Looking After Pets

The symptoms

A growth forms in the sole of the foot of your chicken and often can be overlooked as bumble foot because it can look very much like calluses. It will be swollen and usually hard tissues build up. Then the bird will begin to limp and in more serious cases there will be blood in the chickens footprint. Bumble foot in chicken can deform the feet severely but when detected early, treatment is pretty easy.

What Causes It?

Perches – Bumble feet starts with a bruise on the foot that later progresses to tiny wounds that get infected. These are thanks to the habit of chickens perching anywhere and everywhere they fancy. Perching on very narrow wires, living in a chicken house and run where the floor is made of wire and perching on narrow edges and pointed corners all cause bumble feet. Another usual cause is jumping from a perch that’s too high and landing hard.

Improper Food – Bumble feet is also sure to occur when there’s not enough Vitamin A in the system. Seeds, a chicken favourite is low in vitamin A. The vitamin promotes resistance to infection aside from promoting digestion and appetite. A sign that the chicken lacks vitamin A is when the plumage loses its luster, becomes pale and appears very rough. There’s also the lack of colour intensity in the cere and there will be a yellowish and scaly accumulation on the beak.

Diseases – The tiny injuries and lacerations on the bottoms of the feet is a good breeding area for parasites and bacteria that when left untreated will eat thru to the bone, become acutely unpleasant and even endanger the life of the chicken.

Prevention

Provide good perching areas in the coop and replace the chicken run if the floor is made from wire. If feasible, have perches in the hen house with several different diameters so that the hens have the option to find a perch they’re more comfortable on.

Chicken will eat just about anything and so they respond well to vitamin A supplementation. Provide food that’s rich in Vitamin A. Carrot for one is an excellent source the chicken likes. Greens are also good sources of the vitamin and so are potatoes. Try to add some potato and fruit peel to their diet as chicken loves this. It’s been shown time and again that once the vitamin deficiency is resolved, bumble feet heals.

Treatment

Antibiotics will be needed to cure bumble foot once it has set in. When the infection isn’t serious the technique is to soak the feet first in luke warm water for 5 or 10 minutes before applying the lotion or the antibiotic.

If the bumble feet is more serious, soak the feet in hot water for 15 minutes and then using a knife carefully clear away the scabs and the puss until you are left with a clean hole, apply the ointment or the antibiotic, bandage the foot or employ a vet rap and repeat the method every day till the bumble foot is healed.

Visit the writers website for more articles about chicken health and chicken coops

If you have decided to raise chickens or are at present keeping some in your yard, familiarizing yourself about all the benefits can be very rewarding. You might have your own thoughts already, but it shouldn’t hurt to grow your understanding on the pros of raising chickens at home. Of course , an advantage can only be one if you recognize it for what it is.

These are the advantages one can have when raising chickens at home:

Home Produced Eggs Are Healthier. Recent evidence evidence seems to show that battery eggs contain a higher quanity of salmonella, and thus, can be particularly damaging to us through prolonged intake. Apart from that, you can’t get a fresher egg than grabbing your own breakfast from the chicken coop Whenever you want one!

You Will Save Extra Money From Home Produced Eggs. Having 3 or even more chickens that constantly produce eggs saves you the trouble of purchasing eggs at your local shop. A standard hen could lay an average of 300 eggs a year, provided that they are getting the proper nourishment. Enlarging the number of hens can also provide more returns, provided you are buying birds and chicken feed at a decent cost.

The Waste Products Of Your Chickens Can Be Utilised As Manure. It’s always been noted in numerous sources that chicken waste is one of the finest manure around for its high level of nutrient elements and nitrogen, which can help your garden produce veg at a much faster rate. And the proven fact that they’re organic makes your crops free from harmful chemicals. It is also an advantage that your chickens will eat bugs and insects that will do damage to your crops.

Chickens Make Good Pets. The hens, particularly the “bantam” types, are docile in nature, not to mention that they’re total beauts! Many sorts of breeds are stunning in appearance, most particularly Barred Rocks, Wyandottes, Orpingtons and Cochins. You can always go to the internet for photos of certain breeds to pick out which breeds are to your tastes.

A chicken’s plumage has a large number of colours, and I guarantee that you will be having a blast just by sorting thru them. Chickens, while not nearly as smart as dogs, can be terribly frolicsome and friendly. If trained real well, some of them can eventually pull off some tricks, and you may use them to impress your mates as they ogle over the beauty and elegance of your chickens.

There remain a amplitude of benefits, and you can discover more of them on your own. Having the initiative to learn more and taking a humane approach to raising chickens can light the way to maximising these benefits, and you and your avian family will be more happy for it.

