Frequently Asked Questions

If you bought or acquired adult chickens somewhere else and I want to know how old they are, we have some bad news about chicken age. It is very difficult to discern the age of an adult chicken. The best you can do is make an educated guess. There are a few clues you might look for with regard to chicken age. 1. The number of eggs they lay in relation to other birds of the same breed. For example, if you have a Rhode Island Red that only lays one egg a week, there's a pretty good chance she's...

Yes! It's not even that rare, either! In all-female flocks, or flocks in which the ratio of females to males is greater than 10:1, in many cases one female will take on male characteristics and become the "protector" of the rest of the flock. In addition to coming out with a half-crow, she'll usually cease laying, and she may even develop spurs to rival a male's. Strange, but true!

If you have a "sex link" chick, it's easy! Males and females hatch out different colors. Red Stars are a very common sex link, and the females are a reddish-gold while the males are a buttery color. With "Black Stars", both males and females hatch out black, but males have a distinctive white spot on their head. Cream Legbars are also autosexing: females are dark, and males are paler with a head spot. If you DON'T have an autosexing breed, though, you probably won't be able to tell until the birds are three months old or so. Chicks don't have...

The brown color in an egg is laid on in the chicken's reproductive tract by the shell gland pouch. Some breeds lay a tinted egg with a very light brown color, while others lay extremely dark chocolate brown eggs. From right to left: Marans egg, Welsummer egg, Rhode Island Red egg. Within a breed, too, hens can lay eggs darker or lighter than the average, depending on whether they produce more or less of the brown color that goes on the shell--and how long the egg stays in the "paint station" of the reproductive tract. Interestingly, individual hens--while they lay...

We like them all, Sam-I-Am! No, there is no difference in terms of edibility, health, or nutrition in different-colored egg shells.  That said, the colorful eggs from your backyard hens WILL have much more nutrition, because eggs produced by hens raised on pasture are much healthier, indeed (and they taste much better, too). Keep in mind that commercially produced "free range" eggs may have been laid by hens who have never seen a blade of grass, the sun or the sky. "Pasture-raised" is something different, and much healthier. Eggs laid by hens raised on pasture have less fat and cholesterol,...

This varies widely from breed to breed, and in fact the hens of many breeds even grow small spurs! Some can appear as soon as three months, while others take seven or eight months to develop.

On average, chickens start laying eggs at 6 months old, depending on the breed. Breeds like Australorps, Leghorns, Golden Comets and Sex Links will start laying as soon as 16-18 weeks. Larger, heavier breeds like Wyandottes, Plymouth Rocks and Orpingtons will lay anywhere from 6 to 8 months. However, if your birds come into maturity in the fall or winter will sometimes not begin laying until spring: six months is just the average! (We guarantee you that every day past five months that they haven't begun to lay will seem like an eternity!) If your bird is older than eight...

There is no reliable way for the average home hatcher to tell the difference between an egg that will hatch a female chick and an egg that will hatch a male chick. In-ovo DNA testing and spectroscopy are being developed for certain applications, but most of us don't have this technology readily available at home! Instead, there are lots of old wives' tales out there, most of which have to do with the shape of the egg or which way a string swings when you hold it above an egg. In most cases, you will find that in one area...

Fertilized eggs are fine to eat, in fact some people claim they healthier than unfertilized eggs, although we've never seen any data supporting that. (Let's be honest; if the fertile egg is fresh and unincubated, you're going to have the addition of just half a cell.) Illustration by Ray Yang for My Pet Chicken It is impossible to taste the difference between a fertile and an infertile egg, and barely possible to SEE the difference between a fertilized and non-fertilized egg with the naked eye. If you look closely--and if you have good vision--you will see that a fertile egg...

Comb size and redness can be one indicator, but is not usually reliable. In fact, it's one of the worst indicators you can use, as comb size varies by breed and even individual. For instance, one of my hens has a larger comb than any of her sisters of the same breed, and a larger comb than any of my roosters, too. When sexing most juveniles, the best, most fail-safe method is to look at the saddle feathers in front of the tail when the bird is about 3 months old. By that age, cockerels will have long and pointy...

Whereas the brown color of an egg is laid on the outside of the shell, the blue color actually goes all the way through the shell, even to the inside of the shell. Originally, it was thought that color pigments were synthesized in the blood by the breakdown of hemoglobin, but research shows it is more likely that they are actually synthesized in the shell gland pouch. The blue color is produced by biliverdin; the brown color is produced by protoporphyrin, and they are incorporated into the shell in different ways based on their different compositions. Again, to make it...

