What Does A Rhode Island Red Look Like?

The Rhode Island Red is known for its deep maroon red coat. Some fanciers say the best coats are the ones that appear black from a distance but shine a brilliant red in the sunlight. In the early 1900s, it was discovered that the birds with the reddest feathers often had weak feather structure, giving them thinner, stringier texture. Since then, breeders have selectively bred their Reds to have a more attractive wide and smooth feather. In addition to their striking feathers, Rhode Island Reds have copper eyes, reddish-brown beaks and yellow feet. Male roosters weigh an average of 8.5 pounds, while female hens weigh about 6.5 pounds, although there are breeders who offer much smaller bantam Rhode Island Reds too.

Do Rhode Island Reds Make Good Pets?

Rhode Island Reds are generally friendly, good-natured chickens and recommended for children to have as pets. However, some Reds can become aggressive if provoked and there have even been reports of intruding fox or dogs killed by these “guard” chickens. But like any good guard dog, these chickens will be your loyal pets if raised in a loving environment. Well-raised Rhode Island Reds walk alongside their owners and even enjoy climbing on laps of owners who are sitting in the grass nearby. These chickens are good to others in their flock, but may be aggressive to other breeds.

Tips For Raising Rhode Island Reds:

• Make sure the coop temperature never drops below freezing, as egg output will decrease and combs are particularly sensitive to frostbite.
• Have everyone in your family take turns feeding the chickens so they become accustomed and friendly with everyone. They can sometimes be hostile to strangers.
• Keep in mind, if your chickens are free-range, their eggs may be too large to fit in standard cartons. Give them quality feed to get 6-7 eggs or more per week.

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To keep your sweet babies healthy and happy, you’ll need to focus on having the proper housing, temperature, food and water. You’ll also need to be fanatical about your cleaning for a little while.

What Can I Use As A Brooder?

• Cardboard box
• Rabbit cage
• Guinea pig cage
• Aquarium

Basically, your chicks need enough room to move around and lie down.
Remember, you’ll also need to fit your waterer and feeder in here too.
Inside your brooder, put a layer of clean pine shavings or newspaper.
Change this litter every few days or if you notice it’s become damp.
Month-old chicks love a low roost that is four inches off the ground, where they can sit or sleep.

How Hot Do Chicks Dig It?

Use a 100-watt bulb or a heat lamp, keeping the temperature 90 – 100 degrees for the first week.
Reduce the temperature five degrees each week until the chicks have their feathers at 2 months.
Are the chicks huddling together far from the light or panting? They’re too hot.
Are they huddling together underneath the bulb? They’re too cold.

How Much Water Do Chicks Need?

Chicks need an endless supply of water. They’ll be drinking a lot during this time!
A medium-sized, lightweight, plastic waterer is probably all you’ll need.
Be sure to clean the waterer once a day or more because they will poop everywhere!

How Do I Feed Them?

A feeder will keep the food in one convenient place.
Most feeders are made of galvanized steel, with slide tops for easy filling and cleaning.
Refill the feed as much as possible and be sure to keep the feeder clean.
Medicated feed is a good idea to prevent Coccidiosis infection.
If you’d like to give your chicks a treat, try a worm or bug from the garden.
Avoid greens, which will cause diarrhea in youngsters.

What Are Chicks Like As Pets?

Chicks remain in their brooder for the first week or two, but may come out for short periods of time in a warm house shortly thereafter. You must keep a close eye on them, as they like to fit themselves into tight spaces – and look mighty tasty to cats and dogs. Often chicks follow their owners around and bond to them.

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• Lethargy
• Loss of appetite
• Draggy wings
• Closed eyes
• Puckering vent that is dripping clear or white liquid
• Swollen vent
• Tail either straight up in the air or at “half mast”
• May sit on the floor or ground

Stretching the neck and straining the vent are not typical for an egg bound hen, but it can indicate stress – the vent can sometimes strain and push out if the hen is distressed.

