Chicken Keeping Secrets

“With the holidays coming, we were considering butchering a chicken for our Christmas meal. We’ve never done this before but I think you have to butcher before a certain age. Could you clarify this for me? Thank you for your informative newsletter” ~ Pat Rowland

Hi Pat, this is a timely question that I would be happy to answer for you.

It is true that the older the bird, the more tough the meat, so to get a tender bird you do have to butcher early.

Here are some guidelines:

Cornish crosses are broilers that are raised specifically for meat. They lay only about 80 eggs per year.

Most whole chickens purchased from the grocer are Cornish crosses.

If you are raising Cornish crosses, you can butcher between 6 and 12 weeks. By this time they will have put on enough weight to make a good meal, beyond 12 weeks they will probably just be adding unnecessary fat. Some fat is a good thing though because it adds flavor. (more…)

“We are new at the Chicken raising and I find your newsletter very helpful every week. In June we received 3 hens and they started laying for us in September. We were getting approx 1 egg every other day, maybe 2 between the 3 hens, and then as your newsletter explained to me the days got shorter and we were getting no eggs for quite some time.

The eggs we were getting from the hens were brown, and now for the last week we have received an egg everyday… but the eggs are white. At first I thought someone was playing a trick on us until this morning the one we received was still warm. I may have misunderstood somewhere along the way, but I thought egg colour had to do with the food they eat? or does egg colour have to do with the kind of chicken? Can you help me understand PLEASE? Thanks so much for your time” ~ Crystal, Ontario, Canada

Thanks for the question Crystal.

The color of the yolk of the egg is affected by the food that the chicken eats.

This is due to a group of chemicals called carotenoids that are found in plants. Probably the most commonly know carotenoid that we humans would be familiar with is beta-carotene.

Manufacturers, understanding that consumers prefer the deep yellow yolks of free range chickens, have now started adding these carotenoids to many commercial feeds.

As for the color of the egg’s shell, that has nothing to do with the food consumed by the hen but is strictly due to genetics. (more…)

“Hi Duncan and Wendy. I have a question that I’m hoping you can answer. It’s getting very cold at night and I want to make sure my little flock of hens stay warm enough. What is the best way to do so? BTW, this is my first winter keeping chickens so any information would be helpful. Thanks in advance,” ~ Susan West

Hi Susan, thanks for the question.

In my part of the world we’ve been anxiously awaiting autumn.

For the last 3 months we’ve looked forward to a brisk day, but to no avail. We were starting to wonder if we’d be wearing short sleeves clear through to next spring.

But finally, autumn has arrived and I can’t tell you how much we’ve enjoyed this last week. It’s been wonderful to bake in the morning to take the chill off in the house. This is truly my favorite season.

It seems that a lot of you have experienced some cooler weather as well because I have 17 recent questions about heating the coop in my inbox. So here’s the rundown on keeping your flock warm in a cold climate in the winter. (more…)

“Hi, John here from South Africa. We have a mixed flock of about 180 free-range hens, and I have noticed recently what to me, is very odd behavior. The group is made up of three different breeds and each is approximately six weeks apart in age. (Amberlinks, Potcheftroom Koekoeks, and Rhode Island Reds).

I’ve noticed that as soon as we walk though the gate and wander amongst them, as you approach, some of them just “squat” down in front of you. As they sit there, they seem to flatten their back out by extending their wing slightly. They don’t move until you’ve walked past them. It started with the Amberlinks first but now they’re all doing it. (I hope they don’t think that I’m some giant rooster, as we don’t keep any other roosters with them.) Kind Regards,” ~ John Davis

Hi John, this is really interesting, thanks for writing.

I would suspect that your flock is showing submission to you.

In the same way they would “present” themselves to a rooster, they are showing you that they know you’re in charge.

I can’t help but picture the scene looking something like a ruler, walking amongst his subjects. (more…)

“I have always heard not to incubate eggs that still have manure on them. What is the best way to clean an egg before incubating it? Can you clean them with water or is there something on the market that will wash the egg but not remove the protective barrier? Please help. Thanks,” ~ Angela Reynolds Lewisburg, WV

Angela, thanks for the question.

It is important that the eggs you select for incubation be in the best possible condition.

For this reason, you should not incubate eggs that have manure on them.

You definitely do not want to clean the eggs with water because it will remove the protective bloom.

To the best of my knowledge there is nothing on the market that will both clean the egg while leaving the bloom intact.

If the egg must be cleaned, try to brush any foreign particles away with your finger nail. If that doesn’t work, use a very fine grit sandpaper to remove only the manure or dirt. (more…)