First, you should make sure they are on a good chicken feed. Once they have begun laying, switch to layer pellet or crumble; until then, feed them starter or grower. Some people make the mistake of feeding "scratch" only, when scratch is just meant to be a treat. Scratch in particular is mostly corn, which has very little nutritional value to it, and is low in protein. Feeding them scratch only would be like feeding your kids potato chips and corn chips only: it would simply not be very healthy! Second, some breeds do not come into lay until later...

Chicken manure makes great compost for fertilizing your garden. However, we recommend you compost it first: don't add it directly in quantity. Uncomposted chicken manure is very "hot": too much nitrogen can burn your plants. Once your manure is composted, it is great for your garden, however. Chicken manure does not acidify soil: it tends to raise the pH. Actually, one study demonstrates that chicken manure is as effective as lime in raising soil pH (making it more basic rather than more acidic). That same study shows that plants can absorb more calcium from the manure than from lime due...

It's counter-intuitive but true: Your eggs will stay fresher if you don't wash them at all. When your hens lay eggs, there is a natural coating that is laid on top called the "bloom" that helps keep out bacteria. When you wash eggs, you can drive some bacteria in through the pores of the shell, so it's a bad idea to do so unless needed just before cooking as a general practice. If your nests are clean, your eggs should be clean. In fact, fresh eggs don't really even need to be refrigerated if they're going to be used soon....

Chickens that are happy will be active and scratching around in the grass, laying in the sun--yes, they do that, too!--or taking a bath in the dirt. We don't recommend YOU try that chicken behavior--for humans, water baths tend to work a little better. Chickens, however, use dust baths to help keep themselves free to parasites. They also may be looking for a good, private place to deposit their eggs. Happy chickens who go broody will try to sit on their eggs all day to hatch them, and will protest if you try to encourage them to leave. If your...

Chickens usually don't simply "stop" laying eggs when they get to a certain age, but they will lay fewer as they get older. That said, most laying breeds will lay more or less productively in backyard terms for five or seven years. (We know of one ancient Buff Orpington cross who still lays an egg occasionally at 17 years old!) There are a number of reasons your chickens might not be laying, so if you suspect there's something more to it than age, have a look at this list of other possible reasons your chickens aren't laying. Debunking the 2-year...

In many ways they do. Chickens can make a very wide range of sounds, and they communicate amongst each other well. Roosters can sing loudly when they crow--they also issue predator warnings. Interestingly, they have different "words" for a predator that is coming on the ground, compared with a predator that is coming from above, like a hawk. They can call their girls over whenever they find a tasty treat by using a specific vocalization that the hens recognize. Hens make a similar clucky calling sound when they are teaching their babies what is good to eat and what is...

A hen who is ready to lay exhibits the following signs: Her comb will get larger and redder right before she begins laying. She will "squat" submissively when you reach down to pet her. She may get a little louder right before she begins laying, since she is experiencing new instincts, and she may not be sure exactly what they are telling her to do, yet. She may go in and out of nest boxes looking for a safe place to lay. She may try to drive the other hens away from possible nests if she is feeling protective. After...

Straight run birds are an "as hatched" mix of males and females. Therefore, if you were to order eight straight run birds, for example, you will get between zero and eight roosters and between zero and eight hens--there is no way to tell. Straight run chicks are sent "as hatched"--they are not sexed first and then separated out into each order. The reason is that expert sexers of day old chicks get top dollar since it is such a specialized skill--this is why ordering all straight run birds is less expensive than ordering all females. The only way to get...

The age a rooster will first crow varies, but generally speaking, he will begin crowing at about four or five months of age, at about the time he begins to look like a mature rooster. It can certainly vary considerably, though. We've seen roosters hold off crowing until they're eight or nine months old, and we've seen them start as early as two months. (Talk about cute!) That said, if you have a crowing bird that is younger than three months old, don't be in a hurry to find a home for "him," however. Hens can crow, too, so you...

No. That's a terrible idea. Birds' respiratory systems are completely different ours, so holding your rooster upside down can cause him real problems. For example, a bird's lungs are right next to the spine and upper ribcage, so it is hard for a bird that is upside down to breathe, since the weight of all his organs will be pressing on his lungs and some of his air sacs. Normally, he will breathe via changes in pressure in the air sacs. So... when the pressure changes "unnaturally," it can make it difficult for him to compensate. Chicken's lungs can't expand...

|If you want to know how to tell the difference between males and females in chickens, please see our related questions, below. This question addresses how sex is determined in chickens genetically. In birds, the sex of the embryo is determined by the egg, not the sperm (as it is in humans). Avian sex differentiation is not determined by XY chromosomes like it is in humans and most mammals (or even the XO system used by some insects). In those systems the sex is determined by the sperm, by what the male contributes to the offspring. By contrast, birds have...

