Chickens in small flocks live several years if conditions are correct. A life span of 6-8 years may not be unreasonable. Most commercial layers are kept for 2-3 years.
Roosters are VERY noisy, and contrary to popular belief, they don't just crow in the morning. They crow all day long. Hens are much quieter -- you basically won't hear them until they've just laid an egg, or if they're threatened.
3. Where can I get pet chickens for myself?
You can get grown chickens from a local farmer, or you can get baby chicks from a hatchery.
4. What if one of my pet chickens gets sick?
Take it to a veterinarian that specializes in avian medicine or farm animals.
5. Can I have just one chicken?
You shouldn't. Chickens are social creatures and they will not do well alone. I advise a minimum of two.
6. What are certified egg production flocks?
Certified egg production flocks are those flocks that comply with the guidelines established by the United Egg Producers organization. To be certified, flocks must meet requirements in housing and cage space allowance, beak trimming, molting, transportation and handling.
7. Does the small white spot on the egg yolk indicate that the egg is fertile?
No, all eggs have the white spot called the germinal disc. It is almost impossible to determine if an egg is fertile without first incubating it for several hours.
8. Do you have to give chickens baths?
No! Chickens take dust bathsthat keep them clean and free of pests. However, if you plan on showing your chickens in a Poultry Show, you'll want your bird looking her best, so you can wash them with a gentle cleanser and blow them dry.
9. How can the sex of baby chicks be determined?
Vent sexing by an experienced chick sexer can be done at one day of age. This technique is difficult and requires a great deal of experience. If a fast feathering gene has been introduced into the breeding flock, chicks can be sexed by observing the differences in the appearance of the primary wing feathers. The feathers on the wings of the female will be a little longer and in a different pattern than those on the males. Most chickens can not be sexed in this manner.
10. What part of the egg develops into the baby chicken?
The chicks develop from the true egg, seen as a small white spot (germinal disc) on the yolk. If the egg is fertile and incubated at the correct temperature, cell division will continue. The egg white protects the developing embryo and offers some nutrition, however, the yolk is the primary nutrition source.
11. Do chickens really "come home to roost"?
Yes! Chickens will come back to the same place to sleep every night -- so you can let your chickens roam your yard during the day and when it gets dark they will return to their coop to catch up on their beauty rest. (A "roost" is a pole they perch on, which they much prefer to sleeping on the ground.)
12. Where does Salmonella originate?
Salmonella bacteria are spread in fecal material from all kinds of animals. Animals may also pick up bacteria from the soil or perhaps from contaminated processed feed. The organisms then live in the intestinal tract of the host and may or may not have an effect on the animal. As food animals are slaughtered and processed, there are times when some of the bacteria from the intestines have the opportunity to contaminate uncooked meat products.
13. HOW OLD DOES A HEN HAVE TO BE TO START LAYING EGGS?
Generally speaking, about 20 to 26 weeks. However, there are other factors that may affect it- breed of chicken, weather, time of year, etc. I have had a spring chicken start as young as 16 weeks.
14. Why do chickens and turkeys have light and dark meat?
Different muscles in the body of the bird are used at various rates. Since chickens and turkeys do not fly, the breast muscles (which are used in flight) are not used as much as the leg and thigh muscles and do not require as much oxygen. The oxygen transport mechanism is myoglobin and is present in dissimilar amounts in the muscles which results in the color contrast.
15. DO YOU NEED A ROOSTER TO GET EGGS FROM A CHICKEN?
No. A rooster is only needed if you want fertilized eggs. Just imagine how you would get a rooster to service all those hens in battery cages! As usual very few male animals are needed except for meat puroses.
In the vast majority of cases, no, but you do hear of this once in a while. Most cats are more intimidated by grown chickens than chickens are of them. Baby chicks are more at risk because they're helpless, but again in our experience cats aren't interested in them. Better to take precautions, though!
17. WHY WOULD A HEN LAY AN UNFERTILIZED EGG?
Beats me! It's just the way mother nature operates! It's probably because as the eggs develop, they are too large to remain inside the hen.
