Bantam chickens make perfect starter birds for beginning poultry keepers, especially young ones. Here are 10 reasons why bantams are the best chickens for kids. Bantams Are Small Pint-size bantams rarely weigh more than two pounds. Because of their smaller size and lighter weight, these diminutive chickens can be less intimidating for kids than some […]
Japanese bantams bred for exhibition must have short legs, according to the Standard of Perfection. Unfortunately this trait comes with a dominant lethal gene called creeper (Cp). The creeper gene causes embryos to die during incubation, resulting in a reduced hatch rate for Japanese bantam eggs. Here’s how the lethal creeper gene works: Creeper Genetics […]
Chickens instinctively seek a high place to sleep at night. Without such a place to roost inside their coop, they may roost outdoors. Chickens that roost outdoors at night are vulnerable to both predators and adverse weather. Providing them with a comfortable place to roost inside the coop at night keeps them safer. What is […]
Most bantam breeds are smaller versions of a larger counterpart. True bantams, on the other hand, are naturally small chickens. Rather than having been selectively bred for size, many of the true bantam chicken breeds existed long before the development of most of the other chicken breeds we know today. Difference between bantams and true […]
The United States was officially founded as a nation on July 4, 1776, when the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. Although residents of the new country had plenty of chickens, many of the breeds we know today didn’t exist then. So let’s take a look at the chickens that were here at the […]
A baby chick’s body is about 70% water. Therefore, water is the most important nutrient for a newly hatched chick. In fact, a hatchling can’t digest feed without water. So a chick should drink water even before it eats anything. Here are the ins and outs of how to water baby chicks. How long can […]