Chick Chain is a 4-H activity that introduces youngsters, and often their parents, to the fun of growing baby chicks into laying hens. It’s called Chick Chain because participating youngsters receive baby chicks in the spring and sell some of their grown layers in the fall, with the proceeds funding the purchase of chicks […]
Continue ReadingDo Your Chickens Need Deworming?
Some chicken keepers deworm their chickens too often. Others don’t deworm often enough. How often your chickens need deworming, or whether they need it at all, depends on numerous factors. These factors include your climate, how your flock is housed and managed, the kind of worms that are present in your chickens’ environment, and the […]
Continue ReadingAll About Geese
Europeans raised geese for food and feathers long before they were brought to the United States by settlers. They are now used for exhibition, meat, eggs, feathers, down, and guard duty. Cackle Hatchery carries four breeds of geese: White Chinese, African, Toulouse, and White Embden. The Toulouse and Embden are the most popular breeds and […]
Continue ReadingHomemade Hand Sanitizer for Poultry Keepers
After handling poultry or visiting the coop, you should thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water, as recommended in “Protect Yourself and Your Family From Germs,” a poster distributed by the Centers for Disease Control. If soap and water are not readily available, the CDC recommends using a hand sanitizer until you are able […]
Continue ReadingThe Year of the Rooster is Upon Us! Now What Does That Mean?
Folks, we’ve officially entered the Year of the Rooster, so Cackle Hatchery went on a hunt to figure out what that really means for 2017. According to the Chinese lunar calendar, there are five types of rooster combinations, and animal signs must also coincide with one of five elements (fire, wood, water, earth, metal) that […]
Continue ReadingEmbryonic Exposure to Light Could Affect Chicken Temperament
We know that eggs must be properly incubated in a warm environment for them to form healthy, well-developed chicks. But what if the amount of light that eggs are exposed to during incubation could have an effect on the temperament of chickens as well? According to a paper recently published in Applied Animal Behavior Science, […]
Continue Reading2016 Cackle Hatchery Photo Contest Winners and Runner Ups
These are the winners of the 2016 Cackle Hatchery Photo Contest: Runner ups:
Continue ReadingHow Does an Egg Develop Inside a Chicken?
The eggs you collect from your chickens develop through a process that is nothing short of miraculous. A hen’s reproductive system consists of two main parts: an ovary and an oviduct. A young female chicken, or pullet, starts life with two ovaries. As she matures, the right ovary remains undeveloped and only the left one […]
Continue ReadingAcademic Study Sheds Light on Chicken Intelligence
People who haven’t spent much time around chickens might not think they’re particularly bright, but those of us who raise our own flocks have probably noticed that these birds can actually be pretty shrewd when it comes to finding food and securing their position in the pecking order. In fact, an academic paper recently published […]
Continue ReadingHow to Take Care of Baby Chickens
When you raise baby chickens in a brooder you must gradually change the brooding facilities as the chicks grow. After about the first two weeks of brooding, start making necessary changes to the following features: Adequate space for the number of birds Initially chicks don’t need much room, because (like other babies) they spend much […]
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