I love chickens. I first fell in love with these feathered creatures when I was teenager while helping out at a local farm. The one hen that lived there was a pet; the rest being meat & egg birds. She was approximately 10 years old and used to follow me around all the time while I was working. There were multiple times where I’d take a break and sit down on the grass cross-legged and she would come over and sit on my lap and coo at me. Yes we got attached to each other just a little bit.
I had no idea that these feathered friends could have such a personality, there was something so charming to me about them. Fast forward to now and my long-term dream of having my own hens as pets is starting to become a reality. I’ve been studying them quite a bit lately so that I know what I’m getting myself into. I’m writing this blog post as a reminder to myself and hopefully provide insightful information to those who are also getting chickens for the first time. I’m only getting two hens for pets, I plan on keeping them after they’re done their egg production — which takes approximately 2 years.
It is time for some…chicken facts! Mostly about hens 🙂
- In 1868, Darwin only discovered 13 different breeds, it has since greatly expanded.
- In Ancient times, people believed that roosters crowed to scare away evil spirits.
- Without a rooster, hens will lay eggs but will not be fertilized.
- Hens typically lays 20 dozen eggs in the first year.
- Eggs contain many important nutrients.
- If you want to find out the freshness of an egg, put it in cold water. A fresh egg will sink.
- Hens molt once a year and slow down egg production during that time.
- They’ll usually eat the annoying bugs in your backyard.
- You can find out the gender of a chicken looking up where the sun don’t shine, bump means male – lack of bump means female.
- They love to eat strawberries and other fruits on the ground, keep your plants protected!
I’ll be posting soon about the chicks I am getting and the coop I’ll be building!
– Earth To Britt
