Tag Archives: chickens

Chicken Photos, Chickens, Eggs, Uncategorized

5 tips for getting hens to lay in nest boxes.

PHOTO BY KAREN JACKSON https://www.flickr.com/photos/72284410@N08/
PHOTO BY KAREN JACKSON
https://www.flickr.com/photos/72284410@N08/

Do your hens lay their eggs everywhere but the nest boxes? Here are a few tips to encourage them to lay eggs in the nest boxes.
• Do you have enough nest boxes: 1 box for every 4 to 5 hens is the minimum for hens to feel comfortable laying in them.
• Are your nests appealing: Make sure the nests are in a dark, quiet place in the coop. Boxes should be a few inches off the floor.
• Train them with a “nest egg”: You can purchase a fake ceramic or wood egg from a farm supply store or online. You can even use a golf ball if needed. When your chicks get ready to lay, by placing the “nest egg” in the nests, this gives them the idea that this is the place to lay.
• Keep them confined until mid-morning: Most hens lay early in the morning, so by keeping them in the coop, this will maximize the chances that they’ll lay in the nest boxes instead of finding a place outside of the coop.
• Make nests soft and comfy: If the wood shavings get depleted in the boxes, the hens tend to avoid them. Keep shavings or straw nice and fluffy to encourage laying in the boxes.

Michelle Coleman
Reference:
About.com

Chickens, Meat Birds

What kind of Meat Bird should i purchase?

WELP_CHICK

What kind of Meat Bird should I purchase?

CORNISH ROCK BROILERS – BEST MEAT TYPE
 -FAST GROWING
 -BROAD BREASTED
 -VERY EFFICIENT
- 5-6 POUNDS BUTCHERED WEIGHT IN 7-8 WEEKS
 -BUTCHERED WEIGHT WILL BE APPROXIMATEDLY 70% OF  THE LIVE WEIGHT
 -AVAILABLE WEEKLY JANUARY THRU DECEMBER
 -MOST STRAINS HAVE YELLOW SKIN & LEG COLOR, EXCEPT ONE STRAIN HAS WHITE SKIN AND LEG. (HOWEVER, ANYTIME YOU SCALD A CHICKEN WITH YELLOW SKIN TO PICK THE FEATHERS, IT WILL TURN THE SKIN WHITE)

SLOW WHITE BROLER
 -VERY SIMILAR TO CORNISH ROCK BROILER EXCEPT IT TAKE 10-14 DAYS LONGER TO GET TO THE SAME WEIGHT. (10-12 WEEKS TO REACH 6-7 LBS LIVE WEIGHT)
 -DOES VERY WELL IN HIGHER ELEVATIONS
 -DO NOT NEED TO RESTRICT THE FEED

RED RANGER
 -12 WEEKS TO MATURE (AVERAGE WEIGHT FOR THE FEMALE 5.74 LBS & THE MALE 7.48 LBS.)
 -GOOD FORAGER
 -GROWN ADULT MALES CAN REACH UP TO 10 LBS. AND THE FEMALES CAN REACH 8 POUNDS
AND WHITE FEATHERS

RED BROILER
 -YELLOW SKIN
 -3-4 POUND RANGE IN ABOUT 8 WEEKS
 -VARIOUS SHADES OF RED FEATHERS

Books

Storey’s Guide to Raising Poultry, 4th Edition

 

Stories Guide to Raising Poultry

Storey’s Guide to Raising Poultry, 4th Edition

For decades, animal lovers around the world have been turning to Storey’s guides for the best instruction on everything from hatching chickens to starting and maintaining a full-fledged livestock business. Whether you have been raising animals for a few months or a few decades, the Storey series offers clear, in-depth information on a variety of breeds, latest production methods, and updated health care advice. The 4th edition has been updated for the twenty-first century and contains all the information you will need to raise healthy and content animals.

This revised edition written by Glenn Drowns is in my opinion the only book you need to raise a wide range of poultry from chickens and turkeys to guineas and pheasants. Glenn Drowns, an expert on rare breeds and varieties of turkeys, ducks, and geese delivers everything you need to know to raise healthy, safe poultry in just 464 pages complete with illustrations and a nice glossary.
A diverse flock of poultry can provide free-range meat, eggs, and endless entertainment. Whether you’re running a large farm or raising a few birds in your backyard, Glenn Drowns tells you everything you need to know about health care, breed selection, housing, breeding, incubating, daily feeding, day to day care and the processing meat and eggs.

References:
Storey’s Guide to Raising Poultry
Storey Publications

Submitted by Michelle Coleman

Chicken Photos, Chickens

Send us your poultry photos!

As the leaves start to change from green to the yellow, orange and red colors of fall, there is a definite feeling of transition in the air. Although it seems the “busy” season of hatchery life seems to extend each year (and that is a good thing!), fall is a time where we can catch our breath, and maybe enjoy the beauty of the poultry we hatch and/or raise.

For a lot of people who ordered egg layer chicks in the spring, the birds have grown up now into chickens and are probably giving you plenty of fresh eggs. They probably have all of their permanent feathers grown in, and are pecking around the yard to get the last bugs of the season. Or maybe the last vegetables of the garden are being picked, and there is enough to share some with your birds.

We’d love to see some pictures of you and your birds enjoying the fall season. We are asking you to email us some pictures of you and your birds. Please email to bkollasch@welphatcherycom . We’ll try and share some of the these on our blog page, and we are always looking for photos to include in our print catalog. If you send in a photo, we prefer a digital image, and also include the name of the people (and the poultry, if they are named) in the photo.

We look forward to seeing some great photos!