Happy Bird
What is more delightful than watching contented chickens dust bathe, forage and scratch in the dirt? You can help keep your birds jolly by providing enrichment and a healthy environment for play.
This section will discuss topics such as:
Understanding pecking order
How to determine if your chicken is stressed
Creative ways to keep chickens engaged
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Promoting Positive Behaviors and Reducing Negative Behaviors
Whether you are a chicken, parrot, parakeet or human, we are all products of our environment. If you have an environment that has adequate shelter, food and water, most likely you and your pet birds will be happy and healthy. Promote Positive Behaviors Just like with human kiddos it’s good to offer enrichments at an early age. No matter what type of pet bird(s) you have, try to make sure your birds can do the following: Fostering foraging/pecking/scratching Foraging and scratching (when birds look for food by “scratching” the ground with both feet) for food is a
Digestive Issues in Chickens
We all want to make sure our chickens are happy and healthy. Just like us humans, diet and nutrition are essential for the overall health of chickens. The following article focuses on the gastrointestinal (GI) tract of chickens and how best to keep our birds happy and healthy with respect to diet and nutrition. Gastrointestinal Tract of a Chicken From start to end, a chicken’s digestive tract is quite different than our own, though there are some analogous parts between our two species. The chicken picks up food with its beak and secretes saliva to help moisten the
Setting Up a Brooder
The goal of the brooder is to simulate the environment that would normally be present for chicks after hatching. In other words, the brooder keeps your chicks safe, warm, fed and watered. Big picture, your brooder should: Be free from drafts but have good ventilation to prevent ammonia build-up Prevent rodents and predators from access Warm and cozy Have access to proper feed and clean water Have bedding like rice hulls or wood shavings Here are a few other handy brooder hints: Brooder Space Set up your brooder space as a ring with approximately 0.5-1.0 square feet per
Environmental Enrichment for Backyard Chickens
Environmental enrichment may initially sound like a fancy term, but it really just refers to activities you can provide in your flock’s coop and surrounding access areas that can promote their natural tendency to investigate and explore! At the same time, enriching your chickens’ environment can boost their health and egg production. Environmental enrichment is known to be beneficial for many types of animals from zoo animals to our own dogs and cats. Backyard chickens aren’t any different. Wild birds love to forage and so do our backyard birds, but sometimes we only have a small space for them
Chicken Body Language 101: Is Your Chicken Stressed?
Like us, your chickens can have bad days too. They can get angry, stressed, and even unhappy. It can be difficult to figure out your chicken’s mood since they cannot communicate with the same language that we use. However, chickens display several signs that can help you figure out what is going on with them. We also have a few tips to help you understand your chicken better and what you can do to help your chicken. Is Your Chicken Stressed or Unhappy? Knowing the common signs for stress and unhappiness in your chickens and the main causes