The Clucking Hen
Hens cluck a lot. The sound is neither the low-pitch sound of contentment, nor the high-pitch sound of alarm. Rather, the sound made by a clucking hen is smack dab in the middle of the chickens’ pitch range, emphasizing neither...
Tagged: chickens
Bielefelders and Other Autosex Chickens
Bielefelder chicks, like those of other autosex breeds, may be sexed at the time of hatch based on the color and markings of the chicks’ down. As is true for sex link chickens, the autosexing phenomenon takes advantage of genes...
Who Is Afraid of Chickens?
Alektorophobia is the irrational fear of chickens, often stemming from past traumatic experiences. This anxiety disorder leads to extreme reactions, sometimes culminating in panic attacks at the mere thought of chickens. Treatment typically involves gradual exposure to chickens, although severe cases may require therapy. It remains underreported due to embarrassment among sufferers.
9 Chicken-Theme Plants for Your Garden or Windowsill
Many plants have names that refer to chickens. Some are essentially weeds like the chickweed that tries to take over my garden. Others are ornamentals like hen and chicks, which grow either indoors or out. Here are nine fun chicken-theme...
Challenges of Breeding Lavender Ameraucanas
Lavender, or a sort of pastel slate blue, is one of the loveliest plumage colors in chickens. The color lavender is not common, primarily because of the breeding challenges involved. Still, several breeds come in lavender varieties, including Ameraucana, Marans,...
21 Ways Ducks Differ from Chickens
If you are considering getting ducks, you likely already have chickens. To help you understand the habits and needs of ducks, here are just of the many ways ducks differ from chickens. Brooding Requirements Ducklings in general are much hardier...
Can You Sex an Egg Before It Hatches?
Numerous folk methods floating around the internet claim to accurately determine the sex of an egg before or during incubation. But do they work? Can you really sex an egg before it hatches? Technically the gender ratio of chicks at...
Chicken Idioms and Their Origins
Chickens have been associated with people for so long that our language is peppered with idioms deriving from that association. Even city folks who have never seen a live chicken use such expressions, often without realizing what they actually mean....
Vinegar in Your Chickens’ Water — Good Idea or Not?
Understanding whether or not vinegar in your chickens’ water promotes flock health requires first understanding pH. In case you missed, or forgot, this part of chemistry class, let’s start with a quick review. The pH Scale The acidity or alkalinity...
Why Chickens Don’t Fly
Chickens are just big birds. And bigger birds than chickens fly really well. So let’s find out why chickens don’t fly. Or at least why they don’t fly as well as, say, a hawk. Wing Loading The short answer is...