Category: Chickens

• Why Have My Chickens Stopped Laying Eggs?! Probably One of These Reasons

  Posted at 3:46 pm by HomeDabbler, on December 29, 2019

  

  Chickens are sensitive creatures.

  While it’s amazing to have a small egg-producing flock in your backyard, there are several very natural reasons why chickens (hens) stop laying eggs, at least for a while.

  The good news is that most times, they start laying again soon. Here are the most common causes.

  1. Weather Extremes

  I live in North Florida where the summers are brutal. Every August my hens stop laying eggs. The heat is just too much and most of their energy goes to surviving it. Same with cold. If your flock slows or stops laying, check the recent weather.

  Don’t worry, this usually works itself out when the weather moderates.

  2. Shorter Daylight Hours

  This is related to weather. On short winter days, chickens will slow or stop laying. Adding a light to their coop and keeping it lit a couple hours in the evening can help with egg production.

  3. Molting

  Most chickens molt once a year. It’s creepy to watch but perfectly natural. However, hens will not lay during a molt. Their body needs all the nutrients it can get to generate new feathers.

  Btw, here’s an article about molting in case you need it.

  4. Poor (Or Improper) Nutrition

  Not all chicken feed is the same. There are different mixes of protein, minerals, fats, and nutrients depending on what you want for your flock. Bottom line: wrong mix = no eggs.

  Make sure your layers are eating a quality 16% protein layer pellet. Other varieties include chick starter and feed for meat birds. We like the Nutrena brand (no, they don’t pay me, but I wish they would. Pass the word).

  5. Trauma or Shock

  If your birds have had a recent scare or attack—a hawk is menacing them or a raccoon killed one of them—they will typically stop laying for a while. Again, they usually pick back up a few days after the incident.

  6. Disease

  Sick hens won’t lay. Most disease in a small backyard flock can be prevented by purchasing vaccinated chicks from a reputable supplier (Murray McMurray is our favorite), giving them quality food and clean water, and providing plenty of open space.

  Treat the disease and she may start laying again. I say “may” because chickens are pretty fragile when it comes to sickness. Many times they simply don’t recover. Doesn’t mean they won’t though. Fingers crossed.

  7. Age

  This is the only one you can’t fix. A hen’s prime time for laying are her second and third years. After that, her eggs will get progressively smaller until she stops laying altogether.

  Some folks butcher their hens after they stop laying, but we don’t. Our girls are free to convalesce into their twilight years.

  In Conclusion

  If you are serious about having a reliably-laying flock, buy sturdy egg-laying breeds from good dealers and you should be fine for the most part.

  We prefer Buff Orpingtons and Rhode Island Reds.

  Questions? Feel free to message me through the HomeDabbler Facebook Page.

  Kevin

  

  Posted in Chickens | 0 Comments | Tagged backyard chickens, backyard poultry, Chickens, raising chickens

• My Chickens Are Losing Feathers! Relax, They’re Probably Molting

  Posted at 2:00 pm by HomeDabbler, on November 24, 2019

  

  We’re all familiar with a snake shedding its skin. Chickens do something similar about once a year. It’s called molting.

  What does molting look like?

  Molt is when a chicken renews its feathers. The old ones fall out and are replaced with shiny new ones. It can be disconcerting the first time you see it. You will probably think the bird is sick. They certainly look pitiful during the process. But fear not, it is totally natural and will result in a beautiful new coat for your chicken.

  Hens and roosters molt. Hens will also stop laying eggs during their molting period.

  When do chickens molt?

  Molting generally happens in fall or winter, when the days shorten. You’ll notice tufts of feathers missing and others barely hanging on. The chicken may also seem lethargic and irritable during the molt. Or it may act normally. Each one is different.

  How long does it last?

  About two weeks, give or take.

  What do I do?

  It takes a lot of energy for your chickens to molt. Feathers are mostly protein, so they will need to eat a lot. Make sure they have all the quality food they want. And mostly just give them space. No handling or stress. Leave them be and let the process take its course.

  You’ll be surprised at how wonderful they look when they are done.  

