The Accidental
Farmer

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Chicken FAQ

Everything you always wanted to know...




What time in the morning does a rooster crow?

The conventional wisdom is that a rooster crows as light begins to break in the morning. Some report their roos are set off at night by the headlights of a passing car. Some of my roos sometimes crow when they hear me coming to open the coop. However, roosters don't just crow in the morning. They crow because they hear other roosters crowing (you can get chain reactions). Other things that seem to set them off: to show that a certain place in the barnyard is their turf; to try and assert their own authority to another roo; hearing a hen cackle after it has laid an egg. I think the general rule for this is that a rooster crows any time it wants to - or feels the need. For all I know, mine may crow on and off all night, but I just hear them in th e morning.
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How long does a rooster crow in the morning?

Like the time a rooster crows, it seems to crow enough times to suit its own purposes.
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Do hens (or pullets) ever crow?

I haven't experienced this personally since I keep roosters, but I have heard that in a flock without a rooster, a dominant hen will occasionally begin to crow as if to step into the duties of the missing male. As far as a pullet crowing, I suppose that this is possible under similar conditions, just as in certain breeds the cockerels begin to crow at an early age.
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What is a pecking order and how does it work?

There is no equality in a flock of chickens. Every bird has its specific place. This is determined by posturing, bullying, threatening, bluffing, and yes, pecking. The result of this conflict results in the pecking order - the hierarchy of the flock. It is a fluid and dynamic thing, which can change as birds come and go, age, become stronger or weaker, etc.
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Do you need a rooster to get eggs?

No. You only need a rooster to get fertile eggs (eggs that will hatch a chick). Hens will lay eggs whether there is a rooster around or not.
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How many eggs does a hen lay?

A hen will lay one egg approximately every 25 hours. So a single average hen may lay an egg for three or four days in a row and then "take the day off" when her laying time reaches late in the day, she will then "start over" the next day. They will lay until about eighteen months, then molt (lose their feathers), and start laying again once the molt is over, although the frequency will start to decline after this. Some hens have been known to slowly but regularly produce eggs at an advanced age. For efficiency's sake, many keeps cull older hens after the second (first post-molt) egg laying cycle.
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Why do hens lay soft (rubbery) or thin (brittle) shelled eggs?

The main reason this happens is because of a lack of calcium in the diet of the hen. Obviously, their bodies need the calcium to build the shells. Some keepers recycle their old eggshells, crushing them up and giving them back to the chickens in their feed or in a special dish. Personally, I don't want to give the chic kens any ideas about how tasty the eggs they're laying are (egg eating can be a problem). I buy crushed oyster shell at my local farm supply store and leave it out for the birds in a separate dish. This way they can eat it at their own pace, and takes care of most soft/thin shell problems. If it doesn't there could be other problems afoot, such as a bacterial infection - check with your local chicken expert
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How many roosters should I have?

Figure one rooster for every eight to ten hens. However, some people (myself included) keep more than this ratio without problem. The key is the amount of space. If the chickens are kept in a coop (figure 3 square feet of coop space per chicken) with a run, then stick closely to this number. If they free range or are fenceless, you can support a greater number of roosters with no problem.
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When does a hen start to lay?

It depends on the breed... A pullet could start laying as early as four months (Rosses and Red Sex Links did this in my experience; Egyptian Fayoumis do this as a matter of course) or as late as six months of age.
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What is the "deep litter method?"

The deep litter method of keeping chickens started in World War II to conserve resources. Instead of cleaning out the coop every four to six weeks and putting down all new litter, farmers began to simply add smaller amounts to what was accumulating on the coop floor, stirring it to keep it mixed. The coop was then cleaned out once every four to six months. It remains a popular maintenance method today, especially among busy suburban hobby farmers. Some keepers throw scratch on the coop floor to encourage the chi ckens to stir the little up for them.
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Should I name my chickens?

There is a danger in naming chickens, because there will come a time when little "Beulah Belle" will no longer be productive and have to go into the stewpot. Because you gave the hen a name, there is the risk of additional attachment, making for a meal that is memorable for all the wrong reasons. However, naming things is in our nature, and has been ever since God lined the animals up in front of Adam. Better to name layers and the barnyard rooster than the shorter-lived meat birds. If you must name your meat birds, however, I suggest names like "Regula r" and "Extra Crispy" (o r, as an acquaintance of mine once did, "Shake" and "Bake").
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Which chickens can I eat?

In theory you can eat any of them, although I wouldn't touch one that shows some signs of a bacterial type disease. I once culled a hen that had cataracts and kept bumping into things, and it made a fine addition to the dinner table. Practically speaking, if you want chickens for meat and eggs, raise up meat birds along with layers. This will give you meat while producing - and layers can b e retired to the stew pot when their laying slows down. Eating is also a practical solution for other problems, such as roosters who develop a personality conflict with their keepers. Many have made their way to the table this way over the generations... although they probably fit in the category of "which chickens should I eat?"
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What is the best way to cook a chicken?

There are innumerable ways to cook chicken, but three overall methods to prepare them. These are based on the age of the bird at the time it was butchered. Fryers are the youngest when butchered, and therefore have the tenderest meat. This makes them the best for off-the-bone eating. Roasters are a little older when butchered, so they require a longer cooking time to reach tenderness. Finally, any older bird that has done duty in the barnyard as a layer or rooster will have older, tougher meat that only a long, slow cooking process can tenderize. These birds are best for the stew pot.
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