Thursday, March 21, 2013

Important Information On Keeping Heritage Chickens

By Kay William


Chicken are important all over the world for many reasons. Among these reasons, two stand out much. These include the demand for their meat and eggs. Those who keep poultry for meat and eggs are too many. It is however important to look at many things when you want to keep heritage chickens. This is because there are things you must also do to keep them healthy and productive.

Before you decide on a breed to rare, you need to think of your intentions with the chicken. Some people simply want pets to keep in their compounds for different reasons. By knowing your exact intentions for keeping the chicken, it is easier to even decide on the breed as well as the number you may keep.

Supposing you decide to keep poultry for meat, you will have to pick on breeds that are good at producing meat. Such breeds also eat different food as compared to those of layers. Some people want to keep the birds for fun as pets. If this is your intention, you also need to consider some points when doing this. You must start by choosing a breed that you can easily take care of to avoid any complications.

Structures for the chicken are very important especially for those who keep poultry for commercial purposes. With so many birds, you cannot afford to keep them loitering aimlessly within the area. That way, you could expose them to predators and other dangers. For those who keep few birds as pets, it is possible to keep them in the home.

Certain breeds of chicken do well in different parts of the world. There are breeds that do very well in tropical climates as well as others that are good in Polar Regions. You must look closely at the features of the breed you want to buy to make sure it can actually survive in the environment you want to take it. To avoid excessive expenses, you can look for local breeds.

All chicken need food and medicines to survive for longer. Before you even dream of keeping some poultry, you must make sure you have a reliable source of chicken feeds so that your birds will not starve to death. In this respect, you must also have an idea as to the volume of feed you need to buy for each bird so that you can plan well in advance.

There are diseases that affect all animals including birds. If you decide to keep birds, you need to take lessons on how to prevent certain diseases. Air borne diseases in particular are notorious and many farmers lose their birds to them. They can however be prevented through vaccines and other kinds of medication. You must thus understand what it takes.

In case you are keeping heritage chickens for meat or eggs, you must look for a market for the meat and eggs especially if you have so many birds. Without an elaborate marketing plan, some farmers make losses when they are unable to find a ready market for the eggs or the birds that come of age and ready for sale




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