  Kevin

  

  Posted in Chickens | 1 Comment | Tagged backyard chickens, Chickens, molting

• Preening: How Chickens Groom

  Posted at 1:29 pm by HomeDabbler, on November 23, 2019

  

  Each afternoon as your chickens get ready for bed, they will congregate and start picking through their feathers with their beaks. They are preening.

  Preening is a way chickens clean themselves. They pick out old feathers and release new ones, clean bugs off their skin, and oil their feathers.

  You didn’t know chickens oil their feathers? Yep, they have a small oil gland at the tip of their tail.

  Watch as your chickens preen – when their heads disappear into their feathers and poke around by their tail, they are getting a drop of oil on their beak to spread through their feathers!

  

  The oil helps keep their feathers healthy and also acts as a water repellent. This lets them scratch around in the rain without getting wet and cold.

  Here’s what preening looks like:

  Preening, along with dust bathing, is a natural way for your birds to stay clean and healthy. So make sure they have space to gather, roll around in the dirt, and pick themselves clean.

  You’ll have a lower maintenance and happier flock. And it’s fun to watch. 🙂

  Kevin

  

  Posted in Chickens | 0 Comments | Tagged backyard chickens, backyard poultry, Chickens, preening

• Let’s Talk About Roosters

  Posted at 8:00 am by HomeDabbler, on September 20, 2019

  

  Roosters are gorgeous and majestic, the iconic poultry specimen. That said, I do not have them in my flock and haven’t had for many years.

  Most roosters are extremely aggressive once they reach sexual maturity (about six months old). After that, they are prone to attack you or your children.

  

  Don’t roosters protect the flock?

  Contrary to the idea of the noble rooster protecting his flock, more often than not our roosters spent more time harassing the hens.

  If you get a serious predator like a raccoon or fox, even the burliest rooster will be no match, especially at night when these varmints attack.

  Ready for a 24-hour serenade?

  And the crowing. Roosters do not just scream at day break. They crow around the clock, disturbing you and your neighbors.

  But what about eggs?

  The idea is that, without a rooster, your hens will not make eggs. Not true. The female of almost every species makes eggs no matter what. If you have no roosters, you will have no fertilized eggs, so no baby chicks.

  That said, hatching your own chicks is overrated, in my opinion. There are good reasons for just buying them.

  You’ve been warned.

  I know it’s romantic to have a towering rooster commanding your flock. But unless you want to hatch your own chicks, I recommend against it.

  Kevin

  P.S. – Want more chicken articles? Visit our Chickens page.

  

  Posted in Chickens | 0 Comments | Tagged backyard chickens, backyard poultry, chicken coop, Chickens, raising chickens, roosters

• Chicken Wire is Useless

  Posted at 8:00 am by HomeDabbler, on September 9, 2019

  

  It sounds so right.

  Chicken. Wire. Wire for enclosing chickens. What could go wrong?

  A lot. Chicken wire, also called poultry netting, is a lot like duct tape. Used for everything but good for nothing.

  You’ve seen it, the cute honey-comb pattern wrapped around rustic coops, the very model of American farm yard-ery. The only problem is that chicken wire, while visually pleasing, doesn’t do its job, at least not long term.

  The primary reason for enclosing your chickens in their own space – a coop, run, or nursery – is to keep them safe. Chicken wire is made of, well, wire. However, the wire is very thin. It is galvanized to withstand the elements, but will not over the long haul.

  Eventually, your chicken wire will rust and corrode. Because it is so thin, predators like raccoons can (and will) break it. And they don’t need much space to get in. A raccoon or fox can slink through a hole the size of a grape fruit.

  These predators play for keeps. I lost my entire flock of 12 chickens in one night when two coons broke in.

  

  There is a better way

  There are three better options to chicken wire, based on application.

  1. 2″ x 4″ weld wire

  Weld wire is also made of galvanized wire, but it is much thicker than chicken wire and will last longer.

  While I do not recommend using weld wire for high-security areas like your run, it is fine for a broody breaker or yard fence.

  2. “Rabbit wire”

  Love this stuff, especially the kind coated with PVC. Rabbit wire is the common name for 1″ weld wire (it is commonly used for rabbit hutches).