The question of temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) in chickens has been an important subject for scientific study over the last several decades. For most backyard chicken enthusiasts, females are preferred for egg laying and unwanted roosters often have to be rehomed. Wouldn't it be great if you could incubate and hatch all females, or at least hatch a much higher ratio of females than males? Sure! But as we shall see--don't get your hopes up just yet... An Australian study published in 1960 (Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 11(4) 664 - 672) found that eggs stored at 40 degrees Fahrenheit...

Once they have imprinted on their coop as "home," they will retire on their own at dusk. (Thus the saying: "Chickens always return home to roost.") You can get your birds to regard the coop as home by keeping them inside it for a few days after you have transferred them from the chick brooder. They will get used to sleeping there and will feel safe returning there at night. Naturally, you will want to make sure you don't keep them shut inside a hot coop in the dead heat of summer when they may get overheated--don't make the transfer...

None. Hens will lay eggs whether there are roosters around or not, just as female humans will ovulate regardless of the sexes of their companions. The eggs will not be fertile without a rooster, however.

Pet chickens that are properly cared for can live a relatively long time. It's common for a chicken in a backyard setting to live 8-10 years. But we've also heard reports of chickens living as many as 20 years! The older they get, of course, the fewer eggs they lay. But they have other valuable functions besides being a loved member of the family! They are useful for tick, fly, and mosquito-eating, not to mention they're still garden fertilizer machines! You can read more information on our blog about why keeping older hens in the flock can be a great...

Congratulations! You've received your order of baby chicks or waterfowl from My Pet Chicken and now you want to know which breed is which. No problem! Some babies may have leg bands. You can compare the leg band color on your bird to the charts below to help identify the breeds in your order.  IMPORTANT: The leg bands MUST be removed within about a week (because your chicks, ducks, or geese will be growing while the leg bands won't!). Since these are rubber bands, they are extremely easy to remove. Just grab the band and roll it down over the...

Most heavy, docile backyard breeds don't fly very well and aren't particularly inclined to leave a secure, fenced area. A regular picket fence (if the pickets are close) will do to keep many adult large fowl chickens enclosed. But that said, a picket fence is probably not going to help you very much for a few reasons. A low picket fence won't work for some breeds--some backyard breeds like Leghorns or Hamburgs are pretty good fliers and will jump fences like they're not even there---and range far! Small or juvenile birds will slip between pickets or wires. And a regular...

When a female animal is "in heat," she is ovulating and/or ready to be mated. In some animals mating induces ovulation, but this isn't the case with chickens. In fact, hens of most breeds ovulate more or less year round: they ovulate yolks, enclose them in albumen and shells, and lay the eggs. If your hens are laying eggs, they are ready to be mated. Presuming your rooster is old enough to be sexually mature (5 - 6 months or so), he is likely mating your hens when you are not around. Just because you don't see him mating, that...

We don't really recommend feeding your new baby chicks treats right away, because they should first learn what their feed is so they will be able to get a balanced diet. Treats do not provide a balanced, nutritious diet, and it's important to give your chicks a good start in life. Keep in mind that if the baby chicks are raised by mother hen, she will get them to eat anything good that she eats, right from the beginning. There is never an age that they are too young for free ranging or eating some specific food. They are hardy...

We don't breed our Easter Eggers with anything else, only Easter Eggers. Since you know Easter Eggers are not purebred birds, it's sort of a confusing thing to say, but keep in mind that the Easter Eggers were actually here first, before there were Araucana or Ameraucana breed standards at all. Easter Egger hen Let me explain: The standards for breeding Araucanas were set up first, in kind of a backwards way. Normally, to get a new breed officially recognized, breeders get together and propose standards to the APA (American Poultry Association), and then there are certain requirements that must...

It's not a common problem, but it is an area of concern. Common sense will tell you not to keep your chickens around peeling or flaking paint, lead based or not. But while you can probably identify if you have paint chips falling into an area your chickens frequent, you may not be aware of any contamination that is not visual--- and that's the danger. For example, if you live in an area of old homes that may have used (once common) lead-based paint on siding, trim, barns or other outbuildings, the lead from old paint chips may have turned...

No, a terrible hatch doesn't mean that most or even any of your eggs were infertile! They may all have been fertile. Remember, just because an egg doesn't hatch (or even if it doesn't develop), that doesn't mean it wasn't fertile. It is not possible to see the fertilized blastodisc, or blastoderm, on the yolk of the egg after 21 days of incubation, as it will have deteriorated by then. �If you have a rooster with your hens, you can presume good fertility up to about a ratio of ten or twelve hens to every rooster. To check your exact...

Chickens can vary in size greatly by breed and variety! Large fowl cochin beside bantam cochin Large fowl chickens can range from 4 pounds for small hens to nearly 15 pounds for the largest roosters! Bantams vary in size, too. They can weigh from a few ounces for the tiniest seramas to more than two pounds for larger bantams. Generally speaking, bantam versions of large fowl breeds tend to be 1/3 to 1/2 the size of the larger birds.

