Electric Fencing for Chickens: The Positives and Negatives

The use of electric fencing for chickens has become a popular form of poultry protection and containment, in fact the wide availability of such fencing has transformed the way many owners now rear their poultry.

When it comes to chickens, fencing is used by owners not so much to keep chickens contained, as they are often left to roam as they please, but to keep their many predators from attacking them.

\"Chicken Wire Fence\"

The positives of electric fencing for chickens:

Electric Fencing for Chickens: The Positives and Negatives

Portability

Unlike traditional chicken wire, which is normally wrapped so tightly when the enclosure is built that moving it is almost impossible, electric netting is fully portable and easily transferred to other areas. This is particularly useful when there is a need to relocate some chickens, or you have a new flock arriving that needs to be kept separate.

Tight Netting

Foxes are by far the most frequent predator of chickens, keeping them out is vital. Fencing that is designed for larger animals will not suit your chickens because the gaps between the wires are far too wide and will allow the fox through or the chickens out. Electric fencing for chickens is designed in a netted structure with very tough, small holes which are impossible for a fox to fit through thereby keeping your poultry safe.

Strength

Electric fencing is made from newer, purpose-built materials that are able to withstand the wear and tear of the elements, animals and predators. This makes electric fencing particularly good for keeping chickens as there are far fewer repairs required, predators are unlikely to prise or force gaps in the fence as they will receive a shock.

The negatives:

Cost

Chicken enclosures are often small so the cost of buying electric fencing for chickens can be quite expensive if you choose the wrong supplier. Most suppliers will work with you to ensure you get the fence you need, but off the shelf products often dictate lengths and dimensions meaning you can end up with more than you need. More traditional fencing solutions can also offer cheaper alternatives especially for small enclosures.

Intermittent Power

The major flaw with such fencing is that by its very nature it requires electricity. In the event of a power cut, intermittent power or a broken fence link, predators can get through and attack your animals. Fortunately electric netting is just as reliable as traditional netting even without a current, but if you have spent extra for the fence then its a pain when it malfunctions. This encourages predators to try their luck, either attempting to jump or prise the netting.

Even though there are negatives in using electric fencing for chickens, the benefits, in my opinion, far outweigh those negatives. This type of fencing is very reliable these days and offers any chicken owner a fantastic way of protecting your poultry.

Electric Fencing for Chickens: The Positives and Negatives

If you would like to learn more about electric fencing for chickens or just want to browse the different types of electric fences available to you then take a look at www.electricfencesystems.com, a supplier of a new and innovative electric fence system.

How to Raise Baby Chickens - 6 Easy Tips To Follow If You Want To Grow Healthy Chickens

How to raise baby chickens from scratch is not really hard if you will learn the basics of raising them. You must take good care of them from the very start until they are ready to lay eggs. With your hard work and patience, they will grow up in good health and you will reap great benefits of having healthy adult chickens.

Generally, if you are really serious about raising chickens, then you have to familiarize yourself about the nature of chickens. This is important so you can bring them up well.

Chickens

Chickens are commonly categorized as amusing animals with manageable personality. However, if you are raising chicks which are non-breeders, they may brood and eventually become a bit hard to control. In this case, you must learn how to deal with brooding chickens so that your work will feel lighter.

Moreover, by knowing how to raise baby chickens, you and your family will always have eggs and fresh chicken meat on the table.

Now, to rear your own chicks, below are basic tips to follow:

1. When your baby chickens finally arrived in your home for the first time, inspect them carefully. Make sure that they are all healthy. If you notice that one or two chicks look sickly, then contact the dealer where you bought the chicks from and tell him about the problem. Remember, you must not accept unhealthy chicks.

2. If the chicks are all fine, your next step is to place them inside a fenced area, which will also be their new home. Inside the chicken pen, ensure that the temperature is just right for the chicks, normally 90 degrees for the whole week is ideal. You can use a 100 watts light bulb to attain this temperature.

