Articles tagged with 'Keeping hens'

Backyard chickens are commonly infected with both internal parasites (worms, tapeworms, coccidia, and other protozoa) and external parasites (fleas, lice, mites, and ticks). At best, these parasites will make your chickens uncomfortable and perform poorly; at worst, they can cause severe disease and even death.

Chickens who need to be examined should be caught quickly and cleanly, with minimal stress. You may sometimes be able to easily catch a chicken at night-time, simply by lifting them off their roosting perch.

Environmental enrichment describes the provision of physical and social opportunities to promote chicken behaviour that is important, valuable, and specific to them. It encourages and allows chickens to do things that matter to them, resulting in positive experiences based on their individual interests, which underpins good animal welfare.

Whether your chickens are pets or kept for food (e. g. , for eggs), they all require a healthy diet to maintain their health in different life stages — growth, moulting, laying etc. , — all of which place different strains and stresses on their bodies.

There are many hazards in most backyards. Some are so commonplace that we often fail to recognise them as dangers. Others are very obvious, and these often distract us from less obvious hazards.

Some might view chickens as strictly farm animals. But it’s relatively common for homes in the suburbs and cities to have pet chickens as well. There are many chicken breeds to choose from, including ISA Browns, Wyandottes, Silkies, Rhode Island Reds, and Brahmas.

Many backyard poultry flocks end up with a rooster or two. There are a few reasons this happens: If you buy very young chicks, it can be difficult to identify the sex – you end up buying a rooster or two instead of hens by mistake.

Wing trimming/clipping Wing trimming is sometimes required when chickens are flying over fences into dangerous or restricted areas (raised garden beds, pools, etc. ). The concept of wing clipping is not to prevent flight completely, but rather to reduce the chicken’s ability to gain height and speed.