18. HOW MANY EGGS DOES A HEN LAY BEFORE SHE SITS ON THEM?
This is more complicated than it seems! There are usually only about one nest box for every 4-8 hens, they share nests. Hence, the eggs a hen sets on may not all be hers! If she is able to sit on a clutch of 8-10 eggs for any length of time, she may decide to "go broody" and try to hatch them. The process takes about 21 days during which she stops laying. Therefore we collect eggs as soon as possible, to prevent her from becoming broody, and going out of production.
No, not by choice but only as foisted on them by their human "keepers". A chicken free ranging in the yard/field will eat many insects, worms etc. I have even witnessed them eating mice that they encounter. That is like a fight over the last 'hot' christmas gift on Dec 24th or an active rugby game. Watching them fight over and run with the poor mouse in the beak is amazing. They will also eat their own eggs if cracked- all these are animal products.
20. WHAT IS MEANT BY GRADE AA AND GRADE A EGGS?
Egg quality is judged by the size of the air pocket at the top of the egg and the stiffness of the white of the egg. It is usually determined by candling (Passing a bright light through a small hole in the "candler" through the shell of the egg). White eggs are easily candled. Brown eggs are more difficult.The smaller the air pocket and the stiffer the white, the higher the quality. Because the shell is porous, the white can evaporate over time, increasing the size of the air pocket. Commercial eggs are usually sprayed with a fine mist of oil to prolong shelf life.
21. HOW DOES A HEN FERTILIZE AN EGG?
When a rooster mates with a hen, the semen is stored in the oviduct for later use. When she gets ready to lay the egg,a sperm fertilizes the egg before the shell surrounds it. The sperm is viable for about a month in the oviduct.
22. HOW OFTEN DOES A CHICKEN LAY AN EGG?
Some references list the egg laying interval as 27 hours. However that number is across all breeds, all conditions, etc.(If this were true, in practice we would have to alter egg collection by 3 hours each day. This is just not so!) In general, a chicken lays an egg every 24 hours.
23. SOME PEOPLE CLAIM THEIR CHICKENS DIET IS FREE OF ALL ANIMAL PRODUCTS. HOW CAN THAT BE TRUE?
It is not something they can prove 100%! We divide matter up into 3 categories - animal, vegetable and mineral. Animal includes all critters that can move on their own- this includes oysters (we use oyster shell for grit and extra calcium), insects and other critters. If a chicken breaks an egg they usually will eat it. If they catch a mouse in their travels they will rarely pass it up as a meal! The more free range a hen is, the more likely she will have animal products in her diet! The Federal Govt. forbids PROTEIN PRODUCTS OF RUMINANTS (cow, sheep, goat) to be included in chicken feeds (not ALL animal byproducts)[title 21 CFR589.2000]
24. WHO ARE THE WORST PREDATORS OF CHICKENS?
Everybody loves chicken! Daytime, we have hawks, cats and dogs. most predators are nocturnal and include fox, opossum, skunk and raccoon. By far, my worst one is raccoon. They are persistent, clever, can climb or dig and their paws can manipulate. Any opening is a challenge,and they will keep at it until the whole flock is gone.
25. WHAT ARE THE WEIGHTS OF THE VARIOUS SIZES OF EGGS?
All eggs sold in the state of Maryland must be sold by the following weight classes as specified by USDA standards (The minimum weight of each class increases by 3 oz more than the one smaller than it):
EGG WEIGHTS
SIZE OZ/DOZ
Small 18
Medium 21
Large 24
Extra Large 27
Jumbo 30
No.A chick will only develop from a fertilized egg. Secondly, if the egg were refrigerated, that would also prevent the development of a chick in a fertilized egg. Eggs must be incubated at about 93 degrees for 21 days to produce a chick.
27. WHAT IS MEANT BY DEBEAKING AND WHY IS IT SO COMMON?
Debeaking is a misnomer. It should be called "blunting". It is done right after the chick is hatched by burning the tip of the beak electrically, preventing the development of the sharp point of the beak. At the time it causes less stress than cutting a baby's umbilical cord. Chickens tend to be bullies and pick on each other, hence , "pecking order".The result is that they destroy the feathers, mostly on the rear of the bird. If a chicken complains, it only excites the others to pick even more, ultimately resulting in death. This does not end it -they will pick the flesh off, until there is just bone left. Even with plenty of space available, this is a problem. Hence for their own protection, most producers blunt the beak for a healthier flock.
