Chicken Keeping Secrets

“I’m new to keeping chickens, as the weather starts to get warmer do I have to take any extra precautions?” ~ Justin Vosman

Justin, thank you for your question.

There are some precautions you’ll need to take, especially if you live in a hot, dry climate.

The most important thing your chickens need in hot weather is water.

We’ve talked before about the fact that hens will do better with an interruption in their feed availability than an interruption in their water availability. A water shortage will cause a decrease in egg production and could bring on an early molt.

So, it is very important that your chickens always have an ample supply of fresh, clean water. Their water consumption in hotter weather will drastically increase. If you have been used to giving them 5 gallons of water each day, for example, they may require 10 gallons each day. Be vigilant in making sure they have enough water.

As always, make sure their water is clean.

I’ve previously recommended that you sanitize the water dispenser weekly, in hot weather it may be necessary to sanitize twice a week or even more often. This is especially true if the water is not continually circulated but sits stationary in the dispenser. (more…)

“I just noticed that one of my Auracana Pullets has an “over bite”? Her bottom beak goes to the left and her upper beak goes to the right. She has grown normally and is the same size as the rest of the batch I received from the hatchery. I assume she should have no problem in the future since she seems to be developing fine so far. Any insight as to why she is out of alignment? Her beak does not even come close to matching up. I was just curious. My guess is it was a deformity or and injury. It may be more common than I expect.” ~ Jill Reynolds

Hi Jill this is a great question.

From what you describe it sounds like your pullet has “crooked beak”.

It is actually more common than you would think.

Crooked beak is caused by one of two factors; heredity or a spike in the temperature within the incubator.

I’m a little surprised that a chick with this problem came from a hatchery because I would assume their breeding stock would be superior and the incubation process would be flawless. Just an assumption on my part, maybe I’m placing too much trust in the hatchery.

Anyway, crooked beak usually shows up between 2 and 10 weeks. It cannot be detected at hatch.

Typically the lower beak stays straight and just the upper is crooked. It can be as simple as a minor misalignment or as drastic as a complete cross of the upper portion. It can progress rapidly and be alarming. There is no cure. (more…)

We get so many questions about compatibility between chickens and other animals. Most often I’m asked about ducks and rabbits so I thought I’d spend some time this week addressing those issues.

Are chickens compatible with ducks?

Chickens are compatible with ducks in that they probably won’t fight much more with ducks than they do with each other.

The key to raising chickens with ducks is that they are raised together from the beginning. Do not introduce any new birds, particularly males of either species.

Another important factor is that there is ample room for each to do its own thing. Chances are the chickens and the ducks will leave each other alone, basically ignoring one another. However, if conditions are crowded, there will be a lot of bickering with a greater chance of the fights ending in wounds and possibly death. (more…)

“I would like to know the maximum number of hens one should have in the coop per rooster. We have 62 hens and one 2-year-old rooster that is seemingly doing his job. But, we set some eggs in the incubator and only four hatched. We were thinking maybe he has too many hens. We do have three other young roosters in the coop but the older rooster won’t allow them even close to the hens.

They are showing signs of “interest” to the hens, but when they head toward a hen, the older rooster puts them in their place. So my questions are: 1) Should we take out the older rooster and allow the three younger ones to fertilize the hens and 2) The maximum number of hens one rooster should have.” ~ Tonia Rose

Hi Tonia thanks for the question.

The number of hens a rooster can attend to depends on a few factors; age, health, environment and breed.

Chickens, hens and roosters are most fertile in their first two years. A young rooster can handle more hens than an older one.

Optimum health in both the hens and roosters is necessary to get the best hatchability.

Environmental conditions like sanitation, nutrition and safety from predators will also affect hatchability. Anything that would slow production of eggs can also affect fertility.

Assuming all the above points are ideal, breed is the last determining factor. (more…)

“Will caponizing a rooster stop it from crowing?” ~ Mark Heinz

Hi Mark, thanks for the question. In short, the answer is “No”.

If you’re interested in a detailed post about keeping roosters quiet, see…

Vol 1: Issue: 2 – Wednesday 3rd December 2008 of this newsletter.

One idea for keeping a rooster from crowing that I failed to mention in that issue is this; place your rooster in a low cage at night. In this way, you may be able to keep him quiet in the morning because he can’t stretch his neck to crow. Obviously you wouldn’t want to keep him caged like this for the whole of the day, so he’ll still crow during the day. (more…)