Chicken Keeping Secrets

“We are new to keeping chickens and I have a question; is it safe for me to interact with my chickens when I am pregnant? We think we have 5 hens, none of them are crowing anyway. They are 14 weeks old and I’ve really enjoyed taking care of our little flock. We were very excited to find out that we are expecting our first child but we’re concerned about my contact with the chickens. Any advise would be appreciated. Thank you,” ~ Marissa Crittenden

Marissa,

Congratulations to you and your husband on the upcoming birth of your baby.

It’s an exciting time, enjoy it and sleep as much as possible now because you’ll never get enough sleep again!

Seriously though, this is a great question.

Yes, it is safe to handle chickens while pregnant.

There are very few diseases that effect chickens that humans are also susceptible to. Those that are would present risk whether you were pregnant or not. So as not to scare anyone, these diseases are rare and should not deter anyone from enjoying their chickens. (more…)

“Is it more economical to raise chickens and eat their eggs than to purchase them at the market?” ~ Mira Vosberg

Mira, I’m glad you wrote but I’m not sure you’ll like my answer.

If you have to feed your flock only on commercial feed, you may find that it costs more to keep your chickens than it would if you were to buy fresh eggs locally.

You will certainly pay more to house and care for your chickens than you would spend to purchase regular eggs at the grocery store that come from a battery operation.

Not even taking into consideration the conditions in which the eggs are laid in a battery operation, you may remember that eggs are allowed to be on the shelves of the store up to 45 days after they are processed. So no matter how cheap they are, store bought, regular eggs are my LAST choice. (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…)

Each week I answer a readers question in this space. Sometimes I try to thoroughly answer a question a lot of people are asking. This week I’m going to answer a number of questions asked by many of you. The answers don’t require too much explanation. Maybe you’ll find something in here that you’ve been wondering…

“Can hens lay eggs without a rooster?”

Yes, the hen will ovulate with or without a rooster. A rooster is only necessary if you want to have fertile eggs and hatch chicks.

(more…)

Raising chickens used to be for farmers only, but over the last few years this has become increasingly more popular, and not just for getting eggs. Chickens are great pets with many great things to offer.

Yes chickens have great personalities and you don’t have to worry about them growling at you or biting you. Don’t get me wrong there are some that would rather play and cluck on their own, but this will depend on the breed and the individual chicken itself. These gentle creatures will offer you endless hours of amusements. (more…)