Chickens
Chickens | Larger Pets
Chickens are very interesting to have as pets; they are entertaining and very friendly. They are also easy to train at any age, with the use of food they will come to running towards you and eat out of your hand, they are tame animals and some will let you stroke them. You can build a relationship with them through treating them well and being gentle with them however if you actually raise a baby chick then you will find they will follow you around and even lay in your lap for a nap.
Chickens are fairly easy birds to keep, their coop will need to be cleaned out about every 3 weeks though this will be different for each individual chicken, the best litter to use is dust shavings with some straw in it. You will also need a good sized feeder that you should re-fill every 4 days, feeders with a grill over them will prevent them from flicking the food out saving you from having to clean it out and wasting money of wasted food. It is advised to put mite powder on their litter every 6 week in order to stop them from getting mites. You should also clean out their feeders and drinkers at the least every 3 months with normal household disinfectant.
In the feeder is where you should put their pellets in so they can help themselves, as well as this you should feed them mixed grain, this can be spread on the floor for them, as they like to scratch at it. As well as that they like safflower and shelled sunflower seeds, wheat and corn, as a treat some left over's from your meal can be given to them, though this shouldn't become a regular thing as it will affect their diet and nutrition. You should also supply them with greens, like cabbage, lettuce and other vegetables; hang them up on one of the coop walls so that they can peck at them when they want to. Chickens will also eat grass and insects like slugs, snails etc, and can be a natural pest control for you, so you should only use organic pesticides on things they might eat.
Chickens like to roam and walk about so you can either let them walk about their garden, though you will have to keep an eye on them or you can get a run and move it into an area of the garden that is safe for them. Chickens are great for your garden; if you grow vegetables putting their manure on them will help them to grow.
Chickens make really great pets, they have really great personalities, if you have room and can afford to keep more than one chicken then you should, chickens love to live in a group and they are even more entertaining when kept with others, they naturally have to have a social order and watching them growing and form into their order can be very entertaining. Chickens are also one of the few of the pets that can make you money, why not set up your own little fresh eggs shop? Or you can keep the eggs to yourself and never have to buy eggs from the shop again!
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