“What Every Chicken Owner Needs to Know About Building Their Own Chicken Coops and Caring for Their Flock” http://www.ChickenCoopPlan.com http://ChickenCoops.Blogspot.com - Published by Kelson Spear – Chicken Coop Living Table of Contents - Brief Introduction......................................................................................................................... 1 General................................................................................................................................ 1 Feed..................................................................................................................................... 7 Health.................................................................................................................................. 9 Hens .................................................................................................................................. 12 Roosters............................................................................................................................. 16 Eggs................................................................................................................................... 19 Chicks ............................................................................................................................... 25 Chicken Coops.................................................................................................................. 26 Predators ........................................................................................................................... 52 Bizarre and Amazing ........................................................................................................ 58 Page: 1. Table of Contents - Detailed Introduction......................................................................................................................... 1 General................................................................................................................................ 1 1. Are chickens curious ?........................................................................................ 1 2. Are chickens mischievous ?................................................................................ 1 3. Can chickens learn to use cat-flaps and dog-flaps ? ........................................... 1 4. Can chickens have a personality ? ...................................................................... 1 5. Entertaining Antics of a Free-range Chicken...................................................... 2 6. How long do chickens live ?............................................................................... 2 7. Can you train a chicken ?.................................................................................... 3 8. How do you tame a chicken ?............................................................................. 3 9. Do chickens make good family pets ? ................................................................ 3 10. Can I keep a chicken in an apartment (without access to a garden) ? ............ 3 11. Can I keep chickens in a residential area ? My house has a large garden. .... 3 12. How do chickens clean themselves ?.............................................................. 3 13. Do chickens remember ?................................................................................. 4 14. How much garden do I need to keep a chicken ? ........................................... 4 15. Clipping their Wings ?.................................................................................... 4 16. What is a chicken’s crop ? What does it do ? ................................................ 5 17. How do chickens reproduce ?......................................................................... 5 18. How often do hens need to mate to maintain egg fertility ? ........................... 5 19. How many chickens do I need ? ..................................................................... 5 20. Do chickens have a "Social Structure" ?......................................................... 6 21. What is the "Pecking Order" ? ........................................................................ 6 22. Are chickens active at night ? ......................................................................... 6 23. Are there any nocturnal breeds of domestic chicken ? ................................... 6 24. Do chickens have their own language ? What sounds do chickens make ? .. 6 25. Do chickens ever eat their own eggs ?............................................................ 6 26. How do you stop a chicken from smelling ?................................................... 6 Feed..................................................................................................................................... 7 27. What should chickens be fed ? What do they eat ?........................................ 7 28. How much should a chicken be fed ? ............................................................. 7 29. Is it safe / OK to feed chickens old egg shells ? ............................................. 8 30. The chickens have pecked their coop bare of vegetation ? What can I do ? . 8 31. What is shell grit ? .......................................................................................... 8 32. Sea Shells and Cuttle Fish Bones.................................................................... 8 33. Can chickens destroy your lawn ? .................................................................. 9 34. Will chickens eat the vegetables and fruits growing in my garden, like cabbages, lettuce, strawberries, tomatoes, eggplants, spinach etc? ............................ 9 35. How do I keep chickens out of my vegetable garden ? .................................. 9 36. How do I keep chickens out of my house ? .................................................... 9 Health.................................................................................................................................. 9 37. General............................................................................................................ 9 Page: 2. 38. Drinking Water............................................................................................. 10 39. Water + Garlic .............................................................................................. 10 40. Bird Lice....................................................................................................... 10 41. Scaly Legs..................................................................................................... 10 42. What does "crop bound" mean ? How do you treat it ?............................... 10 43. What does "egg bound" mean ? How do you treat it ? ................................ 11 44. What is a hen's vent and how do you find it ? .............................................. 11 45. Some hens are laying soft eggs or eggs with very thin and fragile shells ? What can I do ? ......................................................................................................... 11 46. Which breed(s) of chicken are the most resistant to disease ?...................... 11 47. How hot or cold can chickens be before their health is affected ? ............... 11 48. What happens when chickens get hot ? ........................................................ 11 49. What happens when chickens get cold ?....................................................... 12 Hens .................................................................................................................................. 12 General Information...................................................................................................... 12 50. What happens if there are only hens and no roosters ?................................. 12 51. Do hens ever try and crow like a rooster ?.................................................... 12 52. Do hens ever try and "mount" each other ? .................................................. 12 Broody Hens ................................................................................................................. 12 53. How long do hens incubate their eggs ? ....................................................... 12 54. What does "broody" mean ? ......................................................................... 13 55. Do all hens go broody ? Which breeds are the broodiest ?.......................... 13 56. How long can the mother hen be off the nest during the day ? What will happen if she stays off too long ? Should I watch her and try and hurry her back if she is off too long ?................................................................................................... 13 57. How do you reverse a hen's broodiness ? ..................................................... 13 58. How do you discourage hens from going broody ? ...................................... 13 59. Marking the eggs of a broody hen. ............................................................... 13 60. Which hens make the best mothers ?............................................................ 14 61. Will mother hens team up and care for each other chickens ?...................... 14 Laying Hens.................................................................................................................. 14 62. How can you help chickens lay their eggs ?................................................. 14 63. How do you safely gather the eggs ? ...........................................................