No, no, no... you don't want to do that. It's is a bad idea for many reasons. First, one chicken raised alone will often die of loneliness--they are flock animals and need companions. Second, baby chicks require a nice warm brooder--and by warm, we mean about 95 degrees! They will get ill and die at room temperature in an Easter basket. And third, even were you to buy several chicks and give them proper care in a brooder, generally speaking, it's still just not an ethical thing to do. It's cruel to raise a baby animal, or several, only to...

Chickens molt annually, usually in the fall. But some chickens do molt later than others. Often this varies by breed as well as the conditions under which they live. Reasons your chickens may be molting late in the year: Your chickens begin molting when their bodies tell them it is time, and that is usually based on daylight hours. Decreasing day length is the normal trigger. Birds start at the end of August or beginning of September, while other breeds may wait until November or December. Adding light to their coop: Some people add light to keep their birds laying consistently...

You don't have to use light at all. But if you do want to add a light to stimulate egg production, the good news that you don't need to use a very bright light! Studies have shown 14 hours of light per day is ideal for egg production. So when days are extra short in the winter, you might need to add an extra 4+ hours of light to really see a difference in the number of eggs your hens are laying, depending on your latitude. Studies have also shown that winter laying increases with about as much light as...

Your baby chicks poo so much because they have to eat a lot to grow as fast as they do! Remember, they are going from egg-sized (2 ounces or so) to chicken-sized (8 pounds or so) in just a few months, and that takes a lot of energy and food. Imagine how much baby humans would eat if they grew into teenagers in just a few months! Since lots of eating means lots of pooing, baby chicks do poo a lot. It's important to keep their area clean so they will grow up healthy and strong.

Unfortunately, there is no pat answer on this one. First, ALL roosters crow. We happen to love the sound (to us it's far preferable to yapping dogs or leaf blowers!). However, it is not possible to know which roosters will crow often and which will be quieter than others when they are baby chicks, just as it's not possible to know which dogs will be barkers when they are pups. With roosters, a lot will depend on their environment too, and how safe they feel "their" hens are. If your chickens are in an area where they are constantly molested...

We LOVE it when they do that... it's so darn cute! This is a nesting behavior. Hens that are broody will often do this when settling into the nest, and occasionally hens who are not broody will do it before or after laying. In nature, having little bits of the surrounding grass, leaves, and other detritus covering her would help to keep her camouflaged from predators by breaking up her silhouette.

The answer to that question will depend on exactly how large the hens and roosters in question may be as well as what your personal preference is. No matter the size of your rooster, he will try to mate all your hens, whether they are large fowl or bantams, so it's certainly a valid concern! Look at the difference in size between a large fowl cochin and a bantam cochin: If you have a very large rooster like a Jersey Giant paired with very small bantams like Sebrights, you might see some injuries during mating since he will be so...

Yes, dogs can be pretty gross sometimes, can't they? They are not the most discriminating of eaters. For instance, my friend's dog likes to raid the cat box, find rabbit droppings, and even eat his own doggie poo! So, dogs eating feces is not confined only to chicken poo. Your dog could conceivably get sick from any of these sources because feces of any kind can be contaminated with bacteria. If you want to train your dog not to eat that icky stuff, you might try a week or two of going out into the yard first before he does,...

There are challenges associated with mixing fowl varieties, such as making sure each one eats the right food for their needs. Often different fowl have different nutritional requirements, so sometimes they won't be healthy if they all eat the same food. Will you offer them all layer feed for chickens, feed designed for your other fowl, or something else entirely that is a compromise between the two? It may be hard to find something they can all eat that will keep them all at their best when their care needs are so different. Ducks, geese, guineas, peafowl, quail, pheasants, turkeys...

There is no one special breed that lays double yolkers. Occasionally a hen may lay a double yolker when her ovaries release two yolks at once, rather than one at a time. This tends to happen more often when hens are young and have just begun laying. Any breed can lay a double yolked egg, but it may be more common from breeds that are good layers, like Rhode Island Reds, Sussex, and Leghorns. Double yolkers are a favorite for over easy eggs! Commercially, most double yolkers will be discarded as "irregular" when candling, so getting farm fresh eggs from...

Our breeding flocks are very large. We can't know which chicks hatch from which eggs. Even if we could, we don't keep track of which hen laid which egg, and we can't know which rooster fertilized which eggs, either. However, if you purchase birds from My Pet Chicken or some other major hatchery, generally speaking you can probably presume that the flocks are large enough to breed your birds together at home. Hatcheries understand that's what people want to do, so they keep breeding flocks with plenty of genetic diversity for breeding future generations. If you purchase birds from a...