  It is expensive, so use it sparingly. You would not use it to cover an entire run (you could, but you better have serious budget), but it is great for nurseries. The small spaces make it impossible for even the tiniest chick or slither-i-est rat snake to pass through.

  3. The ultimate: chain link

  Lasts for ages. Virtually unbreakable. Chain link is the ultimate poultry protection device.

  It is also expensive but you will not have to replace it for years and years and years. No predator (save a bear, maybe) can penetrate it. I use chain link to cover my run – top, sides, and along the ground – and haven’t lost a chicken to a predator since.

  

  You won’t regret it

  I used chicken wire for way too long and lost many birds along the way. If there is one tip that I wish someone had shared with me when I was a new chicken raiser, it would be this one.

  Dump the chicken wire and use something actually made for chickens.

  Kevin

  Posted in Chickens | 0 Comments | Tagged backyard chickens, backyard poultry, chicken behavior, chicken care, chicken coop, chicken raising, chicken run, chicken wire, Chickens

• How to Program a Chicken: Acclimating A New Flock

  Posted at 12:18 pm by HomeDabbler, on September 2, 2019

  

  Many new chicken raisers are afraid their chickens will run away or that they won’t come back to the coop at night. Luckily, chickens are like little feathered robots. You can program them to pretty much do what you want.

  It’s all about habits. Once a chicken establishes a behavior pattern, she almost never breaks it. That includes her sleeping and laying spots.

  How to Program a Chicken

  When you introduce new birds to your space, leave them locked in the run for several days, a week if possible. This will make them sleep in the coop and lay in the nest boxes. Don’t worry if they don’t lay right away.

  After a few days and nights in your run, their habit will be locked in and they will return to that spot every night, no matter how far they roam during the day.

  It’s all about habits. Once a chicken establishes a behavior pattern, she almost never breaks it. That includes her sleeping and laying spots.

  Feel free to let your flock loose in the yard at this point. Then watch as the sun starts to set. They will slowly scratch and peck their way back to the coop and put themselves to bed. Just shut and lock the door behind them!

  What if One Won’t Behave?

  Every once in a while you’ll get a rogue hen who wants to sleep in the yard. Wait till night fall, gather her up, and put her in the broody breaker for a few days. It should reset her habit.

  Kevin

  P.S. – Bantams are a little wilder than large breeds. They can be less likely to follow the patterns you set for them. Sometimes they are just going to sleep in the trees. It’s one of the reasons I quit raising them.

  

  Posted in Chickens | 0 Comments | Tagged chicken behavior, chicken coop, chicken raising, Chickens

• What is Dust Bathing (for Chickens)?

  Posted at 8:00 am by HomeDabbler, on August 6, 2019

  

  Is my chicken dying? No, she’s bathing.

  You’ve probably seen a sparrow or other small bird bathing in a puddle or bird bath, splashing water all over itself. Chickens do the same thing, just with dirt. It’s called dust bathing, and it’s crucial to their health.

  Dust bathing helps chickens keep pests like mites and lice off their skin naturally. This saves you having to treat them with medicines to prevent those pests.

  Dust bathing is strange the first time you see it. First, they will dig a hole in a soft patch of bare ground a few inches deep. Then they lay down on their side in the hole and use their beak to scratch dirt toward them. Then the funny part.

  The chicken will scratch with one leg and flap its wings to throw dirt in the air. The dirt falls on them and settles between their feathers. They do this repeatedly for a while, then stand up, shake the dirt off, and go on their way. 

  Here’s a video of some of my birds getting their bath on:

  So if you see your chickens keeled over and flailing around, don’t be alarmed. She’s probably just taking a bath.

  What if I don’t have dirt for them to bathe in?

  Buy a kiddie pool and fill it with play sand!

  Another option.

  If you just don’t have much space, you can always dust your chickens with dusting power from Murray McMurray Hatchery.

  The more you know,

  Kevin

  Posted in Chickens | 1 Comment | Tagged chicken care, Chickens, dust bathing, poultry

• What To Do With a “Broody” Chicken

  Posted at 5:35 pm by HomeDabbler, on July 21, 2019

  

  You’re going to open your nest box one day and find a hen who refuses to leave.

