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What hen do I choose?

The first thing we must take into account should be, more than race, the health status of the specimens you are going to acquire. There are a series of tricks, which we will show you below, to check the general state of health of a chicken or chicken:

• Check if it is active. A hen that shows activity is a healthy hen.
• The posture is a health indicator. A decayed or crooked posture will indicate bad condition.
• The eyes must be bright and colorful.
• You should not have any mucus in the nostrils (nose of the hens, in the upper part of the beak).
• The crest should present a striking and vivid color. For example, a purple crest could indicate circulatory problems.
• Examine the plumage, which is another good indicator of health. To the naked eye it is observed if a hen or chicken has a correct plumage or not.

Once you focus on these factors, you must choose the race. The choice of the breed is secondary, each of them having different characteristics in terms of egg laying (quantity and size), character, appearance ... It is usually advisable to choose a breed that we like.

Where do I put my chickens?

In a chicken coop.

But it is convenient to point out certain aspects regarding the poultry houses. In general, all agree on certain essential characteristics that must be met to meet the needs of its inhabitants, such as:

• Be of a size and shape appropriate for the number of birds we want to have.
• Be made of waterproof materials.
• Present a convenient ventilation.
• Be equipped with a small door
• They must present nests and hangers.
• Obligatory must have a "park", since the chickens, to lay eggs, need a minimum of 14 hours of light a day.

These would be the general codes that a good chicken coop must fulfill, but we must go a little deeper into the question of size and ventilation. In terms of size, it is convenient to plan well and first calculate the number of chickens we want to keep, because space is a capital factor that, if it is missing, can cause great stress to our chickens. In general, the more space is better, because this will also allow them to move at ease and, in this way, exercise their muscles and improve their general health, which will also translate into a better quality in the eggs they put. If we talk about ventilation, it is necessary to point out that it is a determining factor, because a chicken coop that is well ventilated and that receives good light, will be a healthy and pleasant environment for our chickens. To ignore this factor can cost us dearly, because an environment without ventilation can even cause birds to contract serious respiratory conditions.

Care and feeding

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Regarding the daily care that our flock of chickens will need, we highlight the importance of the following:

We must let our hens out of the henhouse in the morning, walk, walk, run ... but we must also remember to put them back in the evening, to be safe from possible predators.
This care is essential. A hen that walks freely when it pleases, is a chicken whose eggs will be of excellent quality.

We must provide adequate "beds" for our chickens. We call the base the bed on which the chickens will rest in the chicken coop. These beds can be prepared with different materials, being highly recommended wood chips, chips or products based on hemp or chopped straw. There are also materials that are not recommended to make beds, such as hay, which has the characteristic of easily accommodating a large amount of fungal spores, which can cause serious damage to our hens.

It will be necessary to provide them with a space for their instinctive "dust baths" to take place. The dust bath is an instinctive need that birds have, and adapting an area with sand or ash to cover this need will bring great benefits in terms of animal health. In case the chickens are allowed to go to the field, they will be the ones that choose the place where they will make these special baths.

Clean the chicken coop: Normally it will be enough to clean our chicken coop once a week or every two weeks, trying to do it thoroughly and reaching all the corners, in order to avoid the appearance of parasites or other unexpected visitors such as mites. The general cleaning process in simple itself, and only consist of two steps: 1) Remove the chips (or the material you have chosen to make the beds) old chicken house. 2) Replace the bed, that is, spread new material (chip, hemp ...), trying to make a layer of good thickness, especially in cold seasons.

Food: This is an important point and one that we should focus on with special attention. Since chicken breeding is spreading more slowly, today it is very easy to find ready-made food especially for chicken and chickens. Specifically, we are referring to pre-mixed foods, whose commercialization is increasing every day, and which have a special composition to cover the nutritional needs of chickens according to their age. You can supplement your diet with another type of fresh food, such as samillas (corn, wheat ...), fresh vegetables, rice, pasta ... but you should always be careful not to give them any food that contains salt or meat. As for food, as in many other facets, chickens prefer the routine, so the simplest thing is to feed them twice a day (always at the same time) or leave them a hopper so that they are the ones who feed during the day.

Water: Like any other living being, they need water constantly to live. For this, it is best to have special drinkers. It will be preferable to place these sprues in a shady place, as the hens prefer fresh water.

Eggs.

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Once our chickens and chickens have all the above factors covered, they will lead a healthy and satisfying life, and this will be noticed in the quality of the eggs they put. At about 6 months of age, a normal chicken will begin to lay eggs, which you can use for your own consumption and that of your own or to have more chicks. This depends on whether we have cock or do not have it. In case of having a rooster, it will fertilize the eggs, making them fertile and being able to hatch if they are incubated by the hens. On the other hand, if we do not have a rooster, the hens will continue to lay eggs (probably to a lesser extent), but these will not be fertile, and will be exclusively for food consumption.

When you collect the eggs, you must first clean them carefully and dry, although a good practice will be to keep the beds clean (that the chips are not old), so that you do not have to clean them practically.

Also in the collection, you must show attention to the consistency and hardness of the eggs that your hens put. If you notice that the eggs have soft skin, it will be a sign that your chickens need to consume more calcium, at which time you should provide nutritional supplements specifically formulated for these cases.