CHICKEN RAISING Terms from B - M

An adult male chicken, (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Familiarize yourself with these terms to get a hold of chicken raising.

Bantam – a chicken variety that is about half the size of the standard breed of chickens. These breeds are usually bred for ornamental reasons.

Bedding – can either be shavings of wood, haystack pile, or newspaper that are added to the floor of the coop and inside a nest box. The purpose of this is for absorption of droppings and odor of chicken poop. It also provides a cushion for eggs to be safely ejected from its mother without the worry of breaking it.

Brood – this could either mean the hens incubating their chicks or a flock of baby chickens.

Broodiness – a chicken’s desire to incubate their babies – unfertilized or fertilized. Broodiness can make an egg hatch or spoil it. There are a lot of factors that may arise in being broody. And the mother is a bit moody when she is manifesting broodiness.

Candling – is a procedure wherein a candle or a light bulb is used. It is the process letting light shine through an egg to determine if it is fertilized or not. Candling can be useful especially if you are planning to separate the eggs with growing embryo and those that you wanted to sell.

Capon – a rooster that has been castrated.

Clutch – fertilized egg groups that hens tend to incubate.

Cockerel – a juvenile or young rooster.

Comb – this is the rubbery, red flat piece of flesh hanging on top of a chicken’s head. Roosters have a more prominent comb than hens. Some who are engaged in cockfighting preferred to cut the rooster’s comb so as not to interfere with the fight.

Coop – house of chickens.

Crop – Part of a chicken’s digestive system that can be found in the esophagus wherein food is first digested before entering the stomach.

Droppings Tray – a tray that collects chicken droppings, which is located under poles for quick disposal. 

Dust bath – A pattern of chicken behavior wherein they dig a hole in the ground and immerse their bodies in the earth that has been loosened. They will get down and dirty until they get satisfied. Bathing in dust is a kind of defense mechanism to protect chickens from lice and mites that may invade their feathers and feed on their blood. A dust bath can either be natural or artificial.

Feeder – a container that delivers and holds feeds for chickens.

Fertilized egg – an egg that came from the mating of a rooster and a hen and is destined to become a baby.

Grit – bits of rock or sand bits that chickens tend to eat and is stored in the crop that is important for good digestion.

Hackles – chicken’s neck feathers.

Hen – female chicken.

Incubation – the process of egg hatching in which the application of heat is required. The eggs that are incubated are those that are already fertilized. Constant heat, usual turning, and an environment that is humid are the essential needs of an egg that also comes in with the period. Incubation takes about 21 days before the eggs are expected to hatch. 

Layer feed – a feed that is complete and is made for the sake of laying hens.

Molt or molting – this is the process of feather shedding and re-growing which happens once a year. When the molting season comes, laying season is suspended.

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CHICKEN BANTAM - Smallest and Most Fun Chicken?

Silkie (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Chickens come in a variety of sizes. The average sized chicken found in most breeds, the huge chicken that can probably feed a home for two days, and then there's the small chicken bantam.

Bantams are naturally small. You can compare them to other small chickens in size, but these guys are special because they don't come any bigger. Bantam chickens will only get as big as twenty-two ounces.

So what's the big thing about these bantam chickens? They don't make for very good meat providers, and even if they produce a lot of eggs, the eggs are probably puny - not even enough to satisfy one person. What good are they?

Chicken bantams make for decent pets

Here's the thing; Bantams are small. Their small size and elaborate plumage put them in pretty much the same level as other pets. They strut around and look good without really doing anything, and people love them because they're cute.

Bantams are also good-natured creatures, which makes them safe for the kids.

Let's talk a little more on the plumage. Bantams usually do have really elaborate plumage. Sometimes, the feathers are so exquisite that bantams have become champions in chicken breeding competitions time and again.

Take the bantam breed called the Sultan. This chicken doesn't look at all like a chicken, thanks to the poofy pompadour head of hair it has that hides its wattle and comb. This little guy is the Elvis Presley of chickens, bantam or not.

Another curious chicken bantam breed is the Silkie. This bird has the curious distinction of looking like a cloud of cotton, having five toes (as opposed to the standard four), and black flesh with blue skin. It is a very docile animal that despite the sparse amount of meat it offers, is considered a gourmet delicacy in mainland China.

Bottom line is that bantam chickens may be small creatures, but these little guys have some of the most interesting breeds in the chicken kingdom. People who aren't interested in keeping chickens as livestock might be wise to consider getting a bantam instead. Or if you're a beginner who's just after the experience, bantams are easy to take care of.

By Chad B. Chad B. is an advocate for backyard chicken care and has been involved in raising chickens since he was a little boy back in 1986. Article Source: EzineArticles

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The Several Different Breeds of BANTAM CHICKENS

A bantam rooster (breed unknown)
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

To better understand the numerous types and kinds of bantam chickens, we need to understand the actual definition of the word. When used in relation to fowl or chickens, Bantam is used for any extremely small fowl. The way most people have understood this rating is my understanding that for most of the regular breeds of chickens there are some bantam counterparts. These are most often one-fourth to one-fifth the size of the standard chickens, thus earning them the addition of miniature or bantam to their original name.

When taking into consideration the original namesake of bantam, this chicken or fowl has no standard counterpart. The most popular and commonly known bantam chickens are the Dutch bantam, the Sebright bantam, the Japanese bantam and the Dutch bantam. Due in part to their size and ease of care, bantams have rapidly risen to the top of the list as pets used primarily for shows or competitions. Because of their size, they require far less food, space, and maintenance resulting in their previously mentioned status as preferred pets.

Some of the most widely known breeds of bantam chickens are the Cochin, Japanese Bantams, common Bantam, Barnevelder, Old English Game, Polish chicken, D'Uccle, Pekin, Serama and the Sussex bantams. The following are brief descriptions of them:

The Cochin bantam is one of the largest breeds of bantams with the male known for weighing in at a surprising 5 Kg. (11 pounds). This particular bantam breed was introduced in China as the Chinese Shanghai and later exported to America and Britain. Another Bantam breed closely related and developed from this breed is the Pekin bantam.

Japanese bantams most commonly referred to as Chao, are literally spread worldwide. These chickens are mostly used in shows and as pets.

Barnevelder bantam is among the most popular breed of chickens for shows, carcass, and egg production. Producing rich brown eggs is their speciality and they are natural foragers on top of being a medium heavy breed which makes them excellent for either gaming or food.

Pekin bantam female. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Old English Game bantams also make excellent pets for children and are a source of special shows in the United Kingdom for this specific popular breed. This bantam breed is almost opposite to its standard counterpart, the Old English Game chicken in that it lacks an aggressive nature.

The Polish chicken has primarily bred for their show abilities due to the fact their appearance is almost beautiful. Boasting such colours as pink, purple, and blue, these bantams do not sit on eggs but produce stark, white eggs.

Uccle is a town on the outskirts of Brussels, Belgium and is the namesake of the Barbu D'Uccle bantam with soft feathers. This chicken received its name from the French, translating as Bearded of Uccle.

The Pekin bantam, sporting feathers on their legs and feet combined with plumage that hangs to the ground, has often been referred to as a "walking tea-cosy". Noticeably smaller, measuring in at 20 - 30 centimetres and are well known for their mothering instincts.

The Serama bantam breed of chickens is basically still in production. Although they are currently ranked as the smallest chickens in the world, their breed has not been bred true as of yet, meaning breeding them could result in any colour, shape, size, etc.

The Sussex bantam is one-quarter the size of its standard counterpart, better known as the most common of backyard chickens in different countries around the world.

By Timothy Allan Crane - Article Source: EzineArticles

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