I spoke with a lady today who is wanting a few hens and I realized there are a few things I could share about keeping your chickens in the pen/yard.
First, clip one side of the chicken’s wing feathers. This throws the chicken off balance when they try to fly over the fence.
I had a couple chickens that wanted to perch in the small trees on the edge of the fenced-in yard instead of the house on the perches. Once the chicken is perched (ready for bedtime and dark), they are fairly easy to grab by the legs. I grab the chicken and then place it on the perch in the house. It usually takes 3 or 4 nights and the chicken then understands the whole perching in the house idea.
Also, I have a net on a 8 ft pole…looks like something a fisherman would use to pull his fish into the boat…that I use to catch the chickens if I don’t want to wait until dusk when they perch. Occasionally, someone wants to come buy a couple chickens and I don’t know which ones they will pick so the net is a great help.
Remember, if your chickens don’t return to the house or get out during the day, just wait until dark and watch where they are perching so you can catch them.
Another thing, if you keep the chickens confined in the fenced-in yard or pen for a couple weeks, then you can let them out and they will return to their yard as long as you leave the door open for them to get back in.
I use a milk crate with hay in it for a nest for the hens to lay. Then of course you need food and water. Scratch has seeds and is a good general feed but if you want eggs on a regular basis, be sure and buy egg laying mash. It comes in pellets or crumbles. If you have smaller chickens, you might buy the crumbles. The pellets are larger. Crumbles look like large pieces of dirt.
There also needs to be a house of some kind (see my previous post about building a chicken house for 36 bucks). During the summer I don’t have any problem with leaving the chickens to come and go in the yard and house. But, during the winter when food is harder to find for wild animals, you need to close your chickens in to avoid them being an animal’s meal.
And by all means, don’t forget a perch for the chicken. If you have an old rake or hoe handle that has broken off, you could use it to make a perch. I usually buy my perches if I am building an 8 ft long house. Go to Home Depot or Lowes and look in the wood/lumber area. You will find large dowels. Basically, it looks like a wooden round pole that you would see inside a closet. I think it is a a dollar plus per foot and you can have them cut it whatever size you want. Since I have a hole on each side of my house for the pole to go thru, I always add another foot to the length of the pole (9 ft pole for an 8 ft house).
If you want a quick and easy chicken yard, you can purchase a 10×10 dog pen (about $250) made of chain link fencing. You will need to put a tarp across the top to keep the rain and sun off the yard. You can also move the pen, too. A 10×10 area is 100 square feet and you should have (4 sq ft) 16 feet for each chicken if it is a larger adult. So, 16 into 100 is 6.25 so you can have 6 chickens in the yard. If you have smaller breed chickens you can go with 3 square feet each (9 feet)…bantam type chickens.. so that would be 9 into 100 which means you could have 11 chickens in the same 10×10 yard.
It is important not to overcrowd your chickens for many reasons. They will fight more in small areas. I read you should never have more than 30 chickens in a chicken yard even if it is large enough to hold more. They have a pecking order.
For sanitary reasons, you don’t want to overcrowd either. I rake out my houses frequently. I collect the poop and put it in feed bags. You can actually sell it but I usually spread it on my two acres where the soil doesn’t look like it is producing good grass. I also have a friend in town that I give some to every year when she is preparing her garden for the coming year’s crop. If you have a compost bin, you can throw some in there, too.
If my chickens are out on my two acres instead of in their yard, I grab a couple slices of bread and call them and throw the small bite size pieces of bread into the yard I want them to go into. Works like a charm.
I would also suggest that you call your chickens when you are going to feed them. It makes them come to you. I just say, chickie, chickie, chickie and they know I have food for them. Even if they are in their yard when I feed them, I call out to them. Chickens are certainly creatures of habit and I have given them a habit that helps me. I look like the “Piped Piper of Hamlin” when they all follow me.
Baby Chicks Types in
Waldorf, Maryland
We have many Rare Chicken Breeds for sale in Waldorf Maryland,
including Sussex Chickens, Welsummer Chickens, Turken Chickens and more.
Be sure to check out the Bargain Specials, as you can combine different
egg layers in smaller amounts and buy as an assortment. Waldorf
Maryland also has poultry equipment for sale, game chickens for sale in
Waldorf Maryland, bantams for sale, ducks for sale, geese for sale,
turkeys for sale, guinea for sale, peafowl for sale, pheasant for sale,
chukar partridge for sale, bobwhite for sale, many different breeds of
baby chicks for sale in Waldorf MD.
Baby Chicks Home in
Waldorf, Maryland
Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in Waldorf Maryland
catalog is a yearly traditions in many houses. My kids and I eagerly await
the Murray McMurray Hatchery catalog. We love looking at all the cool and
different chicken breeds available. Catalogs are free so head on over to
their site and request one if you are interested.
