The word “chicken wire” implies wire that is excellent for use around chickens. Nothing could be further from the truth. What Is Chicken Wire? Chicken wire — also known as hexagonal netting, hex net, hex wire, or poultry netting — has been around since the mid 1800s. It consists of strands of thin wire twisted […]
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Keeping predators from digging into your chicken yard can be a challenge. How much effort and expense you wish to put into discouraging diggers depends a good deal on how long you expect your fence to last. If you are planning what you expect to be a lifetime fence, you might want to go all […]
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Before you get your chickens ready for the fair, a good idea is to attend a few shows and become familiar with the procedures. Once you have an idea how things are handled, you’ll be better prepared to get involved. And by making friends with people who regularly exhibit, you’ll be more relaxed and have […]
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One of a chick’s first instincts is to peck. As soon as chicks are in a brooder, they look for things to peck. On newspaper they will peck the print. If they don’t see anything else to peck, they’ll peck their own toes. Suitable feeders for baby chicks will help them find the starter ration […]
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Cackle Hatchery® customers, especially first time buyers, ask a lot of questions about the behavior of chickens. Here are answers to 15 of the most common questions we answer about chicken behavior. Are chickens intelligent? Yes. Chickens are intelligent. Among other things, they learn quickly, they can do basic arithmetic, and they have good memories. […]
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The best laying turkeys don’t lay nearly as well as the best laying chickens. Plus, given that a turkey is bigger than a chicken, and therefore eats more than a chicken, keeping turkeys strictly for eggs is not a practical endeavor. However, if you have turkeys anyway, you may as well enjoy their delicious eggs. […]
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The price of eggs fluctuates more than for any other food. During the past decade or so, egg prices have been see-sawing up and down — but mostly up. A tribute to how much we love eggs is that the price has to get pretty high before people stop buying them. But, since there’s no […]
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Customers who contact Cackle Hatchery® frequently ask questions about feeding their flocks. Below are 17 of the most common questions our team is asked regarding feeding chickens. What do chickens eat? What chickens eat depends on their stage of growth. Confined chickens eat commercially formulated chick starter when they’re young and commercial layer ration when […]
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Guinea fowl are terrific foragers that wander around gobbling up ticks and other harmful insects. They are also wonderful watchdogs, noisily sounding an alarm whenever they detect something amiss. If you’re thinking of adding these unusual birds to your flock, the first thing to understand when selecting guinea fowl is the difference between African guineas […]
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Some duck breeds lay as well as chicken breeds. However, ducks kept mainly for meat or ornamental purposes do not lay nearly as well as those that have been selectively bred for their laying ability. Below is a look at how many eggs you can expect each duck breed to lay per year. How Many […]
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