Call at Cages For Critters for a number of aviaries and chicken houses that you can order online.

If you’re going to be keeping hens there are some easy items of equipment that you will need, most of which are essential, though not all. Here are the few things you need to buy, build, or
have available:

Finding the best hens and sourcing them can be complicated . But acquiring them from chicken breeders, local keepers and farms are good beginning points. There is more than meets the eye, though. As a beginner you should know what factors to look for when choosing a hen. Some, or all, of your questions can be answered by asking your local breeder or keeper.

Selection Factor 1: Finding the Best Provider

Try going over local trading papers or books that more often feature cattle and pet sections. You will refer to Google and zero in on the specified subjects and subjects. Browse through the pages to work out if there any hens that are up on sale. Widen your search through local newspapers running advertisements listing hens for sale.

Other useful tips:

• Try asking neighbours and pals if they know any of their chums and acquaintances who keep hens.

• Go to the Internet and see if there are chicken breeders near your locality you might go to for a visit.

• Consider a visit to the Battery Hen Welfare Trust (BHWT) web site to discover if there are available rescue hens that need a new home.

Selection Factor 2: The Chicken Sort of Choice

Do you not think that with the numerous kinds of hens available, you should ask what to pick ? First, you want to decide and decide what is it particularly that you want out of your chickens”fresh eggs on a daily run, a pet for your leisure or entertainment for your friends, or for beef . Different breeds, as was the knowledge of seasoned breeders say, are “ideal for certain things.” Here are 1 or 2 tips:

Strains of Good Layers

Towards meeting your need for hens that produce a fine supply of eggs, those that are advertised as POL or point of lay is a sensible choice because they're typically 18-22-week-old birds. The best breeds include:

• Warrens, which lay between 250 to 300 eggs annually

• Rhode Island Reds (200 eggs yearly )

• Black Rocks (250 eggs annually )

• Marans (200 eggs yearly )

• Bluebelles (200 eggs yearly )

• Orpingtons (200 eggs annually )

Good Table Chickens

If you are looking for chickens that are excellent for eating, table birds fit the bill . The ideal breeds meeting these necessities are:

• Sussex

• Wyandotte

• Dorking

• Plymouth Rock

Pet or Show Birds

Many chicken breeds, in most parts of the planet, are understood to be docile, lovely, or strange (rare ) in appearance. Breeder manuals and magazine point out the bantam variety as the most ideal chicken that fits the factors . Bantams serve as the miniature version of the favored massive breeds and are judged suitable in locations where there's less room for nest boxes. The preferred pet or show breeds include:

• Araucana, which lays blue eggs famous for their beauty

• Cochin

• Dutch Bantam

• Pekin

• Sebrights

• Silkies

Selection Factor 3: Vaccination-certified Hens

It's your responsibility as owner-entrepreneur to be certain that the hens you obtain from your supplier have had been immunized against common fowl diseases such as Mareks, Newcastle, contagious laryngotracheitis, fowl pox, and mycoplasmosis, amongst others . Checking out explanation in a vaccination certificate stands consistent to your own interest.

Also, keep a watchful eye on tell tale indications of physical weaknesses . Find out by closer observation if the hens are alert and bright-eyed. The healthful ones stand with tails up, have had clean bottoms, and show no discharge from their noses and beaks. Moreover, check the legs and feet, and make sure that the hens had smooth scales and strong legs.

Selection Factor 4: Final Preparation Checks

You want to be sure that your prepared facilities duly matched the sort of hens and the purpose for which you are raising them. Run the check list one by one to make sure that not an item is left out.

Before leaving your house to gather your hens, ensure that the coop is prepared . Make sure that the feeders and drinkers had been filled out and full.

Think previously about the type of carrier you're going to use. If a special pet carrier is not available, a cardboard box is sufficient . Nonetheless do ensure that there's enough breathing holes already in place and the box bottom has been duly buttressed . See to it that the box is neither too big for the hens to have so much space to move about on the trip or too small that they are too crowded in or cramped beyond normal comfort.

Selection factor 5: Choosing a chicken coop.

You need to make sure you choose a good chicken coop for your chickens. Even if you get everything else right your chickens won’t be happy if they have a damp or cold or draughty house. Find out more about chicken coops on my website.

Peter has a website all about Chicken Houses where you can get more advice about chicken nesting boxes to keep your chooks healthy and happy and laying eggs

Most backyard farming enthusiasts say that a chicken pen for housing your hens must be:

• Built in order to be impenetrable or not affected by water

• Draught-free and well-ventilated

• Roomy enough for hens to nest and lay

• Assembled with perches to allow hens to roost at night

• Offer strong protection from predator intrusion

Cost-effectiveness, adequacy in protection, and necessity are critical factors to consider in your housing selections when looking to buy or contruct a chicken coop.