Eggs from your own hens normally have very "tall" yolks because they can be so very fresh! It's not because they are pasture raised, though. The nutritional content for your own eggs when your hens have access to pasture is much better than regular "grocery store eggs." You can visually observe the difference between eggs from hens raised on pasture and eggs from factory farmed birds, because pasture raised birds will have yolks that are dark and orange, as opposed to the sickly pale yellow of grocery store eggs. Notice that in the photo above? That's the natural color of...

|It really depends on the individual personality of the bird as well as how quickly they develop. Birds that feather out quickly may begin to roost early (if they have a roost to use), since the grown-in wing feathers allow them to fly up to the roost easily. Some may try roosting almost immediately, while others may take two or three weeks. Most people don't put roosts in their brooders, in which case it may take a few weeks for older birds to figure out "roosting" when they are moved to the big girl coop. However, you can give your...

There is no special size that is best across all breeds. Think about it: some breeds lay very large eggs because the chicks are comparatively large; some bantam breeds may have tiny eggs, and the chicks that hatch from those eggs are tiny. Hens of vastly different sizes lay different sizes of eggs. In fact, there are some large fowl breeds that lay small eggs, too... so the size of the egg you want to use for hatching depends on the breed. If that's the case, how do you know which fertile eggs are best to hatch? Choose eggs that...

Some evidence in Australia and New Zealand has indicated that music may help to keep chickens calm and happy, thus helping them to grow larger, faster. The relationship to egg laying rate has not been seen on a large scale (that we are aware of). You might be interested to read this article about music as related to growth in chickens in Taiwan. Belgian Bearded D'Uccle hen This is also an oft-used science project for kids, too. If you decide to try a science project, please let us know your results!

Yes, chickens can be difficult to photograph, can't they? Much like little kids, they're not really interested in cooperating with you to get you a good shot, and they certainly don't want to hold still! There are some techniques our My Pet Chicken photographers use that you won't really be able to reproduce at home. For instance, many of our photos are studio shots, where the chickens are inside under carefully arranged lighting conditions and with high-end equipment to make for especially good professional photos. And we photograph many of our birds at competitive Poultry Shows, where the birds are...

Hens of most breeds are rather quiet except for right before and right after they have laid an egg. Then they may make a loud "announcement" about it for a few minutes, usually called a cackle. They seem to be very proud of their accomplishment! Some breeds like Brahmas, Australorps, Faverolles and Mille Fleur D'Uccles are often specifically described as being quiet, but frankly I've never seen too awful much difference between a "quiet" breed and a "normal" breed in my flock. Hens of most breeds are fairly unobtrusive. Antwerp Belgian Bantam hen Young pullets who have just begun to...

Normally you want to order the number of chickens you want to end up with---don't order extras with the expectation that some will die. But there are a few considerations you may want to take into account. Whether you lose any over the course of bringing them to laying age will also depend in part on the conditions you provide for them at your home. For instance, if your brooder isn't hot enough---or if it's too hot!---you may lose some chicks. Baby chicks can drown in waterers that are too deep, and if waterers or feeders are not securely seated,...

Naturally, some plants are poisonous to chickens, just as there are plants that are poisonous to other pets like cats and dogs. It's problematic to come up with an absolute list of what not to have in your yard, though. In many, if not most, cases, just having a plant in your yard that is poisonous won't necessarily cause problems. For instance, daffodils are poisonous to most animals, including chickens. But many people have dogs or cats as well as pretty spring gardens in their yards, because dogs and cats generally won't eat these poisonous plants. Similarly, my chickens just...

This is one of those questions where it's hard to tell what exactly you're asking, a question that tells us you're probably a beginner at incubation. Remember, fertility rates are different than hatching rates. Even when the eggs you place in your incubator are 100% fertile, you may get zero of them to hatch. This is because if the conditions aren't just right---if your incubator is too hot or too cold (or too humid or not humid enough, etc.)---the eggs may not hatch in those sub-optimal conditions. So, hatching rates are dependent on YOU, and how well you or your...

What are we talking about here--force fields? Body armor? No--unfortunately, no breed of chicken is "predator resistant." The only way to prevent predator attacks is to keep your flock in a secure run and coop at all times. Remember, too, that if you have a run that is NOT secure and a predator gets into it, your birds will have no means of escape. If they were ranging, they could run or fly away! Not so in a coop or run where they may be trapped with any hungry predator who gets in. It can help to keep a fierce...

No, but we can give you some background information and share the crazy way that rumor may have gotten started! It IS true that, if your hen has had some damage to her reproductive system (such as an infection in her ovaries), she might begin to look like a rooster on the outside---and act like one---due to a hormone imbalance! Such a hen wouldn't lay eggs, and may even begin to crow. At her molt, she may grow in the same plumage roosters have in her breed. If her infection or condition then cleared up, she might begin laying anew,...

