Welcome to The Hearty Hen House
Hobby Farming at its finest!
I often read comments from people indicating some confusion in understanding the difference between chicken grit and oyster shell. Oyster shell and grit are two different products that accomplish two different things, and they are NOT interchangeable. Let’s take a look at the two products and their purposes.
The egg is indeed incredible. Did you know that after an egg has been fertilized and laid, it can remain in a state of suspension so to speak, until the hen is satisfied with the size of her clutch? Then she will stop laying eggs and begin incubating all of the eggs she has collected so that they will hatch at approximately the same time. I think that is pretty cool!
It seems like lately, having hens that lay colorful eggs is all the craze. And it is fun to see a bowl or carton filled with eggs that range in color from white to various shades of brown, greens, blues, and even pinks. Dare I say that finding a white egg outside of a grocery store is becoming the anomaly! There is nothing wrong with raising chickens simply for their colorful eggs. Different breeds of chickens are being developed to accommodate the desire for varied egg colors. So let’s explore colorful egg layers.
The answer to that question is a resounding YES! Eggs are an excellent source of protein and make a great treat for chickens. The egg white contains more than half of the egg’s protein and none of the fat. The yolk contains all of the fat and most of the egg’s vitamins. In fact the egg yolk is one of the few foods which naturally contains vitamin D. Eggs are not fortified with vitamin D as is milk and some brands of yogurt and orange juice. The egg is also considered a complete protein food because it has all of the essential amino acids, and it’s tasty. So, yes, it’s not only o.k. to feed eggs to your chickens, but eggs are a healthy supplement which your birds will thoroughly enjoy!
Keeping a rooster with your flock of hens is something that requires serious consideration before doing so. Many cities, and even some rural towns, do not allow farm animals to be kept in residential neighborhoods. It appears that zoning laws have become more lenient in recent years with regards to keeping backyard hens, but it is important to check the animal zoning laws before acquiring any chickens. Roosters are often not allowed in many urban locations because they are considered a nuisance with all their boisterous crowing. I, for one, love nature and farm life and all the sounds that go with it! But, before you decide that letting a rooster hang out with your girls is a good thing, check your town or city’s animal zoning laws.
Trimming a chicken’s beak, toenails or spurs can be intimidating. It probably wouldn’t be so bad if they could tell us when something hurts, but since they can’t, we tend to be a little reluctant to do the trimming for fear we might cause some pain or discomfort. A chicken’s beak, and toe nails, and a rooster’s spurs are all made out of keratin, a fibrous protein structure. That is the same thing that our hair and fingernails are made of and we know that cutting our nails doesn’t hurt, unless we get too close! And just as our hair and nails continue to grow, so does a chicken’s. Hopefully, through most of a chicken’s daily activities, they wear their nails and beak down naturally and don’t require any intervention. A chicken’s scratching in the dirt, looking for bugs and seeds, help to wear down their nails. You might have noticed a chicken wiping their beak on the ground as if to clean some dirt off. This act will file down a beak and keep it in check. A rooster’s spurs on the other hand grow out the side of the leg and are sharp, pointed and often used in disputes with other roosters. They do not touch the ground and so it is harder to keep them filed down. Spurs can grow to be quite long and get to the point where they interfere with walking, or injure a hen when mating. That’s when it’s time to intervene.
Not all animals were created equally. Many species have digestion systems that are unique and fitted for the environment they lived in, in the wild. We have domesticated these animals over the years and changed their eating habits. In an effort to make sure our animals are getting the nutrients they need, it’s a good idea, no matter how uninteresting it may seem, to understand their inner workings. Our goal is to raise healthy, beautiful, productive animals.
When I was fairly new to chicken keeping, we got some chicks from the feed store and one of the hens turned out to be a rooster. He was a feisty guy. My boys were ages 2, 4 and 6 at the time and this rooster would chase them all over the yard. It got to where they would not go out back if that rooster wasn’t locked up. They named him ‘Killer’! He would go after anybody that came near his territory and if you have never been attacked by a chicken, as funny as it looks and seems, those little buggers can inflict some serious pain! For the safety of the kids, he was culled. I have only had one other rooster that would go after people and he was exiled from the coop. No longer having a harem to protect, he calmed down.