Item 1: Home made chicken coop

If you are operating on a humble budget, you will be able to economize by converting an existing shed, which regularly requires only a few, minor adjustments, and which is sometimes spacious enough to accommodate more than 12 hens. The space needed is around 6 feet long and 4 feet wide.

Chickens perch at night. Thus, it is important that you provide perches for them to roost in convenience and comfort. Each perch should be at least 2 feet from the floor and removable for clean-up, upkeep mend or replacement. As much as humanly possible, keep the perches clean to keep the feet of your chickens in good condition.

Item 2: Portable chicken coops

If you have a small garden and need to keep 2 – 3 regular chickens (or up to 5 bantams), a transportable chicken coop is inexpensive. They can be made or bought.

In addition to being waterproof, straightforward to maintain, and offering high protection against predators, a good portable hen house also features an optional, fox-proof chicken run to boot. A start-up backyard establishment like yours can invest in a starter kit, which includes a small-size run, hens, and sundries such as feeders and feed, in addition to the transportable coop.

Item 3: Conventional chicken coop

A chicken coop built along normal necessities comes in a wide variety of sizes. More frequently it has optional chicken runs attached to built in nest boxes and perches. Whilst the best can be good-looking, well-built, and solid structures, they can be dear at times , fetching costs as high as $800 each. Most back garden farmers like to make their own coop, or to purchase a straightforward the six-feet-by-four-feet wooden chicken coop, which can accommodate up to 12 hens.

The frequency of cleaning the coop relies on the season and the number of hens you are keeping. Because hens spend more time inside during winter, when daylight is shorter and nights are longer, there will be a steep increase in the volume of crap. When the summer sets in, the coop stays comparatively cleaner as the hens stay longer out of doors.

Cleaning the coop at least 2 times per year is advised as a minimum, more is better.

The longer, healthy lives of your hens are directly proportional to the cleanliness and sanitation being maintained in the coop. You are better off day to day if you grab a bucket and pussy litter scoop every morning and gather the crap that had fallen the night before. There'll be less unpleasant odours in the coop.

Routine daily clean-up also prohibits the hens from treading on the crap and bringing it into the nest boxes. You will be in a position to utilise big amounts of crap for your compost pile, from which you organic fertilizer can be had for your garden plants, or just put it on the garden.

Now and then you need to conduct regular checks to find out if the coop has remained weather resistant. Whenever obligatory, at least one time in every 6 months, you may reapply a coat or a couple of the recommended waterproofing treatment, particularly if you are employing a timber coop.

Also, check the roof to ensure there is not any water seepage or moistness that may affect the respiration system of the hens and render them subject to other sicknesses. Harmful bacteria and fungi are known to proliferate in damp surfaces or surroundings.

If you pay satisfactory attention to buying or building a good quality chicken house you'll have cheerful healthy hens that supply you with healthy healthy eggs as your reward. Keeping chickens is fun too.

Peter has a domain all about Chicken Coops where it is possible to get more guidance about finding a great hen house to keep your chooks healthy and content and laying eggs

Several chicken coop plans in existence these days are just made to get your finances. What I mean with this is they are usually defective, and often, they’re not also good to keep your chickens in. The reason why these flawed chicken coops have learned to emerge almost everywhere would be that owning your own chickens has started to become increasingly popular. With the economic system intending the way it is, owning your very own chickens can not only conserve your tons of money from purchasing eggs, you may also offer the eggs which your chicken lays to generate some funds on the side at the same time. With this particular possibility being so popular with so many people, purchasing and having your own chicken hasn’t before been trendy.

Having said that, what would it take to structure the perfect chicken house, and what must you watch out for if you are creating your hen house? Let’s start with what you must make sure to do when designing your chicken coop.

Your chicken coop must be, first and foremost, robust and formidable towards any of the natural aspects that might happen. Heavy winds, rain, and even the chance of earthquakes should be considered when you are designing your chicken house. Then, you might also need to ensure that your hen house ideas ensure that your chicken shall be relaxed and calm all the time throughout its time in the chicken coop. When your chicken isn’t comfortable, it isn’t going to be sleeping properly, and it’s also likely to be producing eggs that are of low quality due to its reduction in overall fitness.

