We sometimes have a problem
with our hens jumping/flying over their fence.
Wing
clipping has not helped
this problem in the past, so we’ve been upgrading sections when we get
the chance by making the perimeter fence higher.
Why did we make this one as
high as it is? Well we also think the occasional deer sneaks in this
way, and eventually we plan to have a perimeter that keeps all deer and
chickens away from the garden.
Observing chicken behavior is
one of the fun elements of a backyard flock.
One question we’ve had around
here since we got started was if a new chick needs to be taught to
drink water? We use a Brinsea
Octagon 20 advance incubator to hatch our chicks and lately
we’ve been putting them in their brooder area with an Avian Aqua
Miser original. The
chicks have no problem figuring out how to drink by themselves, and it
turns out there’s some scientific research to back this up.
According to data published at extension
websites when chicks are raised without a hen producers must dip their
beaks in water so they learn about drinking. Chicks have been observed
standing in water and even though they were thirsty they would not peck
at the water below their feet.
Why does the Avian Aqua Miser
original work without the chicks being taught? Science shows that a
chick will peck at shiny objects or bubbles in the water. We once
thought it was the bright red color of the poultry nipple, but it turns
out it’s the shiny stainless steel part they are most attracted to.
Chicken
coop bedding is something we’ve experimented with over the years.
Straw, sawdust, and bags of
leaves are our current favorites, mainly because we like to use it as
top dressing for our fruit trees once the chickens deposit their
“gifts” and it needs changing.
One material we have not
tried yet is sand. If you don’t have fruit trees to feed, sand might be
worth trying if you want to keep the coop as clean as possible. I never
considered it until I recently read the Chicken
Chick’s excellent blog post on how she discovered the merits of
sand as a coop bedding material. It’s a lot like cleaning a litter box
for a cat. Scoop troubled areas once a day for best results.