Hi everyone, welcome to our virtual meeting!
General instructions: we will use the comments section below to “talk” and discuss what we will be learning today. The first time you try and leave a comment, it will ask for an email and a name. It won’t publish the email, but it will show your name, so use a first name only, or with a last initial like “Luke” or “Luke B.”.
As for what we will be learning, look below. I’ll list questions for you to research and a few links to get you started. Use the comments to share your thoughts and research, or anything else that comes to mind.
List of Research Questions
- What is molting and why in the world do chickens do this? Is it like reptiles molting?
http://www.grit.com/animals/molting-what-is-it–how-to-help-chickens-get-through-it.aspx
http://msucares.com/poultry/management/poultry_feathers.html
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/what-happens-when-chickens-molt
Note: think about the trustworthiness of the websites you are visiting? Should you trust a university website over a blogger? How can you tell if the blog is by someone who really knows about chickens? And do you think the Backyard Chickens website is better than the MSU (Michigan State University) site, since it is many, many chickens owners sharing their knowledge and experience?
2. What should owners do when their chickens are molting?
3. How are eggs made and laid? An investigation into one of the most versatile and beloved foods in the world, and what can go wrong with the process.
http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/how-chickens-make-farm-fresh-eggs-sponsored/
Note: this site is for Backyard Poultry Magazine, a magazine that we’ve subscribed to for years, and is trustworthy and well done. It is sometimes best to find 2-3 websites that you trust on a subject and always start there for information before looking on Google.
Here’s a nice introductory video:
What can go wrong with egg production?
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/egg-binding-symptoms-treatment-and-prevention
http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/is-your-poultry-medical-kit-ready/
Can you find other good websites or articles, or videos? Share what you find below in comments.
4. How do owners ensure healthy egg production in their chickens?
Some of the links above will have more information about how to prevent egg binding, but feel free to do your own research too.
5. What do chickens really need in a coop? What are some examples? What is the bare minimum and easy to make coop?
Let’s change tacks and think about how to build a safe and appropriate coop for chickens. Where do you start? Find 2-3 articles that have dependable information and could be helpful for a new chicken owner.
6. What does it mean to do showmanship at the Alameda County Fair? What are the rules? How do you practice with your hen?
It can be hard to read a manual about showmanship and understand what is exactly involved in doing showmanship with your hen, so I found some videos with 4-H members showing their chickens:
Were these helpful? Can you find other helpful videos or resources? Share below!
Testing out the comment functionality.
I’m here
Hello
Hi
Krystlee says the Chicken Showmanship Demonstration video is her favorite.
it was good
this is Luke – I’m here!
Hello
hi
do you know when were gonna start
hi
hello
I don’t know when we are start. I thought it was going to start at 2:00
yeh
Here! and trying to catch up on everything. just trying to get sisters on line too on other computers.
Unfortunately, the speaker on our tablet isnt very loud and we couldn’t hear it very well.
So does anyone understand molting
yes, its were chickens shed old hair and grow new hair
I am here. I’m reading up and researching, give me a moment
where do they shed hair?
Hi, I am here. I’m going to go up and research everything.
I would rather get my information from a blogger who has chickens
i think it starts at the head and neck
It’s feather not hair
opps
I
I find it interesting that molting can last 2-12 weeks
they do have i lot of fethers
a lot of fethers
what would be the best type of chicken to show Meat, Laying or show?
I’m finished researching and reading everything.
i think laying or show
How do you keep chicks safe?
probably show
I would probably say laying too because they usually stay still. and show are small and potable
give them a safe shelter to go to in case of predators
good point
Yeah, put them in the coops or something I would think
*coop
Chicks need heat and some sort of beding and chick food and water the water a food dishes heavy so they do not tip over
I know Krystlee wants to show one of our birds and both of ours are ether meat or laying we aren’t sure. but one likes to fly off and ones mellow show it also has a lot to do with dose the bird like to move a lot or dose it stay still
Chicks should live in a big box in your house not outside that is a bad idea
the chicks we had dug their way out and sometimes they world be rejected by their mother because of that and would freeze
Oh yeah, I remember we kept our inside our house when we first got them.
ugh, *our
that’s a good idea
Someone told us to put a collar around the roosters neck if he crows. My Mom think its wrong. What are your thoughts?
i never had chickens but i think it is a good idea
what do you mean as in crows
No it’s better not to put a collar on a rooster because it could choke the chicken
as in Cock-a-doodle-doing
i would not and who was it
ohhh
Yes but it is called crowing
an animal teacher. my sister thought it was a good idea but I think its because she misses our rooster
you should get it from somebody who has chickens
I think it wouldn’t choke it too badly
Yes the best information comes from someone who has had chickens for years
see i don’t have chickens
she says she is going to buy a chick at the pet store and she wants a rooster chick . I don’t know if its just me but I can’t tell the difference between hen chicks and rooster chicks
Yes it would choke them a lot
have any of you had an egg bound chicken?
How tight is the collar?
are you aloud to have roosters
I think her neighbors were complaining
don’t know he said they sell it in stores
whats an egg bound chicken?
One of the ways to tell if it is a rooter is to ask or to buy a chick a see when it gets older if it jumps on to other chickens it is a rooster
No I have not had a egg bound chicken but I have had a chicken have a prolapse
yah but our neighbors around us had a problem with it but after we got rid of him we found out the neighbors down the street liked him crowing
what happened? was it scarey?
I’m pretty sure an egg bound chicken is when its egg is unable to be laid because it is stuck or for other reasons
that’s good wright?
I learned about if your chickens stop laying eggs then they could be sick, egg bound, or molting and much more.
Yes it is scary to find one of your chickens is having a prolapse
oh,and that’s good wright was for the neighbor one
Do different seasons and weather affect the amount of eggs a chicken lays?
Yes I know
how many breed’s of chickens are there?
i did not know there was so much about chickens to know
probably a lot
I know right
usually they stop laying in winter
probably 1000
yah because their are mixed breeds
but really how many?
yeh those too
i think we stop at 4
I learned a lot about chicken molting, egg bound chickens, and how eggs are made. I am surprised that it takes more than 24 hours for an egg to be made, considering before our chickens started molting, we would get like 10 eggs a day.
i tied looking it up
I found out that their are 29 varieties of chickens (their are 100’s of chicken breeds in existence)
Yeah I learned a lot