Hello, friends! My name is Jessica, and I’m going to tell you a little bit about chickens!
Chickens can make responsible and reasonable pets. If you hold them when they’re little, they can become great friends with you when they’re older. Some kinds of chickens lay very good, but some have smaller eggs, like the Bantam Sebright chicken, which has white-to-pale pink eggs that are about the size of a golf ball. They lay about 50 eggs a year, which is not that much compared to other breeds. But the good side of it is that these birds can keep the others under control. Our Bantam rooster is feisty and small, which is just the right size for us. The little girl Bantam, Ginger, is also
persnickety who bites the others if they eat too much. We have six chickens altogether, that is: two Bantams, two Rhode Island Reds, and two Wyandotte. The Rhode Island Reds are very good layers. They produce around 360-400 eggs per year, about one a day. Wyandotte chickens lay fewer eggs then the Rhode Island Reds.
Our chickens are ‘free-range,’ which means they are fed grass and bugs and are let out to graze every day. (We do feed our chickens grain as a supplement).
The differences between store eggs and home-raised, 'free-range' eggs, is that store eggs come from poultry farm chickens which are fed only grain. Grain shouldn’t be the chickens’ main diet, not having the same nutritional value as good old-fashioned plant-based foods. Hens from most poultry farms are put in a cage, which they don’t get to come out of for the rest of their lives, and all they do is lay their eggs until they die. That’s pretty bad!
When we decided to get little chicks from Tractor Supply we got them just for fun, sort of. We had been off and on considering chicks for some time. I don’t think we really pushed the subject about getting them. One day, when out shopping at the store just mentioned, my Mom, my sister Sara, and I saw that there were little chicks for sale, only $1.50 for each fuzzy bird. You had to get at least six if you wanted any. That was a good price for so many eggs you get a year! So we got some!
We took them home, all of them scared and lonely.
Now, be ready! Before you buy your cute little darlings, remember that they are very, very messy! And you should make sure that you have a proper little structure for them--a little one when they’re small, and a bigger one when they get large. They will make a mess of the room that you keep them in because of their dander!
It’s a white powder dust that gets all over everything as they grown bigger. You will need to move your birds outside each day in their “house” as they grow.
It was very nice because a year or two back, we got an old little play-house from a friend and we fixed it up. It was just the right size for our six little chickens. They have taken over the play house, and now live in it as their home.
Chickens can make responsible and reasonable pets. If you hold them when they’re little, they can become great friends with you when they’re older. Some kinds of chickens lay very good, but some have smaller eggs, like the Bantam Sebright chicken, which has white-to-pale pink eggs that are about the size of a golf ball. They lay about 50 eggs a year, which is not that much compared to other breeds. But the good side of it is that these birds can keep the others under control. Our Bantam rooster is feisty and small, which is just the right size for us. The little girl Bantam, Ginger, is also
persnickety who bites the others if they eat too much. We have six chickens altogether, that is: two Bantams, two Rhode Island Reds, and two Wyandotte. The Rhode Island Reds are very good layers. They produce around 360-400 eggs per year, about one a day. Wyandotte chickens lay fewer eggs then the Rhode Island Reds.
Our chickens are ‘free-range,’ which means they are fed grass and bugs and are let out to graze every day. (We do feed our chickens grain as a supplement).
The differences between store eggs and home-raised, 'free-range' eggs, is that store eggs come from poultry farm chickens which are fed only grain. Grain shouldn’t be the chickens’ main diet, not having the same nutritional value as good old-fashioned plant-based foods. Hens from most poultry farms are put in a cage, which they don’t get to come out of for the rest of their lives, and all they do is lay their eggs until they die. That’s pretty bad!
When we decided to get little chicks from Tractor Supply we got them just for fun, sort of. We had been off and on considering chicks for some time. I don’t think we really pushed the subject about getting them. One day, when out shopping at the store just mentioned, my Mom, my sister Sara, and I saw that there were little chicks for sale, only $1.50 for each fuzzy bird. You had to get at least six if you wanted any. That was a good price for so many eggs you get a year! So we got some!
We took them home, all of them scared and lonely.
Now, be ready! Before you buy your cute little darlings, remember that they are very, very messy! And you should make sure that you have a proper little structure for them--a little one when they’re small, and a bigger one when they get large. They will make a mess of the room that you keep them in because of their dander!
It’s a white powder dust that gets all over everything as they grown bigger. You will need to move your birds outside each day in their “house” as they grow.
It was very nice because a year or two back, we got an old little play-house from a friend and we fixed it up. It was just the right size for our six little chickens. They have taken over the play house, and now live in it as their home.
Sometimes Lots, Sometimes Not
What Happened to the Eggs?!
What Happened to the Eggs?!
Owning chickens has been great, even if taking care of them hasn’t always been! So far we think our chickens are healthy, but some of them have not been laying eggs. That is one mystery we have not solved yet. Do they lay their eggs some place in the bushes when out feeding? Or do they have some kind of problem? Or maybe they aren’t getting enough grain, perhaps? If you have chickens, and yours aren’t laying, then don’t expect ME to know!
P.S. If you need to find out whether or not your chickens lay, you can enclose your chicken up inside a little box with food, water, and a laying basket. Next morning, you can find out if she laid or not.
P.S.S. If you have eggs missing and you know that your chicken lays, then you might want to check your chicken coop for cracks and open windows. Snakes, raccoons, opossums, and other rodents love their yellow
Eggs and might be stealing them!
About Jessica
I live with my family in the woods. I am so thankful that I can live here with my family, in this beautiful place. God gave me my sister, Sara (who posts here). I like to take photos and play around with the camera. We like to work together doing this blog. It’s nice to take nature walks with my family, too. I Love hiking! It’s so fun because I’m adventurous and I love colorful, wet valleys and hills.
P.S. If you need to find out whether or not your chickens lay, you can enclose your chicken up inside a little box with food, water, and a laying basket. Next morning, you can find out if she laid or not.
P.S.S. If you have eggs missing and you know that your chicken lays, then you might want to check your chicken coop for cracks and open windows. Snakes, raccoons, opossums, and other rodents love their yellow
Eggs and might be stealing them!
About Jessica
I live with my family in the woods. I am so thankful that I can live here with my family, in this beautiful place. God gave me my sister, Sara (who posts here). I like to take photos and play around with the camera. We like to work together doing this blog. It’s nice to take nature walks with my family, too. I Love hiking! It’s so fun because I’m adventurous and I love colorful, wet valleys and hills.
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