Before thinking of investing your money on poultry farming, there are many things you should put in consideration, these factors will be discuss on this page
1. Housing is first thing to considered, your bird needs a comfortable place to survive.
2. Where to get chicks: you can get
your chicks from local market or poultry hatchery around you.
3. When can my chicks go outside? The chick must stay indoor for the first 14 day of their birth to 6 weeks before they can be transferred to the bigger cage, house or free range.
You should wait until they are fully feathered to put them outside. Depending on the temperature, they can go outside when they are from 5 to 6 weeks old.
3. Will rodents attack my chickens?
Yes. Rodents like cats rats and snakes are the most common predators of chickens. They will attack mainly at night, and can tear a bird apart very quickly. They frequently will kill more than one. Good and secure house will help to protect your flock from these predators.
4. What is the number eggs expected from my hens ?
On the average, 3 hens will give you 2 eggs a day. That means to get a dozen eggs a day, you would need 18 hens to give you that, so the number of hens will determine numbers of eggs in a day.
5. For how many months will a hen lays eggs ?
To determine how long will you hens lays will depend on the breed of the hen, but some hens will lay up to 8 months or more, but after that their production starts slowing down.
6. When will my hens start to lay eggs?
Most hens start to drop their first egg at 6 months of age, more or less. However, for various reasons (time of year, temperature, etc.) they may wait until the next month to start laying egg.
7. chickens laid an egg without a shell. Is this a cause for concern?
A no-shelled egg is something that happens occasionally in even healthy hens. It's generally no cause for concern, unless there is other sign of illness or it's a regular occurrence. There's no need to separate your hen. What you may want to consider is adding some calcium to the diet if you haven't already. This can be given in the form of ground oyster shells, or other calcium suppliment.
8. What is a broody hen ? For those who are into Turkey poultry.
A broody hen is a hen who is trying to hatch out eggs by sitting on them all day and all night, only taking breaks once a day to eat, drink, and defecate until the eggs hatched.
9. How long does it take a hen to hatch an egg?
It took a hen about 21 days to hatch it eggs though some bantam breeds lay tiny eggs that may hatch around 18 to 19 days.
10. What is best between artificial and natural incubation?
The advantages of natural incubation (i.e. a broody hen) are that the hen does all the work for you and she will probably hatch out a high percentage of the eggs. The disadvantages are that you can only fit a certain amount of eggs under a broody hen, you can never tell when a hen will go broody, and you can't be sure her chicks will be tame.
The advantages of artificial incubation (i.e. an incubator) are that you can incubate a large number of eggs, you can incubate whenever you want, and since you will be raising the chicks yourself, you can make sure to tame them. The disadvantages of artificial incubation are that it takes effort and worry on your part, the percentage of eggs that hatch will probably be lower than natural incubation, and you will inevitably have problems with temperature and humidity that could damage the chicks.
11. If you want free range, What is the best material to spread on the floor?
Saw dust shaft (or similar) work very well. Straw is also ok, but has spaces inside which can harbor mites and other pests. Sand is an increasingly popular option, especially in wet climates.
12. How much space do I need in my chicken house and run?
Inside a minimum of 4 square feet of floor space. Outside, a minimum of 10 square feet in the run per bird (some say 4 sq. ft.
13.How high should my perches be?
The lowest perch should be 18-24 inches off the ground. There can be multiple perches - chickens will jump up from perch to perch. Some people use a leaning ladder perch arrangement
14. What breed of layer is good for laying eggs?
Brown and black layer are all very productive breeds
15. What kind of breed of chicken should I get?
Decide what you want from your chickens. If you want them for eggs, you should get a breed that lays a lot of eggs. If you want them for meat, you should get a breed that grows heavy at a young age. If you want them for pets, you should get a breed that is calm and easy to handle.
16. What is the difference between a foreign and a local chicken?
A foreign chicken is a fast growing chicken, usually about 1/4 to 1/2 the size of a local chicken.
17. What kind of feeds should I feed my chickens?
From day olds chicks you should feed Starter feeds until they are 4 or 6 weeks old, You feed them grower ration from 6 weeks to 8 weeks old, then layer ration for layer or finisher for broiler and cockerel until market value. It is a good idea to supplement the layer ration with ground oyster shell. Oyster shell helps keep eggshells thick.