The chicken also should be able to eat within or around your coop. So, putting a feeder on the side of your chicken’s coop is a must. Ideally on the side, so that way, your chicken should wake up to eat. I have seen a lot of chickens choose that as they don’t have to get up to eat, it’s alright for them to be laid back. This is quite dangerous to the chicken and can result in several health issues later on. In addition, you must account for your chicken sleeping – so placing a relaxing bed for the chicken that has something that can catch and contain the eggs securely underneath it is something you must plan for as well.

Those are the essentials of chicken coop designs. In terms of what you must be sure to be cautious about, you need to watch out for any styles which do not leave your chicken coop as durable as they can. Many designs recommend that you employ nails rather than screws. This can be a really bad idea, as well as really dangerous if the nails start to come out a little! Most layout flaws when creating your own chicken house are generally together with the basic safety of your coop.

Building the right chicken house to hold your chicken protected and satisfied isn’t challenging. You just need to make sure that you follow all the basic principles and style a sturdy coop which is comfortable, as well as staying easy to clean.

Once you’ve determined how many chickens you plan to keep it’s time to choose which chicken cage meet your needs and obtain the chciken cage designs for the cage that best fits your situation.  To build a chicken cage yourself is very satisfying not to mention the super benefits you’ll be getting.

The number one benefit is you save money – lots of money – many times hundreds of dollars.  The next benefit is the fact that you can arrange your cage design however you want, giving you the ability to make it to your own preferences, or you can stick to the original design, the choice is yours.

Where to Begin

1. Keeping Your Chickens Safe & Secure

For any design you will consider protection from the rain, snow, cold and heat as well as keeping your chickens safe and secure from predators is the most important thing a design has to accomplish .  The fact of the matter is that no matter where your house is located predators will find your chickens and when they do they will take advantage of any weakness in your cage to get a hold of your chickens.  Your plan must include built in safety features to keep predators on their side of the chicken runs and coops.

2. Climate Control

It is a good idea to include some sort of insulator relative to the climate you live in to help control the temperature in your chicken house.  Along with an efficient type of insulation you will need to be sure ventilation is a part of any design you use to regulate humidity levels and air flow. If this is disregarded you run the risk of having some sick and diseased birds.  Poor air flow promotes bacteria growth and cold wet chickens are more likely to get pneumonia.

3. Know Your Space Requirements

The size cage you assemble is based on the number of hens and roosters you will be raising .  Chickens need three to five square feet of space per hen inside a coop and about 10 times that in a cage.  Adequate room is a requirement to a healthy flourishing flock that will supply you high yields of eggs and meat.

Usually a good set of plans has a definition of the amount of room chickens will need and how to calculate the square feet needed for your particular situation.  This will help you in your final selection in deciding what coop and cage best meets your needs.

When considering what set of plans is right for you, whether it is a download from the Internet or from your local farm supply,  take into consideration if it provides step by step instructions, drawings and pictures to help guide you along in putting up your cage.  It is also fundamental for the chicken cage designs to have a detailed list of material you would need to have.

I would personally always opt to build a coop myself, but I know that not everyone has the time to do this, so out of respect for those who enjoy fresh eggs and the satisfaction of raising their own chicken, read on.

A coop for chickens is pretty much a box in one form or another, simple enough, but finding the time to build one can be a challenge many have a hard time getting past. Prefabricated chicken coop kits are the answer to this problem.

If you choose to buy a kit you’ll find that it has the instructions and all the wood, wire, screws or nails etc you need to completely construct your coop.  

If carpentry isn’t a part of your skill set then a kit is probably what you’d want because it is really more of a puzzle rather than a construction job.

There is quite a variety of kits you can find either online or locally and they come in an assortment of sizes and styles giving you the option to pick the one you need. A lot of kit plans are for mobile type coops but it seems most are for stationary type coops.

Chicken coop kits are popular with those who live in the city and have been for a long time. Simplistic set up and tear down is most likely the reason it is a favorite.   

Mobile or portable kits are the smallest style you can get. They’re light weight so they are easily carried from one place to another. The bigger and heavier kits are intended to be put in just one location and left there.

The size of your coop is directly related to the number of chickens that you plan on keeping.  Each chicken has to have 3 -5 square feet.  The small portable kit coops will only keep about two or three chickens.

Keeping chickens really is a long term proposition so you want to plan out into the future if you can.  If you think you’ll be adding more chickens to your flock, to start a business for example, then you will need to build a coop big enough for that amount of chickens now to ensure you’ll have the room when the time arrives.

Even though many of the kits available are priced about the same that doesn’t mean they are created equally. The best approach is to compare kits side by side and do your homework on chicken coops so you know what features a good coop should have and which ones meet your particular requirements.

If it is possible validate that your coop was designed by someone who understands raising and keeping chickens.

