Learn
Learn
Caledonia Farmer's Market
Myths
A brown egg is not necessarily better nutritionally than a white one, it simply signifies the breed of the hen that laid the egg.
A cage-free or free-range label doesn't always mean the hen is roaming happily in a field of shrubs and insects.
If you have a rooster, you will automatically have chicks. In order for a chick to develop, an egg must be incubated (either under a warm hen or an incubator), without the heat, a chick is not formed. It takes 21 days for a chick to hatch.
Lets get to the basics of raising chickens!
What exactly is the difference between "Pasture Raised, Free Range, Cage Free etc."?
Don't have harvesting practices, and are the least expensive at the grocery store.
Free run hens are not confined to a cage but allowed to roam the floor of the barn. The barns are densely packed with no required outdoor access.
When I think of free range, I think of hens running around in an area where they can just be. Unfortunately Free Range does not actually mean that, and is quite misleading.
Birds are given access to outdoors, however there are no requirements for outdoor areas such as size, conditions, frequency, or duration
Our hens are able to roam free on our almost 2 acres, with access to water, multiple shelters around the property and of course their coop. They eat unmedicated layer feed which consists of 50% of their diet, along with foraging majority of the day eating grass, worms, and bugs. During the cold months November - April, they get additional weekly supplements in their feed.
Weekly, we prepare a bucket of layer feed with the following additions: oregano, cayenne pepper, garlic, turmeric, and chili flakes. We soak it in water overnight to create a mushy paste, and offer it to the flock in the morning.
Turmeric: antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial effects
Cayenne Pepper: enhances immunity and boosts circulation
Garlic: a natural antibiotic, antioxidant properties
Oregano: strengthens immune system, natural antibiotic properties
Chili Flakes: pathogenic resistance, antifungal properties
"One 2010 study from Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences found eggs from hens allowed to forage in pastures are higher than conventional eggs in some beneficial nutrients, including fat-soluble vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids." - CBC Marketplace Investigations
Layers - Hens that lay eggs
Breeders - Hens that produce chicks for egg or meat production
Layers and Breeders are the only poultry that can be housed in cages in Canada.
https://canadianfoodfocus.org/on-the-farm/poultry-housing-in-canada-where-and-how-do-chickens-live/
Dual Purpose Breed - breed of chicken that is raised for both eggs and meat
Nesting Box - a cubicle where a chicken can privately lay eggs
Brooder - a type of heated enclosure for raising chicks
Roost Bar - An elevated perch for chickens to sleep and rest
Coop - a chicken house that is protected from predators and outdoor elements
Incubator - a machine that maintains exact temperature to hatch an egg
Candling - a method of determining whether an egg is developing properly by examining it in front of a strong light
Broody - describes a hen that has an urge to sit on the eggs to hatch them
Albumen - is the whites of eggs
Flock - a group of chickens living together
Fowl - collective name for chickens, ducks, and geese
Grit - Sand and small pebbles eaten by chickens which is used by the gizzard to help break down the food
Bloom - a protective coating on a freshly laid egg, it is moist immediately after being laid, and dries off by the time it's collected
Scratch - a habit of chickens digging and scraping at the ground with their claws to find food such as bugs and worms
Sexed - term to describe newly hatched chicks that have been identified as hens or roosters (pullets or cockerels)
Straight Run - usually used to describe newly hatched chicks that have not been gendered
Cockerels - male chickens, also referred to as roosters, under the age of 12 months
Pullet - female chicken, under the age of 12 months, not yet laying eggs
Vent - rear opening through which a hen expels an egg, also known as cloaca
Cloaca - unlike other animals, chickens do not have a sphincter which controls when excretions are coming out. Cloaca is a multipurpose exit that connects digestive and reproductive tracts.
Chicken poop is a combination of urine and feces, called excreta. The white substance on top of the poop is called urates, which is a solid waste processed by the kidneys.
Chickens do not have a bladder.