These are all what you should look out for before you invested your money in poultry farming.
1. Housing is first thing to considered, your bird needs a comfortable place to survive.
2. Where to get chicks: you can get
your chicks from local market or poultry hatchery around you.
3. When can my chicks go outside? The chick must stay indoor for the first 14 day of their birth to 6 weeks before they can be transferred to the bigger cage, house or free range.
You should wait until they are fully feathered to put them outside. Depending on the temperature, they can go outside when they are from 5 to 6 weeks old.
3. Will rodents attack my chickens?
Yes. Rodents like cats rats and snakes are the most common predators of chickens. They will attack mainly at night, and can tear a bird apart very quickly. They frequently will kill more than one. Good and secure house will help to protect your flock from these predators.
4. What is the number eggs expected from my hens ?
On the average, 3 hens will give you 2 eggs a day. That means to get a dozen eggs a day, you would need 18 hens to give you that, so the number of hens will determine numbers of eggs in a day.
5. For how many months will a hen lays eggs ?
To determine how long will you hens lays will depend on the breed of the hen, but some hens will lay up to 8 months or more, but after that their production starts slowing down.
6. When will my hens start to lay eggs?
Most hens start to drop their first egg at 6 months of age, more or less. However, for various reasons (time of year, temperature, etc.) they may wait until the next month to start laying egg.
7. chickens laid an egg without a shell. Is this a cause for concern?
A no-shelled egg is something that happens occasionally in even healthy hens. It's generally no cause for concern, unless there is other sign of illness or it's a regular occurrence. There's no need to separate your hen. What you may want to consider is adding some calcium to the diet if you haven't already. This can be given in the form of ground oyster shells, or other calcium suppliment.
8. What is a broody hen ? For those who are into Turkey poultry.
A broody hen is a hen who is trying to hatch out eggs by sitting on them all day and all night, only taking breaks once a day to eat, drink, and defecate until the eggs hatched.
9. How long does it take a hen to hatch an egg?
It took a hen about 21 days to hatch it eggs though some bantam breeds lay tiny eggs that may hatch around 18 to 19 days.
10. What is best between artificial and natural incubation?
The advantages of natural incubation (i.e. a broody hen) are that the hen does all the work for you and she will probably hatch out a high percentage of the eggs. The disadvantages are that you can only fit a certain amount of eggs under a broody hen, you can never tell when a hen will go broody, and you can't be sure her chicks will be tame.
The advantages of artificial incubation (i.e. an incubator) are that you can incubate a large number of eggs, you can incubate whenever you want, and since you will be raising the chicks yourself, you can make sure to tame them. The disadvantages of artificial incubation are that it takes effort and worry on your part, the percentage of eggs that hatch will probably be lower than natural incubation, and you will inevitably have problems with temperature and humidity that could damage the chicks.
11. If you want free range, What is the best material to spread on the floor?
Saw dust shaft (or similar) work very well. Straw is also ok, but has spaces inside which can harbor mites and other pests. Sand is an increasingly popular option, especially in wet climates.
12. How much space do I need in my chicken house and run?
Inside a minimum of 4 square feet of floor space. Outside, a minimum of 10 square feet in the run per bird (some say 4 sq. ft.
13.How high should my perches be?
The lowest perch should be 18-24 inches off the ground. There can be multiple perches - chickens will jump up from perch to perch. Some people use a leaning ladder perch arrangement
14. What breed of layer is good for laying eggs?
Brown and black layer are all very productive breeds
15. What kind of breed of chicken should I get?
Decide what you want from your chickens. If you want them for eggs, you should get a breed that lays a lot of eggs. If you want them for meat, you should get a breed that grows heavy at a young age. If you want them for pets, you should get a breed that is calm and easy to handle.
16. What is the difference between a foreign and a local chicken?
A foreign chicken is a fast growing chicken, usually about 1/4 to 1/2 the size of a local chicken.
17. What kind of feeds should I feed my chickens?
From day olds chicks you should feed Starter feeds until they are 4 or 6 weeks old, You feed them grower ration from 6 weeks to 8 weeks old, then layer ration for layer or finisher for broiler and cockerel until market value. It is a good idea to supplement the layer ration with ground oyster shell. Oyster shell helps keep eggshells thick.
These are all what you should look out for before you invested your money in poultry farming.
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