That's a complex question. If you would like to turn your home or farm into a hatchery and begin selling baby chicks to other people, we'd first recommend getting NPIP certification so you can be sure that your chicks are free of the worst diseases passed from hen to chick through the egg. We also recommend learning about biosecurity, so you can be sure your breeding flocks will remain clean. You want to be assured you're selling healthy birds to your customers. The next thing you might consider is to join one or more breed clubs for the breeds you'd...

Not exactly, although ear lobe color seems to be related to egg color most of the time. Breeds with white earlobes usually lay white eggs... except for Penedesencas and Empordanesas, which have white earlobes and lay dark chocolate colored eggs. Chickens with red earlobes usually lay eggs in shades of brown... except for breeds and varieties like Easter Eggers, Ameraucanas, and Araucanas, which lay blue or green eggs. Then there is the Silkie. The hens lay light brown or nearly white eggs, while their earlobes are blue. Check out my lobes! So ear lobe color is often related to---but not...

Some chicken breeds lay year round (save when they go broody). One of our employees who's at a mid-latitude in the US reports that any girls who stop laying during the winter begin again regularly--and surprisingly precisely--on February 1 or 2, about halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. If you live in an area where day length doesn't change much, your chickens may begin laying sooner (or never stop). If you live in an area where winter days are very short and cold, they may begin laying again later in the year. While it's the increasing light...

A chicken's reproductive cycle begins with her eyes, or possibly in her skull or even her skin, as one NC State extension article stated: The major environmental cue for control of reproduction is day length. Reception of light for reproductive purposes by the pullet is not primarily through the eyes but rather by the light energy penetrating the skull, skin and feathers and then perceived by an organ within the brain. My brain, you say? Light cues tell your chicken's body whether to release a yolk from her ovaries that will be turned into an egg. Even if the winter...

No, that's not true. First, broodiness is not tied to whether a chicken is purebred or not. Broodiness depends more on a chicken's breed, her genetic background. For instance, Rhode Island Reds very seldom go broody. Leghorns and other Mediterranean breeds are very unlikely to go broody, too, because not going broody very often is just a characteristic of those breeds. Other breeds may go broody very frequently--too frequently, some people find! For instance, orpingtons and silkies often seem to be broody most of the time. Second, as for "modern" breeds being less likely to brood, that's not true, either....

Wouldn't it be nice if you could get such good eggs in the grocery store? Until things change, though, most people really can't. Studies show that eggs laid by hens raised on pasture--in other words, hens who have access to a yard or run where they can forage--have less fat and cholesterol, and more healthy vitamin A, vitamin E, beta carotene and omega-3s. A follow-up study confirms the findings, and shows additionally that pastured hens also lay eggs with increased vitamin D--three to six times more! By contrast, eggs you get in the grocery store are typically laid by hens...

Chickens LOVE treats, and they have their own individual tastes and preferences, of course. But we hate to break it to you: they have almost no taste buds, so their preferences are probably not based primarily on fine taste nuances. Humans have around 10,000 taste buds, while chickens have a maximum of only around 350 taste buds. They don't have any receptors for capsaicin (spiciness), and have a good tolerance for sour, although they're attracted to neither bitter nor sweet nor salty. And in fact, the taste buds of a chicken are located so far back on the tongue that...

Crack a fresh, unincubated egg into a bowl in good light. If you have sharp eyes, you will see that a fertile egg has a faint bullseye, the fertilized blastoDERM, on the yolk, while for an infertile egg, it will just be an irregular spot, a blastoDISC. If you don't have sharp eyes you might make use of a magnifying glass--or ask someone to help. Remember to check the bottom of the yolk; sometimes the way your egg lands in your dish will make the bullseye difficult to see. Illustration by Ray Yang for My Pet Chicken There's a problem,...

Chickens love to eat mosquitoes and ticks--that's great news! But if you keep chickens, will that mean you can dump your other bug protection methods? Probably not, but your chickens will certainly help! Ask yourself: if you spent all day swatting mosquitoes one or even a few at a time--and even if you were GREAT at hunting them down--would your yard suddenly be free of mosquitoes? That's doubtful. Mosquitoes will just fly in from your neighbor's yard. They don't know a whole lot about property lines. If your neighbor has a wet spot where they breed--even just puddle beneath a...

Depending on which chicken breed and color you order at My Pet Chicken, some will be guaranteed to be all Blue, Black, or Splash. At the same time, others will be hatched and sold as mixed flock colors including blue, black, and splash. How do Chickens get Blue Feathers? When a blue rooster and a blue hen reproduce, even though they're both blue, they only pass the blue gene to about half of their offspring. About 25% of their offspring will be black... and the last 25% or so will be splash. Blue: The genes for "blue" are actually more...

