Will Chickens Bathe In Water? Chicken Care by admin - December 17, 2019October 17, 20200 Taking a bath is for the birds...NOT for chickens! Chickens and water are a puzzling combination. I’ve seen my flocks spend hours outside, busily pecking at the ground in a cold October rain, seemingly oblivious to the miserable conditions. And then other times, the birds will work very hard to avoid the sprinkler, even when it is ridiculously hot outside. It defies logic… at least my logic anyhow. While, in extraordinary circumstances, it is possible to give your chicken a warm bath, generally speaking, a chicken will not bathe in water. Their preferred method of hygiene involves a dirt bath and preening – not water. For the record, using dirt to absorb any unwanted oils on their skin is probably much more effective than trying to rinse things off. We
Will Chickens Roost In Trees? Chicken Facts by admin - October 29, 2019September 21, 20200 Easter Egger in the tree With chickens being a bird, you might think this to be a pretty straight forward question. But today’s domesticated breed is a long ways from their original ancestors. The wildness of yesterday has been largely replaced with size, plumage and egg production. So are those old instincts still alive? We have found that chickens left to their own means, may or may not roost in a tree – it completely depends on the bird’s personality. What is still instinctive for chickens, however, is the desire to be safe when it gets dark. These birds have very poor night vision and as a result, need to be ‘in bed’ before the sun completely goes down. Should I Let My Chicken Roost Outside At Night? My sleep this past summer was regularly interrupted by
Why Do Chickens Dig Holes? Chicken Facts by admin - June 19, 2019September 21, 20200 It’s always impressed me just how good chickens are at digging holes. Most animals that are known for digging have feet that are good for scooping. A chicken’s skinny clawed toes are anything but effective at scooping. Yet despite this physical limitation, those little feathered cluckers can really move the dirt. So why do they do this? The primary reason that a chicken will dig holes is because it’s instinct. Yes, there are benefits for your bird to dig holes – take a dust bath, keeping cool, a snug place to lay eggs, ect. But it’s their instinct that drives them to do this. And the instinct to scratch at the ground is completely innate. This is pretty impressive considering that they have to be shown as chicks, ‘this is water, this is food’. But somehow,
Do Chickens Eat Grass? Chicken Care by admin - April 11, 2019May 25, 20220 The other day I noticed one of my hens had, what looked to be, a single blade of grass in her beak. It’s not uncommon for a chicken to try and eat something it shouldn’t so I paused to watch. Sure enough, she was deliberately snatching single blades of grass and gobbling them down. This surprised me. I’ve seen cats eat grass, which always seemed counterproductive to me as they generally come back into the house and puke it all back up. But I had to wonder, do chickens eat grass? Turns out, they do. Turns out, they do Chickens are omnivores, meaning they can eat both plants and animals for survival. It is good to note however, that a chicken eating