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Chicken Questions and Answers

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Want to start raising chickens? Wondering how to get started? Here are a few chicken questions and answers to get things going.

Chickens are a fantastic addition to your backyard or homestead.

If your city doesn’t yet allow backyard chickens, consider getting involved in the growing movement to change council’s mind.

While I can understand urban areas not allowing roosters, I am definitely in favour of allowing a certain number of hens per household.

 

chicken questions and answers about Day old chicks drinking water
Chicks need a lot of water when they are sent through the mail

 

Chicken Questions and Answers

Here’s some information about raising chicks or raising hens that you may be wondering about.

 

A flock of chickens on hay

 

How do you get chicks used to you so they won’t run or get scared when you come around?

When chicks are brand new, enter the brooder area slowly and softly. What we actually do is start humming or talking in a low voice outside the brooder room.

This helps alert the chicks that you are close by. When you go in the room, do it gently. Don’t go rushing in freaking them out!

Have your feed can in your hand and give it a few shakes. Very soon, they will relate that sound to “Oh, good, here comes the food!” 

Very soon you will find that they will start coming to you.

Remember, they are like little babies. We don’t go around freaking out little babies, so we don’t do it to little chicks either.

Read here to find out how we built our brooders and got everything ready for the chicks to arrive.

If you would rather buy a chick brooder, there are many available on Amazon.These Brinsea chick brooders have great reviews.

 

Take a Look at  Fodder for the Laying Hens
Fencing keeps chickens out of the gardens
We fenced our vegetable garden to keep the chickens out during the growing season

 

When you put them into your garden area, what keeps them from eating all your good plants?

You can’t. The ONLY time our chickens are allowed in the garden is after the veggies are harvested.

Some people say to keep the chickens out until the veggie plants are well established, then they won’t hurt the plants.

I am a skeptic when it comes to this. I have seen my hens get into my flowerbeds, and before I know it, there are uprooted plants lying on top of the soil.

 

Temporary fencing to keep chickens contained yet out on grass
Temporary fencing keeps chickens more contained but still out free ranging

 

What we do is build temporary fencing using T posts and wire fencing. It’s easy to set up, easy to move and easy to remove. 

All you need is a few T posts and wire.

Run it up to a building or a fence post, etc., so you can reduce the number of T posts needed.

Check out this post for more information on temporary fencing.

I like to give my girls a large amount of room to run around and forage for plants and bugs. However, I want to keep them away from my flower beds and veggie gardens.

So, we give them as much free range as possible, but with limitations….hmmm, kinda like raising teenagers!

 

 

Shaking a bucket of grain will help train your chickens to come to you
Shaking a bucket of grain will help train your chickens to come to you

 

I want them to free range, but how do I get them back into the chicken coop?

 

Flock of chickens on grass outside

 

I bet 98% of chickens will return to their hen house on their own, once dusk comes. Chickens don’t like being out in the dark!

They want to feel safe at home, locked in their chicken coop, away from predators.

If you have trouble getting them to come home, shake that ol’ feed can for them, while calling them.

“Here, chicka, chicka, shake shake shake” goes a long ways!

 

Take a Look at  How NOT to Raise a Chicken
Chickens being brought home in a tote
Transport chickens in a tote or box with hay on bottom to protect their feet

 

 

Also, if you bring home grown chickens, take them out of the carrying cage INSIDE the coop.

Then leave them locked inside the chicken coop for a few days. This will reinforce to them that the coop is home.


After a few days, open up a door to their outside run. Leave that door open so they are free to go in and out.

Don’t let them out of the run for several more days. This will further reinforce to them that the coop and run are home.

 

chickens eating garden greens
Chickens love eating garden greens and weeds

 

 

How do I catch one of my chickens if I need to?

If you need to get hold of one of your chickens for any reason, wait till dark. Once they are in their coop, you simply pick them up off their roost.

When it happened here for the first time, I groaned thinking about all the other times I had tried to pin one down.

If you need to catch one for emergency purposes during the day, use one of these chicken catchers.

Otherwise, a fish net works great. Works on piglets too! I’m unsure whether it works on teenagers.

 

 

Chickens pecking at the ground in winter

 

 

What will keep them from flying away or into the neighbors yards?

A good pair of scissors does a lot. Cut the flight feathers off ONE side only.

This prevents them from flying and if they do get off the ground, they will go in circles, ha!

A 42 inch fence should hold them in, IF the flight feathers are cut off.

If they are not cut, I think they could get over that height of fence.

 

Take a Look at  Got Questions About Raising Chickens?

Got more chickens questions? Need more answers?

Here’s Part 2 –  having chickens on your homestead.

 

 

book about raising chickens for meat in 8 weeks
Everything you need to know to raise day old chicks to 8 weeks old, butchering time

 

Want to read about how we raise out meat birds to 8 pounds in 8 weeks? It’s a great way to fill your freezer fast!

 

chickens in a garden with purple flowers

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Filed Under: Raising Chickens

Comments

  1. Amanda says

    at

    Are chickens any good at tick control? I ask this because I just found one on me after picking cherries earlier (turns out on of the “apple trees” in my yard is a cherry tree). I hate how you think you’re good and then 2 hours later you find one crawling up your back… GROSS!!!

    Also, why do chickens peck the feathers off each others’ backs? We used to have chickens and a couple of them would always get pecked and have a little bald spot.

    Do chickens get taken by hawks or other predators during the day at all? A related question: Does a rooster protect his hens in any way?

    Lastly, is there anything you absolutely should not feed chicken in terms of leftover food and whatnot?

    • Annie says

      at

      Hi Amanda, all great questions – I’ll make a post from them, hopefully for tomorrow. Thanks!

Trackbacks

  1. More Chicken Questions & Answers says:
    at

    […] Questions & Answers June 25, 2012 By Annie Leave a Comment Earlier I put up a post with Chicken Questions and Answers, go check it out if you are thinking of getting chickens for the first time. Here’s a follow […]

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