  She will puff up and growl at you (and possibly peck) when you try to move her or retrieve eggs from under her. And she will stay there for days, even weeks if you let her. You have a broody bird.

  The term “broody” means a hen who wants to hatch eggs. A switch has flipped in her brain and the only thing she wants to do is gather a clutch of eggs and set them. She won’t leave the box, she will barely eat or drink, and she will literally look like she is in a trance. Because she is.

  Broodiness is nature’s way of turning your hen into an incubator. For chicken eggs to gestate chicks that hatch, the eggs must be brought to a temperature of precisely 95 degrees and be kept there for exactly 21 days. They must also be rotated several times a day.

  If your hen gathered a clutch and then went on with her normal daily activities, the eggs would die. The only way to create the perfect conditions for hatching eggs is if that hen does nothing but focus on them. Hence the trance.

  Now if you have some fertilized eggs you want to hatch when your hen goes broody, you’re in luck! She will do the job with shocking effectiveness. Just put the eggs under or near here and she will do the rest. It is truly something to see.

  But what if you don’t want her to hatch eggs? What do you do with a broody hen then?

  You have three options.

  1. Give her false eggs and wait.

  You can buy fake chicken eggs from McMurray Hatchery for just this purpose. Put a few under her, give her some space, and wait. It will take weeks, but she should eventually snap out of it and get on with her life. We’ve tried this and it works – sometimes. Some hens, after the 21-day “gestation” period is over, don’t hear the cheeping of babies and come out of the broody trance.

  We’ve had many others, though, who would not. They would set indefinitely, barely eating, for eggs that will never hatch. That’s why we generally use the second options.

  2. Put her in a “broody breaker.”

  I know the term broody breaker sounds cruel, but it isn’t. A broody breaker is simply a part of your coop away from the nest boxes where you can lock the chicken until she breaks out of her broodiness. Make sure your broody box is plenty big so she can walk around. Give her food, water, fresh air, everything. Just don’t give her a nest or eggs. And because hens don’t lay eggs themselves once they go broody, she can’t lay any in the breaker.

  

  My broody breaker. Plenty of comfort, just no eggs.

  She will be pretty unsettled the first day, pacing the breaker box and griping you out. But she will break out of broodiness much, much faster. We have never had to keep a hen in the breaker box more than three days.

  Some may not like the idea of a broody box, that it is unnatural, maybe even cruel. I disagree. To me, letting a chicken neglect herself for weeks when you know she will never hatch eggs is worse than helping her get back to her normal life quicker.

  Broody box quick tip: Use your nursery area as a broody breaker. Unless you have chicks in there when a hen goes broody, it should be unoccupied. This is what we do.

  3. Give her day-old chicks to raise.

  If one of your hens goes broody at a time when you were going to buy chicks anyway, let your broody girl raise them. Buy the chicks and wait for night to fall (it is best to do this at night). Place the chicks under the hen from behind. This will trick her into thinking her eggs have hatched. Momma and babies will know what to do from there. It is not 100% guaranteed, but she will very likely take them to raise.

  Broody is as broody does.

  Some chickens never go broody. Others do it all the time. Now you’ll know what’s going on if one of your hens suddenly growls at you.

  If you have any questions, feel free to message me through my HomeDabbler Facebook page.

  Kevin

  P.S. – Wanna know more chicken stuff? Pop over to our Chickens page.

  

  Posted in Chickens | 2 Comments | Tagged broody, chicken raising, Chickens

• Caring for Chickens: Food, Water, & Dirt

  Posted at 12:17 pm by HomeDabbler, on June 28, 2019

  

  One of my favorite things about raising chickens is how low maintenance and low cost they are. Once your coop and run are built and you get a few other items, chickens require much less care and money than dogs, cats, or any other household animal. Except maybe fish.

  Chickens have pretty simple physical needs: food, water, and dirt. You also need some vessels.