3. The third tip of how to raise baby chickens is, gradually lessen the temperature as your chicks grow. After 5 whole weeks, your chickens can now be transferred to a bigger pen where they can freely move around.

However, even if you stop the heating as they don't need it anymore, do not take them out completely as your chickens will still need them in the cold months.

4. Supply your chicks with lots of water with ½ cup of sugar every day. The mixture will provide energy that the chick need.

5. Scatter chicken feed in their pen so that the chicks can eat at anytime in the day.

6. When the chicks turn 60 days old, you can relocate them to a coop. if you can't build them, you can simply order them from a supplier. For each coop, the area must be around 3 to 4 square feet.

Lastly, take note that building chicken coops is important because they provide protection from predators. The most common predators that hunt chickens include large birds, wild cats, and even dogs. If you want to gather all the gains that you expect from raising chickens, provide protection and do your best to learn how to raise baby chickens effectively.

How to Raise Baby Chickens - 6 Easy Tips To Follow If You Want To Grow Healthy Chickens

Looking for more tips on how to raise baby chickens? Discover everything you need to know and how easy it is to raise your own chicken. Separate yourself from the usual chicken owners and avoid costly mistakes. Go to: http://www.howtoraisechicken.com

Country Chickens Novelty Tea Cosy and Egg Cosy Knitting Pattern

An unusual novelty tea cosy and egg cosy featuring small stuffed chickens. These cosies would fit right into a country cottage kitchen with the free-range hens roaming around the top. Ideal for keeping the teapot and boiled eggs warm too, children really enjoy them. Taking less than an hour to make they do make a lovely surprise on Good Friday and Easter Sunday when you present someone a hard boiled egg for their breakfast that still has a hen sitting on top of it.

Don't be fooled into thinking this tea cosy and egg cosy with hens must be difficult to make, because they are really very quick and easy with minimal shaping.

Chickens

To make the three country hens, tea cosy you will need...

5.5 mm, UK size 5 or US size 9 knitting needles,

3.25 mm, UK size 10 or US size 4 knitting needles,

50g White double knitting wool,

50g Lemon double knitting wool,

25g Dark Brown double knitting wool

25g Red double knitting wool

Other oddments of hen coloured double knitting wool and scraps of felt for the beak.

Knit the Front and Back of the tea cosy to match

Using the white wool and the lemon wool as double thickness yarn and size 5 knitting needles, cast on 28 stitches and work 38 rows in straight garter stitch (Knit each row)

Leave the stitches on a spare needle until later.

Shaping the top...
Using white and lemon wool as a double yarn proceed to knit across the tea cosy front and then tea cosy back as follows...

Shaping the top Row 1: *K5, K2 tog* repeat to end

Next and every alternate row Knit.

Row 3: *K4, K2 tog* repeat to end.

Row 5: *K3, K2 tog* repeat to end.

Row 7: *K2, K2 tog* repeat to end.

Row 9: *K1, K2 tog* repeat to end.

Row 11: *K2 tog* repeat to end.

Thread the end of the yarn through the remaining stitches and through the loop of the yarn itself and draw up the knitting tightly and Finnish off.

With the front and back right sides together, sew about 9.5cm from the finishing off point down the side seam towards the cast on edge.

At the bottom of each side seam, sew about 3cm upwards. The holes are left for the teapot handle and spout.

Knitting the hens...
Using a hen coloured double knitting wool and with size 10 needles, cast on 16 stitches and work 16 rows in stocking stitch (knit a row, purl a row)

Cast off.

To make up the hen...
Fold the square of knitting in half diagonally (with the right sides of the work facing) to form a triangle. Sew along one edge, turn and stuff lightly and neatly over-sew up the opening. With the thread still attached, sew small running stitches half way along the folded side of the triangle. Then insert the needle into the middle of this side and come out at the opposite corner, passing the yarn through on the inside of the hen. Draw up the stitching tightly to the hen's tail and head a bird like shape, and finish off.