Egg Bound Chicken Treatment

Here is a good treatment for an egg bound hen from www.dummies.com

For more info you can check out Wikipedia

Silkies are the world’s oldest chicken breed, with roots back in 7^th Century China where they were used to cure kidney ailments, aging and other ills. “They have hair like a cat, are black, and lay the best of eggs,” wrote Marco Polo wrote of the Silkie in the 13^th Century. In 1874, the Silkie came to America, where it became one of the top show chicken breeds and backyard pets.

What Does A Silkie Look Like?

Photo: cskk

Silkies display the softest plumage in red, white, blue, buff, partridge or black. Unlike other breeds, these chickens lack barbs and quills, so all you see are the softest, fluffiest down feathers. Other unique characteristics of this fancy breed include: five toes (rather than four) and blue or black skin tone (rather than pink). Silkies are fairly small chickens, rarely exceeding 32 ounces for females and 36 ounces for males. This is a far cry from the usual 80 ounces a typical American chicken weighs.

Do Silkies Make Good Pets?

The Silkie temperament is gentle by nature and they are very friendly with their people, often following them around. They don’t mind being picked up by children, which is why they’re found in so many petting zoos. They can also be leash-trained and don’t mind a Sunday drive in the car. Avid Silkie breeders say no two birds have the same personality.

Tips For Raising Silkies:

• Silkies make great mothers. You may find 8-12 egg clutches and up to 100 cream-colored eggs in any given year. Be sure your Silkie mom spends adequate time outside the coop to prevent broodiness, which is common for this breed. If, however, you have other birds like quail or pheasants who abandon their young, feel free to stick the eggs in with your Silkie: she will happily sit upon them!
• Keep your Silkies sequestered away from other chicken breeds. Since they are so meek, other more aggressive breeds tend to target them for bullying.
• Silkies don’t fly very much, so you can keep them in a small confined space. Just be sure they have warm, dry areas outside with low perches and nesting boxes.
• Silkies love to munch on fresh pellets, scratch mix and vegetables. If properly cared for, your birds can live a healthy and happy nine years.

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Just for the record… my dog was no help.

• Organic chicken breasts are lower in calories and higher in protein
• More B vitamins, selenium and niacin
• No additives, preservatives, pesticides or antibiotics
• Chickens are less susceptible to disease

To raise, certified organic chickens, you must take the following steps:

1. Each chicken must have at least 2 square feet of green space to roam and eat insects.
2. Chickens are only housed when the weather is bad, but must have free outdoor access.
3. Birds must have enough room for natural behavior and to move without injury.
4. Chickens must have access to direct sunlight and fresh air.
5. Chickens must eat only grains certified to be free from pesticides and meat-free.
6. Chickens must have clean water, free from antibiotics.
7. Housing must be disinfected with approved products between flocks to prevent contamination.
8. Vaccinations for Marek’s Newcastle, and Coccidiosis are allowed, but alternative therapies advocated by holistic veterinarians are encouraged.
9. You must complete an application and provide documentation to the certifying body in your area.
10. You must allow inspectors to check your facility for compliance.

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1. It’s all about food! At 9 am, give your hens a hot mash comprised of layered pellets and hot water with poultry spice, marmite, garlic powder, or natural yogurt added on various days to spice it up. Give them dry pellets throughout the day. Add a corn ration around 2 pm. Before bed, they should have more dry pellets.
2. Keep your girls cozy! Hens love to scratch around and find their own treats. Give them a cozy paddock with grass clippings, wood chips, pine shavings, hay, leaf piles, and alfalfa to peck through. Usually chickens need about 4 inches of litter on the ground, but you should increase to 8 or 10 inches in the winter months.
3. Consider lighting. Some naturalists prefer not to use any artificial lighting in the coop, as this may mess with their natural body clocks. However, other farmers recommend using a 100-watt incandescent bulb 15-16 hours a day to improve egg capacity. Either way, make sure the roost is clean, with a constant supply of water and excellent ventilation. You’ll need a heater.
4. Collect eggs regularly! Sometimes hens get broody and try to hatch their eggs if there are too many eggs in the nest, so be sure you collect them faithfully each morning, noon, and night. If you do this and your hen still stays on the eggs, remove her from the nest for a few days so she’ll resume regular production again.

