backyard-poultry
One Rooster Too Many?
The hen-to-rooster ratio refers to the ideal number of hens per rooster. The average optimal ratio for heavier breeds is eight hens per rooster, although a peak-form rooster can handle 12 or more.
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Respiratory Distress in Chickens
The average respiratory rate of a chicken is normally from 15 to 30 breaths per minute. This, however, will vary greatly with the breed and size of chicken.
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Poultry Breeds…What Are They, Anyway?
Add to Favorites By D.P. Sponenberg – Breeds are important for many reasons. A main contribution of breeds is to organize the variation in a species into different genetic packages so …
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The Phantom Chicken of London!
What has feathers, a British accent and goes cluck in the night?
When we booked a trip to England this past summer, I wasn’t thinking, “Hey, let’s check out some ghost poultry while we’re gallivanting in jolly ol’!”
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What Roosters Are Crowing About
I often have wondered what determines if the noise a chicken makes will be a cluck, coo or crow. And with all that talking, are they actually saying anything at all?
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How to Influence the Law on Keeping Chickens in Residential Areas
Are you interested in learning more about how to legally keep chickens in your residential area? Where does a wannabe chicken keeper begin? The road may seem daunting at first.
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The Evolution of Poultry Farming in America
Large-scale and backyard poultry farming seem to oscillate every couple of generations. Here’s a short history of poultry farming in the U.S.
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Understanding Sex-Link Hybrid Chickens
At Backyard Poultry we get questions all the time asking for help identifying the breed of various chickens. Many times the chickens pictured are not purebred chickens at all but crossbreeds / hybrid chickens hatcheries produce for very specific purposes – such as egg production.
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Identifying Peafowl Varieties
Many of us have had times when we were not sure of what variety a peafowl was. Read here about variety and identification.
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The History of Rhode Island Red Chickens
Rhode Island Red chickens are striking birds with the contrast between the dark red body color, black tail with a “beetle green” sheen and the bright red comb and wattles. Their length of body, flat back and “brick” shape is both distinctive and attractive.
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