The Hen's Comb (The red crest on the top of its head)...
With red double knitting wool and sized 10 knitting needles, cast on 7 stitches.

Row 1: Knit
Row 2: K1 *Bring the wool round the needle tot he front of the work and K2 tog* repeat to end.
Row 3: Purl
Cast off.

To make up the Comb...
Fold the red knitting in half so that the holes form a little scallop edging. Over-sew the long straight edges together and sew into position on the hen's head.

Finishing off...
Finish off the hen by sewing an eye on either side of its head in dark brown wool. Cut a diamond shape from black felt, fold in half to create a triangle and sew into place. With red wool sew a couple of loops just below the beck for the hen's wattles.

Make three hens in this way for the top of the tea cosy.

The Nest...
Using dark brown knitting wool and size 5 knitting needles cast on 60 stitches and then cast off.

Sew this long length of knitting to the tea cosy to form four loops, a bit like a flower. These loops make the hen's nest.

Sew the three hens into position on the nest at the top of the tea cosy.

To Make The Egg Cosy...
With lemon and white double knitting wool and size 5 knitting needles, cast on 27 stitches and work 12 rows in garter stitch.

Shaping the Egg Cosy Top...

Row 1: *K1 K2tog* repeat to end.

Row 2: Knit

Row 3: *K2 tog* repeat to end.

Thread the end of the yarn through the remaining stitches and through the loop of the yarn itself and draw up the knitting tightly and Finnish off.

With the front and back right sides together, sew up the seam.

The Egg Cosy Nest...

Using dark brown knitting wool and size 5 knitting needles cast on 20 stitches and then cast off.

Stitch in a ring at the top of the egg cosy. Finally make a hen to sew at the top of the cosy.

Country Chickens Novelty Tea Cosy and Egg Cosy Knitting Pattern

More of S. Roberts craft ideas can be found at http://busy-crafting.blogspot.com/. For Christmas crafts visit http://www.santaspostbag.co.uk/ where you can also send a free letter to your child from Santa Claus. SantasPostbag is in association with http://www.bigboystoyz.com together keeping Christmas Magical.

Chicken Care - How to Take Care of Chickens

Caring for chickens is important in order to have happy, healthy chickens. Here's some quick tips on how to take care of chickens.

* First, you should keep food and water well supplied. Feeds and water supplies should be constantly monitored and cleaned. It is very easy for the chickens to get sick from contaminated water, so be careful about that.

Chicken

* Second, keep the chickens warm and dry. The chicken coop should be well insulated, but there should be enough air flow that it doesn't make the coop stuffy. Chickens need to breath too! The coop should be protected from the elements too.

* Third, make sure the coop is cleaned regularly. The coop should be sprayed down frequently, but thoroughly cleaned (with bleach and stronger cleaning agents) once every few months.

* Fourth, the chicken coop should be secured from predators. Make sure to close and secure the doors of the coop at night.

* Fifth, the hay for the chickens nest should be changed monthly. This will help to ensure the chickens stay clean.

There are a lot more ways to take care of chickens, but I just wanted to present you with a few tips. Chicken care is important to ensuring your chickens are healthy. One sick chicken can easily cause sickness in the other chickens. Some disease may even affect humans. All in all, though, chicken care is like any other pet care in that it comes with the territory is a part of the commitment that is made in taking care of any pet.

Chicken Care - How to Take Care of Chickens

Although chicken care may seem like a daunting task, it really isn't, especially when you have a complete guide to chicken care. The more information you have on chicken care, the better off you will be in having happy, healthy chickens.

If you're looking for more information on how to take care of chickens, you can visit http://www.squidoo.com/how-to-take-care-of-chickens

There's lots of great information as well as links to other lenses with even more about how to care for chickens, how to build chicken coops, and more. Whether you are just thinking about raising chickens or have raised many, the information at http://www.squidoo.com/how-to-take-care-of-chickens will sure to be beneficial for everyone!