds
Posted on May 11, 2009 under Keeping chickens | 3 Comments
From time to time, we’ll feature some good hen videos. There’s increasing interest in breeds of chickens, particularly as so many pure breeds are in dangeer, form all the cross breeding.
This video shows a fock in Scotland with an interesting flock of rare chickens.
Some of our mixed flock of Scots Greys and ISA Browns doing the chicken shuffle on our croft in Aberdeenshire, NE Scotland. The Scots Grey is an endangered breed with around 200 breeding hens left.
Duration : 0:1:30
Our Backyard Chickens
Posted on May 08, 2009 under Chicken Coops | No Comment
Backyard chickens can be handled safely if you are gentle with them when they’re young. Let them out of their run to range free - but bring them back at dusk. Building a chicken coop can be as much fun as keeping the chickens - and is a good project for the chicldren to help with.
more backyard fun
Duration : 0:0:18
Building a Chicken Coop - From Chick To Chicken
Posted on May 05, 2009 under Hen Houses, Supplying Chicks, building a chicken coop | 1 Comment
In the early weeks, chicks will need warmth and light and are normally kept indoors.This is an ideal time to start building a chicken coop. You will need to plan the type of hen house you are going to build based on the number of chickes your are raising. This ittle brood would appreciate a mid- size hen house - and being let out of the run sometimes.
This is part 1 of a new series called, “From Chick To Chicken.” The Chicks we have in the small brooder consist of the few I purchased at Tractor Supply, and some came from the local livestock sale, and they were hatched by a big breeder.
Duration : 0:2:37