Sunflower seeds are a good treat for your chickens. They're widely available, chickens typically love them, and for a treat, they're quite nutritious. They contain methionine, for example, an important amino acid for birds. There is lots of vitamin E, too! And their high magnesium content is also a benefit for your flock's calcium metabolism and smooth muscle tone, both important in laying. But there are a couple different kinds of sunflower seed. Does it matter what kind of sunflower seed you offer your chickens? There are a few differences between striped and black oil sunflower seeds. Most particularly, black...

There ARE a lot of different terms for chicken, aren't there? It can be a little confusing, especially when you're just starting out. So let's define these terms. Male and female chicken terms Hen, rooster, roo, capon, chicks, peeps: You probably know the terms "hen" and "rooster," which refer to female chickens and male chickens respectively. "Roo" is just short for "rooster," and "capon" refers to a neutered rooster. What you may not know is that we don't normally refer to young chickens or chicks by those terms. A baby chick is not a hen or a rooster. "Hen" and...

Let's talk about Designer Chicken Breeds, Breeds, and Varieties, so you'll understand the differences in terminology.       Designer Chicken Breed There are two main differences between Designer Breeds and real Breeds: Designer chicken breeds will not breed true, and they are not American Poultry Association (APA) recognized. Not recognized A Designer chickens such as Favaucanas are not an APA-recognized chicken breed, the same way a Goldendoodle---crossing a Golden Retriever and a Poodle---is not an American Kennel Club (AKC) recognized dog breed. That is to say: they are recognized in the sense that you've probably heard of them, but Favaucanas and Goldendoodles...

Starter, grower, finisher, layer, and developer are all considered "complete feeds" to offer your chickens, but they come in different varieties,depending on your chicken's current needs. In other words, it's a lot like purchasing dog food for your dog or cat food for your cat. You may start your new pup on puppy feed, then move to an adult feed, and years later give him a feed designed for senior dogs. With a cat, you may start with kitten feed, and from there go to adult feed, or even hairball formulas. You might get grain free--or you might find they...

In the modern day, factory farm chickens are kept for laying or meat production. Laying breeds, or "layers," tend to produce impressive quantities of large eggs and use most of their resources for egg production. Layers may also be called "production breeds," because they are kept specifically for the purpose of egg production. By contrast, "meat birds," often called "broilers," are large-bodied and grow extraordinarily fast. Many are just 6 weeks old when they are processed. "Processed" is a nice way of saying, "killed and butchered for market." So, a dual-purpose breed is generally regarded as a chicken breed that...

The word sexing simply refers to the process by which chicks are sorted into males and females. Chicks are not easy to tell apart because they don't have external sex organs like puppies are kittens... or cows, goats, sheep, horses, etc. So only experts with years of special training can "vent sex." They do that by looking at minute details of the birds' cloaca, and even then there's a chance that a baby chick can be sexed incorrectly. Read the related questions for details. Autosexing refers to breeds or varieties of chickens where the males and females hatch out with...

A Poultry Show or exhibition is very much like a dog show. Breeders and fanciers, and sometimes 4-Hers, bring their best chickens to show them at the exhibition and have them judged according to "breed standards," in other words by what the American Poultry Association (APA) says the ideal bird of that breed is like. (Did you know that a lot of the photos you see on our website come from special breeding lines at poultry shows?)  APA breed standards outline what color feathers, legs, skin, earlobes and so on the ideal bird should have. It also points out if...

"Pecking order" is the social hierarchy of the chicken flock. Those at the top of the pecking order get the best nesting spots and roosting spots, for instance... and those at the bottom get what's left. Small flock with plenty of space This arrangement works out well so long as there is plenty of space on roosts, in nests, and plenty of food and water for everyone. If there is not enough, then the girls at the low end get picked on, and may not be getting enough to eat and drink. Always make sure your chickens have more than...

A Showgirl is a type of chicken that combines the features of two of the weirdest-looking chicken breeds, Silkies and Turkens! Silkies are small chickens whose feathers lack the barbicels that hold them into a feather shape, so they look (and feel) like they're covered with fur rather than feathers. Silkies also have black skin, a dark beak and eyes, a dark purple (mulberry) comb and turquoise earlobes. Turkens, or naked necks, are regular large fowl chickens that don't have any feathers on their necks, so they bear a passing resemblance to small turkeys. Showgirls look as if they combine...

BBS stands for "Blue-Black-Splash." But that doesn't tell you a whole lot, either, if you don't know how the genetics of blue plumage colors works! When you breed a blue bird to a blue bird, about 50% of the offspring will be blue (a grey color), 25% will be black, and 25% will be splash (a white or pale grey color with splashes of darker grey and black). So, when you order BBS Cochin chicks, for example, you'll receive a mix of blue, black, and splash colors. To get 100% blue birds, you would want to breed black to splash....