28. THE HEALTH FOOD STORES SAY FERTILIZED EGGS ARE BETTER FOR YOU. IS THIS TRUE?
Imagine that the size of a sperm is much less than a grain of salt. Would you expect a grain of salt to be able to flavor the whole egg? Could you tell the difference? I doubt it. Refrigeration slows development of the embryo and therefore there is no more than the difference of the grain of salt. Why pay any more for that miniscule a difference?
29. WHAT IS A FREE RANGE OR FREE ROAMING EGG?
The eggs are so active we have to cut off their legs to keep them in the carton. Just kidding! It's a matter of sloppy English. What is meant is that the hens are able to run around outside usually in a field or pen.It's the Chicken not the Egg that is free-range! The big question is, are the eggs laid in a nestbox or were they collected from whereever she laid them. If not laid in the nest boxes, then you have to guess how old they are. Another consideration is feed. Plenty of lush grass tends to fill up the hen with less nutritious food. A certain level of protein (16%) is required for good egg production. Pasture fed chickens must have a higher percentage feed than normal to produce similar quality eggs. Does a woman fill up on lettuce when nursing a child? No, she needs to watch her food intake to produce milk. There is always a balancing act. Current research at Penn State states that with optimum forage on pasture, yes, eggs can be higher in Vit E and Omega 3, however, optimum pasture is not a year round possibility with droughts and frozen grounds - it is a limited scenario.The report states:
"The researchers noted that the hens did not forage to the degree necessary to meet their requirements for energy and protein, when compared to the commercial birds. At the end of the experiment, pastured hens weighed 14 percent less and averaged 15 percent lower egg production than commercial birds.
"Pastured hens were lacking dietary protein and energy to match the intake of the commercial hens," Patterson explained. "We have since estimated that, at the level of voluntary forage consumption of hens in this study, pastured hens would require additional mash feed to sustain body weight and egg production equal to that of the commercial hens Supplementing the birds with additional mash, however, would likely result in reduced omega-3 fatty acid and vitamin A and E concentrations in their eggs," he added. "Further research is needed to identify how to optimize pastured poultry feed supplementation for optimum egg production, hen welfare and egg nutritional quality."
30. Basic Poultry Farm Manager interview questions:
► Are you planning to continue your studies?
► Do you work well under pressure?
► Give examples of ideas you've had or implemented.
► Tell me about how you worked effectively under pressure.
► Do you think you are overqualified for this position?
31. Situational Poultry Farm Manager interview questions:
► Where do you see yourself in five years time?
► Situation in which you had to arrive at a compromise.
► What quality of yours or personal trait matters the most in your career?
► Which subjects did you enjoy during your qualifying degree?
► How did you handle meeting a tight deadline?
Describe your weaknesses as strengths. Make sure your eye contact with the interviewers during the interview. Have some good ones handy to mention.
32. General Poultry Farm Worker interview questions:
► What were your starting and final levels of compensation?
► How did you go about making Poultry Farm Worker assignments?
► Examples of situations when your initiative ideas for improvement have made a significant difference.
► What are you most proud of?
► What have you learned from mistakes on the Poultry Farm Worker job?
► How do you handle failures? Provide examples.
► What were your annual goals at your most current employer?
Explain why you are interested in the job and ask questions about what you possibly dislike.
Tell them about the training you received or the work related experience you gained.
These are most common Poultry Farm Worker interview questions.
33. Video Based Poultry Farm Manager interview questions:
► Give some examples of teamwork.
► Describe a situation in which you had to collect information.
► What would make you happy in a job?
► What do you think, would you be willing to travel for work?
► How would you weigh a plane without scales?
34. Phone based Poultry Farm Manager interview questions:
► Tell me about an important goal that you set in the past.
► If you were hiring a person for this job, what would you look for?
► What has been your biggest professional disappointment?
► What do you feel is the best educational preparation for this career?
► Tell me about an important issue you encountered recently.
The most important tip is that you have get yourself prepared carefully before the behavioral interview. Limit your answer to your career background and experience. Answer all Poultry Farm Manager interview questions honestly and stay focused throughout the hiring process.
35. Behavioral Poultry Farm Manager interview questions:
► Have you ever had to deal with conflicting deadlines?
► A team experience you found disappointing.
► How do you decide what gets top priority when scheduling your time?
► Give me an example of a high-pressure situation?
► What kinds of situations do you find most stressful?