  Food

  There are two main foods to give your chickens (and a few snacks):

  • Starter crumbles
  • Layer pellets

  Starter Crumbles

  Starter crumbles are, well, crumbled chicken food. They are broken in small pieces so little chicks can swallow them. They are also formulated with the right mix of protein, minerals, and other vitamins to get those babies off to a good start. I recommend the Nutrena NatureWise. 

  How long chickens eat crumbles: Birth to ~ 6 weeks.

  Layer Pellets

  Pellets are just bigger chunks that are formulated for adolescent and adult chickens. There are a few mixes with different levels of protein, minerals, and nutrients, but I like Nutrena Country Layer 16% Pellets. 

  How long chickens eat pellets: 6 weeks through the rest of their lives.

  Vessel

  There are lots of feeding vessels, but you only need two:

  • Chick feeder – It’s essentially a little trough with a cap that has holes for the chicks to poke their heads through. Use this as long as they are on crumbles. There are plastic and metal ones. Either works fine. McMurray Hatchery has a great selection.
  • “Bucket” feeder – A cylinder with a pan hanging underneath. Pour the food in the top and the feeder doles out the pellets as the chickens need them. We hang ours from the ceiling of our coop, a few inches off the ground. This keeps the chickens from scratching dirt into the feed. Again, check out McMurray.

  If you feed your birds nothing but crumbles, pellets, and water, they will be fine. However, your eggs won’t be as rich and nutritious as they could be. Also, your chickens just won’t be as happy. That’s where snacks come in …

  Bonus: Snacks!

  Chickens, like people, love their treats. And chickens will eat just about anything. They are amazing recyclers, turning your kitchen scraps into eggs. You can give them about any vegetable material from your kitchen. They especially love bread (chickens are extreme carb-a-holics).

  Tip: Letting kids feed chickens little pieces of bread and other veggies is a great way to introduce children to homesteading and caring for livestock. 

  Chickens will eat meat, but don’t give it to them. It’s greasy, will stink if it sits in the sun, and isn’t the best for your bird’s bellies.

  

  Chickens LOVE vegetables and will turn your kitchen scraps into nutritious eggs! Here are some of mine munching on turnips.

  Water

  Chickens need a constant supply of fresh water. Constant. Chickens don’t drink in big gulps all at one time like dogs and horses. They take little sips all day long. If they don’t have water available at all times, they can quickly dehydrate.

  Vessel

  There are lots of waterer designs out there, but our favorite is a stainless automatic bowl. Just hook up the hose and walk away. This is also great if you need to leave your chickens alone for a few days.

  Dust Bathing

  You’ve probably seen a sparrow or other small bird bathing in a puddle or bird bath, splashing water all over itself. Chickens do the same thing, just with dirt. It’s called dust bathing, and it’s crucial to their health.

  Dust bathing helps your chickens keep pests like mites and lice off their skin naturally. Many times, this saves you having to treat them with medicines to prevent those pests.

  Dust bathing is strange the first time you see it, so here is what it looks like. First, they will dig a hole in a soft patch of bare ground, a few inches deep. Then they lay down on their side in the hole and use their beak to scratch dirt toward them. Then the funny part. The chicken will scratch with one leg and flap its wings to throw dirt in the air. The dirt falls on them and settles between their feathers. They do this repeatedly for a while, then stand up, shake the dirt off, and go on their way.

  Here’s a quick video of mine bathing:

  So if you see your chickens keeled over and flailing around, don’t be alarmed. They’re probably just taking a bath.

  Vessel

  Chickens need to dust bath. That means you must have some soft dirt for them to use. If you don’t have that kind of dirt in your chicken yard, put a kiddie pool in their coop and fill it with play sand from the hardware store.

  That’s About It

  I told you they were easy.

  Kevin

  P.S. – Wanna read more about chickens? Pop over to our Chickens page!

  

  Posted in Chickens | 0 Comments

• [VIDEO] A Tour of My Chicken Coop

  Posted at 9:26 am by HomeDabbler, on June 23, 2019

  Chicken coops don’t require much, but it is important to get the elements right. Watch this for a quick tour of my poultry shangri-la.

  Kevin

  Posted in Chickens | 0 Comments | Tagged backyard chickens, chicken coop, Chickens

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