Raising BackYard Chickens – Keeping Chicken In The City

Chickens could be kept in many urban areas, in some chickens are less welcome. If the intention however is to keep one as a pet, that is already accepted practice. Some are even keeping reptiles for pets but just to be on the safe side, check for local laws and regulations. The local animal control office in your municipality would know how many you can keep and whether that would include a rooster. The main deterrent here is that these birds may fall under noise ordinances and so check out first as it is very easy to be emotionally attached to these birds. In Urban areas that used to be a farming community, the ordinances are more relaxed. Either way, keeping chicken in the city does not require a license.

When the issue of ordinances is out of the way, decide the kind of chicken that you want and for what purpose. If pets are what you want, you would settle well with bantams. Bantams are chicken breeds that are about one fourth of the size of a regular chicken. It is very much like having toy dog breeds.

Raising BackYard Chickens – Preventing Chicken From Eating Their Eggs

Chickens love to peck. Normally though they do not peck their own eggs but when it starts and nothing is done to keep them from doing it, they would develop the taste of the eggs and the habit could form. To prevent chickens from eating their eggs, try the following.

Feed your chicken grits. Grits are purchased in your local farm supply store or you could make your own. To make grits, roast eggshells until they are brownish and crunchy. Pound the shells and mix it with chicken feed. Chicken that does not have enough calcium in their diet will try to find it elsewhere and eggshells are an alternative source. Make sure that the feed has enough calcium and protein.

When an eggshell is weak, it could easily break and when it does, the chicken will start pecking on it. Weak eggshells are signs that the chicken lacks Vitamin D3, protein, calcium, or has an infection. Check for infection aside from feed composition.

Raising BackYard Chickens – Getting Started: The Pecking Order

Keeping chicken is a practice that dates as far back as when people started domesticating animals. They are fun to have around, are a good food source, and are low maintenance. If you have an ample backyard the idea of keeping chicken may have occurred to you but needed a little more information before getting started.

Of Hens and Roosters

You do not need a rooster. Keeping a rooster is a matter of choice but not actually a necessity. While having these handsome, brassy, noisy, aggressive characters to have around your hens is an attractive choice, the hens are quite content not having a rooster that keeps mounting them as they can lay eggs without the help of the rooster. Chickens are sociable birds. They want to hang around each other most times and cuddle around each other on cold days. You may need only one chicken for a pet however, chicken are happier when in the company of chickens. If you want to keep a few have at least two or three.