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1. Fatten up their feed! Chickens burn more calories in the winter. Add wild bird seed to their usual feed.
2. Set up a draft-free, heat lamp warmed roosting area in the barn. Even though chickens are stubborn outdoors-lovers, they’ll acquiesce and accept your shelter in sub-zero temperatures.
3. Keep a source of unfrozen fresh water at all times. You may try a water heater, a heat lamp placed over the water, a pump that keeps water circulating, or adding boiling water periodically to ensure their water doesn’t freeze over.
4. Use straw bedding and change it whenever it gets wet or frozen. Be sure your chickens have several layers of straw beneath their feet to prevent direct contact with snow or ice that leads to frostbite.
5. Watch out for pests. During the winter months, other animals will seek food and shelter in your chicken coop. Keep your feed off the ground in metal containers, rather than wood or plastic to deter rats. Raise geese with your hens to keep aerial predators away from the coop. Try electrified fences for coyotes and traps to remove raccoons.

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*The Compromise

For an excellent egg producer there are several production breeds available but they tend to be scrawny and would make a lousy meat bird. Likewise, there are some amazing meat chickens but their egg-laying ability has been sacrificed in the intensive breeding for feed to weight conversion ratios. This is where the dual-purpose chicken comes in. It is not the best in either category but quite acceptable in both. I have found them to be healthier overall and more “normal” in chicken behavior than some of the highly bred production breeds. This is an ideal solution for a family wishing to supply their own needs and to make a small income selling eggs to the community.

*The Breeds

The best breeds for the dual-purpose flock are generally from the American Class. This class includes the Delaware, Rhode Island Red, Plymouth Barred Rock and New Hampshire. I’ve also had great success with Orpingtons, Australorps and some White Rocks for continuous winter laying. These all lay brown eggs. Pick a few from several different breeds and see what works best for you.

*Getting Off to a Good Start

There are different ways to start your first flock.

1. You can purchase grown hens from someone who has a surplus. This can be the most expensive option since the hens are already laying. You need to be able to trust this person’s word that the chickens are not older than advertised. After the first two years a hen’s egg production will drop off dramatically and at this age the only meat option is chicken soup. Another concern getting birds from another farm is the spread of disease.

2. A cheaper option is to buy fertile eggs from a mail-order company or the farmer down the road. It is exciting for kids to watch the eggs in an incubator and take the responsibility of caring for them for the 21 days they take to hatch. You need to remember the hatch rate in the typical home incubator is about 50% and the rooster rate is also 50%! So with 20 eggs you can expect to end up with 5 hens. Of course these extra roosters are perfect for your meat birds to be slaughtered at 8-16 weeks depending on the breed. You should only start your flock this way if you know the eggs are purebred. Cross-bred hens will not lay as well as the original parents.

3. The final option is to buy day-old chicks (peeps) from your local farm store or mail-order company. They ship very well through the mail. The mail-order companies give you a tremendous selection from which to choose whereas the farm store will offer the choice of two or three production breeds. You can choose pullets or cockerels. If you don’t choose it is called “straight-run”. This is the cheapest option and then you can eat the excess roosters and keep the hens for laying. Roosters are not necessary for hens to lay eggs, only for hens to lay fertilized eggs.

Having a flock of dual-purpose chickens is a good, common-sense addition to any homestead. They supply the owner with eggs and meat, not to mention bug control, rich manure and general entertainment. Raising them keeps alive the breeds that are being neglected for more efficient single-purpose factory production breeds. In a time when faster, bigger, more is always better, the old-fashioned dual-purpose chicken stands out as an exception that wins all around.

Julie Helms

Article is courtesy of Julie Helms http://www.helium.com Twitter: @julie_helms E-mail Her

For more information on raising chicks from mail-order companies please see here.

Julie Helms

Article is courtesy of Julie Helms http://www.helium.com Twitter: @julie_helms E-mail Her