What to feed chickens!

Now that you're raising chickens, what should you feed them? What do your chickens like to eat? What are some healthy kitchen treats to give your chickens?

Chickens love to eat. Here are some basic guidelines you should follow when feeding your chickens:

First, feed your chickens good store-bought feed designed for the purpose you are raising them for. For example, egg layers should eat chicken feed for egg production and meatbirds should eat chicken feed that encourages healthy weight gains.

Second, supplement your chickens' diets with as much natural feedstuff as you possibly can. I like to let my chickens free range, which allows them to feast on all sorts of natural goodies like grass and seeds and, of course, lots of bugs!

Third, you can give your chickens healthy treats from your garden and your kitchen! When I go out to prune my garden, I give them old vegetables and fruits like tomatoes and lettuce. This is safe and an excellent treat as long as you do not treat your plants with chemicals (yet another great reason to "go organic"!).You can also give your chickens healthy treats from your kitchen such as vegetable scraps.

And finally, give your chickens lots of fresh, CLEAN water to drink. Chicken bodies need lots of water to keep them healthy. This is especially important during the heat of summer.

If you supply your chickens with lots of great food and fresh water, they will live longer, happier lives. And happy chickens are fun!

The Scientific Name for the Chicken

The Scientific Name for the Chicken and The Scientific Name for Poultry

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This is useful information for students doing research projects and school essays on the scientific names of animals. We have compiled a list for your personal reference.

The scientific name for the domestic Chicken is Gallus domesticus.
The scientific name for the chicken is Gallus Gallus.

The scientific name for the Pigeon is Columbia livia.
The scientific name for the Duck is Domestic Anas platyrhyncha.
The scientific name for the Duck is Muscovy Cairina moschata.
The scientific name for the Japanese Quail is Coturnix coturnix japonica.
The scientific name for the Guinea Fowl is Guinea Numida meleagris.
The scientific name for the Turkey is Melleagris gallopavo.
The scientific name for the Peafowl is Phasianidae.

We hope this page has been helpful to you in researching chicken scientific names and the scientific names of common poultry. In most cases, all breeds will be the same species. For example, even though the Barred Plymouth Rock is a specific breed, its chicken scientific name is Gallus domesticus.

If you have any questions, post them on our free poultry message board.

Why Chickens?
Understanding your own reasons for growing chickens will help you choose the right flock and get setup with the right equipment. The main reasons people grow their own chickens are:


* to have a supply of fresh eggs,
* for fresh meat,
* pest and weed control,
* and a supply of nitrogen-rich manure.

What you plan to do with your flock will determine (to some degree) what you will need to do to get set up. For example, if you want to let your chickens run through your garden once in a while to gobble up insects, you will need to set up some means for controlling their access to the garden so they can't get in to eat tiny seedlings. If you want chickens for eggs, you will need to include nesting boxes in your hen house design.

The end purpose will also determine the composition of your flock. Some chickens, such as Leghorns, have been bred as layers, others have been bred for rapid meat production. Yet others, such as Rhode Island Reds, are good dual-purpose birds. If you are raising chickens to show, you will become very selective about their breeding.

[ From a blog on raising backyard chickens ]

Poultry Post Edited

Deleted!

The bird flu

Everyone is so worried about the bird flu! I know we are. This topic has been popping up ALL over poultry message boards. One of our favorite discussions is taking place over at poultryOne where they are currently debating the bird flu (avian influenza) and what it means for chicken hobbyists. It's definitely an interesting read. The best part is that you can chime in!

One reader wrote in saying:

"It's good to read an intelligent article on the subject of A.I.
People have to remember that it is a disease of birds and to become sick with it, humans have to somehow get it directly into their systems. That's not easy but apparently 160 people have managed to do it. The precautions listed in this post are a little over the top but the W.H.O. has a responsibility to advise people to take precautions.
If I read one more time "the deadly bird flu which has killed millions of birds around the world"....people forget (or don't know) that the flu did not kill most of those birds, governments did! I'm not saying that gov'ts have handled the issue incorrectly but the media sure has. They are constantly reporting with unclear statements that leave the reader with assumptions that are misleading and often incorrect.
A.I. is a serious disease of birds, if it's a high pathogenic strain and the W.H.O. is acting and reporting with clear facts. It's important that this disease is not given an opportunity to mutate to a form that will infect humans and so far it hasn't. One unfortunate fact is that there is a High Path H5N1 and a Low Path H5N1 - that alone is confusing enough."

Agree? Disagree? Chime in on what you think about the bird flu.

The Mysterious Red Breasted Goose

Has anyone ever raised the red breasted goose?

It sounds intriguing!

"For many years while the Russian possessions were
more or less closed to foreigners, very little was known
about this very beautiful goose. Occasionally one or
two pairs would be brought out but generally they were
unknown to the avicultural world. The few that were in
the hands of zoos and private breeders were not
producing in captivity. The word got out that they
would not produce in captivity for some unknown
reason. Probably this bad reputation was the result of
the sexes being identical (except the female is slightly
smaller than the male). Some began to produce in
captivity when vent sexing came about and true pairs
were put together in happy environments."

[ from GamebirdWorld.com's article on raising the red goose ]

Raising Gamebirds

From the creators of poultryOne.com:

Raising gamebirds (pheasants, quail, etc) and waterfowl (ducks, geese, etc.) has never been easier!

poultryOne has just "soft" launched a new poultry website devoted entirely to raising gamebirds and raising waterfowl! ("soft" launched meaning they're not releasing it to the public....yet....but we're letting you preview it here!)

GamebirdWorld.com - Guide to Raising Gamebirds and Raising Waterfowl

They're got a *small* article section up with a few choice articles from poultryOne and Dr. Leland Hayes (our favorite gamebird expert!). They'll be adding more later, but feel free to check it out and let them know what you think!

GamebirdWorld.com

More great chicken websites

Here are some great chicken links.