Well, it helps to start with good stock. Have a look at our special lines that are more likely to produce show quality prospects. You may also find good lines with specialized breeders. Just keep in mind that even with the very best lines, not every bird is going to be a winner of shows, not even for experienced exhibitors. Once you've got your stock, you'll want to provide high-quality food, and you may even want to weigh your birds frequently as they grow to make sure they're putting on weight fast enough---but not too fast! Make sure you're familiar...

First, we're so sorry to hear about the loss of your chicken. Losing any pet is hard, but there's something about having a bird who begs for pets and wants to snuggle on your lap that's just a little magical---the loss can feel completely devastating. And there's no magic bullet, either. Nothing we can say can make the loss of a pet hurt any less. Pet chickens are as much members of the family as other pets are. We empathize. We all keep chickens, so we have all lost chickens before, too. Recently, one employee lost every chicken but one...

Like with any animal, this can depend on the particular bird. That said, roosters are sort of like human males: they will probably be fertile most of their lives! And if you have a great rooster, it makes sense to allow him to fertilize eggs for as long as possible to pass on those good genes. Black Frizzle Bantam Rooster If you're worried about whether your rooster is fertilizing eggs, just check your eggs to see if they're fertile. If they are mostly fertile, your rooster is doing his job!

The right protein content in your feed is super important for raising a healthy flock--and commercial rations are probably the easiest way to get the right amount, as well as the right nutrition for your birds. But if that's true, why do different brands have different levels of protein, and what amount in best? There's variation because there's an ideal range of protein content, AND because the range varies based on your birds' ages. Ideal protein for laying breeds based on age Chicks up to 6 weeks old: 20% - 22% protein 7 weeks to point of lay: 14% -...

Sometimes you'll get a brood of chicks and notice that while many have grown in most of their feathers by eight weeks or so, one or two are slow feathering and seem delayed. It can be concerning, especially for first-time chicken moms and dads! It's usually nothing to be concerned about. Genetically, some breeds feather out more slowly than others. Breeds/crosses used for meat in particular tend to have slow-growing feathers, along with Brahmas, Cochins, Cornish, Rocks, and Orpingtons. In addition, breeds or crosses designed to be feather-sexed often have slow-feathering, so you may see it in sex-links like black...

Exactly 157. (Just kidding!) Actually, how many eggs a chicken lays a year depends on a lot of things, but especially on the breed of your chicken and her age. For instance, young Leghorns may lay 300 eggs per year. Young Cochins may lay only 100 or so. Sumatras may lay 50 or fewer. By breed, you can see a general idea of how many eggs chickens may lay per week here on My Pet Chicken's chicken breed list. But keep in mind that as the birds get older, they will lay fewer eggs. And some breeds are not great...

Chickens that lay blue eggs. There are several breeds of chickens---and some mixed breed crosses---that lay blue eggs, including Ameraucanas, Araucanas, and Cream Legbars. The eggs they lay may vary in color from a pale blue to a quite striking sky blue. Do keep in mind that many American hatcheries are pretty deceptive about what type of chicken you're getting. So you may be getting an Easter Egger (below), but they'll tell you you're buying a one of the blue-egg layers. Sometimes they'll purposefully misspell the name: Americauna, Americana, Aracana, etc. Not cool, you guys! Chickens that lay blue or...

The definition of "heritage" in relation to chicken breeds is a bit flexible, but when we use the word, we're referring to breeds that have been around a long time, are non-hybrid, genetically stable, naturally-mating, and outdoor-hardy breeds that have proven valuable for generations. Heritage breeds are ones that have been around long enough to prove their usefulness as either egg layers, meat breeds, or dual-purpose breeds, and to become genetically stable--able to reproduce offspring true to the breed. As such, heritage breeds cannot be hybrids ("mutts" - the offspring of two different breeds), because hybrids do not breed true...

You knew this already: that depends on many different factors. Most importantly, it depends on what type of eggs you're buying at the grocery store. If you're buying the pricey, organic and/or pasture-raised eggs, then yes, it's possible to save money with a flock of your own. If you're looking to save money by keeping chickens.

Chickens are incredibly adaptable! They are kept all over the world in all kinds of extreme climates. But it's no secret that some breeds are hardier in cold weather than others. Some breeds were not developed for cold-hardiness or have characteristics that make them more susceptible to cold than others. In a well-ventilated but not drafty coop, most chickens can stay warm by fluffing up their feathers to trap a layer of warm air against their bodies--as long as they are not wet and or exposed to a draft. Drafts can remove that "jacket" of warmer air surrounding the bird....