Typically hatcheries online offer both standard breeds
and bantams. Bantams are fun hardy little chickens, they lay tiny eggs
that kids especially love collecting. Bantams typically weigh less than 2
pounds when full grown. Just like ordering anything online there are pros
and cons to ordering baby chicks online. Pros of buying baby chicks in
Waldorf Maryland * Big Selection - If you are wanting a large
variety of different chicken breeds and egg colors, you will find the best
selection at an online hatchery. * Both Bantams and full sized chickens
available * You get to choose what sex you want. If you want a mixture of
both male and female then choosing a "straight run" will save you money
and you will get a mixture of male and female chicks. You can also choose
all males or all females too. * Weekly specials. Hatcheries have sales on
chicks, you are likely to get a good deal if you are flexible with the
breeds you are wanting. Cons of buying baby chicks in Waldorf
Maryland * Order early to get the best selection. Certain breeds sell
out fast, sometimes as early as 6 months in advance of shipping! If you
are wanting a certain breed it's best to order your chicks in the fall
before their orders sell out.
Baby Chickens Raising in
Waldorf, Maryland
Quantity - you must order a certain number of chicks. Typically hatcheries
will require you buy a minimum of 25 chicks at a time. The number is
necessary for the chicks survival during shipping. All 25 chicks are put
in one small box without heat. They are crowded in the box and produce
enough body heat to arrive in good shape. * The wait - If you choose to
buy chicks from a feed store you will have them the same day but if you
choose to go with a hatchery you have to wait until they are ready to ship
and then wait for the chicks to arrive. Ordering baby chicks online in
Waldorf Maryland is easy and has always been a very pleasant
experience of me. It can be a little frustrating waiting for the chicks
but it's so worth the wait. When the post office calls and you hear all
those little "cheeps" or "chirps" in the background you'll know the wait
was worth it! How to Care for your new baby chickens in Waldorf,
Maryland Baby chicks are quite
cute and also
tough to stand up to,
however it's finest to plan for their
arrival prior to you obtain them. Prepare first
by collecting not just the
appropriate materials, however
additionally the correct
understanding to take care of
them. Raising baby chicks is fairly
straightforward, you merely have to supply them with the following: A tidy and also warm
habitat Plenty of food and water Attention as well as
love Habitat Your habitat could be a straightforward box, aquarium,
feline carrier, or guinea
porker cage. Line it with old towels as well as
coverings (without any loose
strings!) to start, as well as after a few weeks use straw over newspaper.
Keep in mind: Avoid making use of just
paper or other slipper
surface areas-- or your chicks legs could grow
misshapen. You also need
something to serve up food as well as
water in, such as a chicken feeder as well as water
recipe from the feed store, or a pickle container
lid for food and a pet dog bird water dispenser from an animal store. Also, as the chicks age you can introduce a perch
right into the habitat to obtain them
trained on perching. Warmth To
keep your chicks heat you need to
give them with a heat source.
This could be as easy as a 100 watt
light bulb in a reflective clamp style lamp from a
hardware shop, or an infrared reptile heat
bulb likewise function effectively (my
referral). Chicks need this
warmth 24/7 up until their downy fluff is
changed with plumes (which can use
up to two months). The freshly
hatched out require a temperature level
between 90 as well as 100 levels,
and also weekly this could
be minimized by
around 5 degrees approximately. The warmth resource should be on merely one side of the cage
to enable chicks an array of
temperature levels. The chicks are your finest
thermostat- if they are hiding in the
contrary corner of your warmth
light, you need to
minimize the temperature. If
they are surrounding each various other under the
warmth (not simply snuggling),
you have to put some heat.
House cleaning
Sanitation is vital and it keeps your chicks healthy. Be sure to change
the bedding
commonly and also
constantly give tidy
food and also water Food as well as water.
Chicks expand really quick
which needs plenty of clean
food as well as water. Offer
enough at all times as well
as inspect
often to prevent parched as well as
hungry chicks. Chick food is various than grown-up chicken food, and also it is available in both medicated and
also non-medicated varieties. Feed chick food for the
initial two months, then
change to a raiser food (~ 17 %
protein) for one more 2 months,
and afterwards to a somewhat
reduced protein feed or a level feed
(if you have layers). Dirt Some chicks want
to get a running start on taking
filth baths, while others will not use up that activity till they are
older. If you have the room in your chick
unit, introduce a tray of sand or
dust for them to bathe in.
Interest as well as love There are a couple of benefits to hanging
out with your chicks. To start
with, they will probably bond with you and also
not flee as adults. Second, if you
examine your chicks daily and
view their behavior, you can
catch ailment or other problems earlier. Watch out for hissing, limping, or
other harmful
indicators. Make certain to
likewise look at
their poop, as diarrhea can result in matted feathers as well
as clogged up cloaca.
Finally, it is very
important to keep an eye out for social concerns, such as the
littlest chick getting badgered. Vacant nest syndrome So your
chicks are now completely feathered
as well as its time for them to leave the
security of your home
and also move outside right into a
coop. Check out our
area on chicken coops to read more
about cages as well as
appropriate coop habitats.
Baby Chickens Under Heat LampBaby Chickens By Mail More Posts Baby Chickens for Sale in Severn, Maryland Baby Chickens for Sale in Randallstown, Maryland Baby Chickens for Sale in Grantsville, Maryland Baby Chickens for Sale in Emmitsburg, Maryland Baby Chickens for Sale in Smithsburg, Maryland