Important features are adequate ventilation, should be easy to clean, lighting and the security and safety of your chickens.

If Budget is a Concern

The one down side to buying a chicken coop kit is comparing the price per square foot, a kit is about 2 to 3 times more than putting up a coop on your own. For example a coop with 21 square feet of room, currently listed on Amazon is $463 dollars.  You can build a 64 square foot coop for about the same or less.

If you just don’t have the time to put up a chicken coop then using a kit is an easy and fun option. Even if you are all thumbs when it comes to building projects, you’ll be putting together a coop fairly easily.

When its time to choose which design, of all the designs for chicken coops to build that are available, it can seem a little overwhelming because of the number of designs and layouts there are to sort through.

Below we’ll review three basic requirements to enable you to make a good educated decision.  

There are three things you need to keep in mind as you review the information below that will help you refine your choice in which design truly meets your needs. 

• What is the number of chickens you plan to keep?
• Do you have enough room for the sized coop you would like?
• Do you have a requirement to be able to relocate your coop as needed?

One is just as important as the other, for example, lets say you want 8 chickens but only have enough property to build a coop that would hold 3 or 4 chickens, obviously you couldn’t do that.

Small Chicken Coops & Hutches

Chicken tractors and stationary hutches fall into this category. The idea behind this particular category is for someone who has or would like a small number or birds. You could house more bantams say five or six or less large breed chickens, around two or three.

These are ideal for the hobbyist who is probably more interested in having a few pets as opposed to keeping chickens for eggs, though that certainly isn’t out of the question.

Small coops are easy and fast to put up and usually have the look of a playhouse or shed that have an enclosure attached to the coop. This keeps the birds in and the predators out.

Mid-Sized Chicken Coops

Chicken coops in this category are mostly for those who desire eggs and possibly some meat, but only for personal use. There isn’t excessive space for enough chickens to be able to lay enough eggs to try and make any amount of income.

Since a mid-sized coop is only about double the size of a small one, you’ll only be able to keep around four to six birds. This type of coop can be set up to be portable but is usually stationary.

Large Chicken Coops

If space isn’t problematic for you and you are thinking that you’d like to keep chickens for making money or maybe to give your whole family with eggs and meat, then a large chicken coop is probably for you. A large coop can be as large as you desire to house as many chickens as you would like to raise.

A good set of plans, which can be easily downloaded from the Internet, will tell you how big a coop you’ll need to assemble to keep however many chickens’ you’re thinking about keeping.  It will also help you figure how large of a chicken run to assemble as well as the materials you’ll have to have, right down to the last nail.

If you plan to keep chickens then the first order of business is to get a hold of a complete copy of a good chicken cage design. So what does a good set of designs look like?  Compare the needs of your chickens to what you hope to get out of the design.  You can have the design you are hoping for, but it must take the chickens needs into acount, with that you will get what you’d like while giving your hens what they require.The first thing you have to take into consideration is the number of birds you’re planning on keeping.  Chickens require enough room to keep them healthy and allow them to freely move without being cramped or over crowded. Putting this all together with the amount of space on your property that is available to keep your hens and whether you need to be able to move the cage.  

There are a variety of mobile and stationary cage designs to meet the needs of most instances of building a chicken cage.

If you are planning on only keeping a few chickens then the A-Frame would most likely meet your needs. It is small and compact requiring minimal amounts of materials to build. It encompasses the coop and a run all in one.  It’s a great selection if you have limited property available.  If you look at the A-Frame from either end it looks like a triangle or an “A”.

A Chicken Tractor isn’t something you’d see a chicken driving, though it sort of sounds that way. Instead it is similar to the A-Frame because it is small and compact but in addition to that it is mobile. It can easily be moved by hand or hooked up to your riding lawnmower or tractor and be repositioned  with ease. These types of cages usually have an open run.

If you want to go compact but would like to havemore than just a couple chickens an All-in-One design would meet your needs. The coop is high off the ground and the run is directly beneath the coop. These are designed to be big enough for a person to enter yet compact enough to maximize the usage of a tight spot.  It is one of the most efficient coop designs available and is somewhat mobile.

You may want to keep chickens for more than fun and if so a Walk-in coop design could be what you’d need to consider.  They are not a whole lot different looking than a shed but don’t let the looks fool you. Designed to hold a larger quantity of chickens these kinds of coops are made to feed, water, protect and shelter for all seasons. Nesting boxes and roost are a necessity in these just as they are in most any other cage or coop designs.  Normally the chicken run either surrounds or is right next to the coop.

Knowing what you need is important when picking the right chicken cage designs, hopefully you are now more equipped to make the best choice for your needs.

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