Below are the 4 most recent journal entries recorded in Rodolfo Riviera's Blurty:

Monday, April 4th, 2011
11:25 am	Chicken Types Literally, you can find countless chicken kinds to pick from for whatever you'd like one for: eggs, a pet, or meat. From beautiful exotics to awesome egg layers, with both negative and positive dispositions, selecting a chicken for your backyard flock can seem to be difficult. Top Egg Laying Varieties of Chicken Every chicken lays eggs, but not all will lay every day until they're four years old. The trade-off with good egg layers is that they generally don't like to sit, so fertilizing and hatching may not be possible without an incubator. The very best layers for white eggs are: Catalina: shy, nervous Hamburg: Anxious, timid Ancona: Anxious, Crazy Andulasian: Flighty, can be stressed Minorca: Moderate disposition, can be amiable but worried Redcap: Wild, poor disposition Holland: Good disposition, Pleasant Lakenvelder: Beautiful breed, stressed Leghorn: Loud, stressed, shy Best layers of brown eggs are: Australorp: Good disposition, friendly Java: Friendly, Exotic Naked Neck Turkin: Good disposition Plymouth Rock:  Good disposition, friendly, docile Rhode Island: Aggressive Delaware: Good disposition Dominique: Good egg production and personality, will also brood. Sussex: Good disposition, friendly Wyandotte: A favorite egg layer because of their friendliness. Very best Meat Chickens The chief aim with meat production is chickens that will put on a good bit of weight in the first 16 weeks of life. Temperament qualities almost always take a back seat mainly because these hens are not typically kept as long as egg layers. Extremely good meat producers are: Cornish: Thin feathered, have to be protected against cold; poor egg layers Cornish Cross: Hybrid with high-speed growth. Susceptible to heart attacks, broken legs, etc.. You'll find a wide range of hens that are exceptional dual purpose birds for both meat and eggs. Several of these are listed below and by and large lay fewer eggs than the top egg layers. Virtually all of these varieties will still lay about 4 - 5 eggs weekly. Brahma ? Very nice to look at, though not a top layer this chicken lays a respectable amount of eggs and makes a great pet, too. Buckeye: a heritage breed Catalina: A dual purpose bird that is also a top layer. Araucana Australorp Barnevelder Delaware Dominique Dorking Holland Hungarian Yellow Orpington Plymouth Rock Wyandotte Whether your objective is egg laying or meat, the diversity of breed options can be difficult. Ornamental Breeds If you plan to spend time with your chickens, then temperament is crucial. Aggressive birds can make egg obtaining tricky. If young children will be involved, breed disposition is far more vital. Very likely the most popular breed for pets are silkies. They must, nevertheless, be kept warm and dry. Their feathers are more like fur than feathers, really. On getting wet, they are immediately soaked. These pretty, little, Bantams are enjoyable to study and are wonderful pets. They do not accept small children nicely and will likely permit them to carry them around. They will also lay eggs and, if practical, will tend the nest diligently. The eggs are a third of a usual chicken's egg, but are excellent eating. Other ornamental varieties comprise: Cochin: Both standard and Bantam Cochins are considered decorative, but they are fair egg layers. They are fairly docile and pretty with full long feathering and a waterfall type tail. Their feathers make them seem two times as big as they actually are. The feathers go entirely down to their toes. Phoenix: Very long tail feathers that require special roosting conditions - very beautiful Serama: A tiny perfect miniature chicken. Proud upright stance in a 2 to 3 pond package. Fantastic disposition. Showgirls: These chickens have fluffy feathers on their body and the peak of their head but a bare neck. Sizzle or Frizzle: These hens have curly or wavy feathers and appear like they have been through a windstorm. Sultan: Has a "hat" of upright feathers - fluffy and elegant Yokohama: another long tailed breed Selecting the right breed to accommodate your needs could be a daunting job, but it is worth the effort. For lots more info on the topic, take a look atBreeds of Chickens.  Look at Chicken Coop Plans if you are looking into building your own chicken house.   (Comment on this)
Monday, March 28th, 2011
4:17 am	Chicken Laws Check with your local authorities about the local laws and ordinances surrounding chicken keeping. Chicken keeping laws vary from place to place.   Some will allow only a certain number of hens to be keep in town, prohibit roosters, or  make it mandatory that coops and cages be fifty to a hundred feet away from any other structures or property, whether they are residential or business. It is not uncommon for poultry to be banned outright.   A sampling of cities and their restrictions governing chicken keeping are:   Dallas does not allow roosters.   In Austin the coops must be 50' away from any buildings other than those that are yours.   Ft. Worth limits the number of hens by property size and requires that coops be at least 50' away from buildings.   Houston requires that you register for a permit and declare the number of chickens and whether they are for commercial or personal use.   Los Angeles allows for chicken keeping with minimal interference.   Oakland, Ca allows hens but not roosters.   San Diego requires that hen feed containers be rat proof, that droppings be cleaned weekly, and limits the number of birds to twenty-five.   Key West, FL requires daily coop cleaning and gives specific guidelines for waste disposal which prohibit its use as fertilizer.   Charlotte, NC has a 40 dollar permit registration fee, limits the number of hens and size of the coop by property size, and requires that they be a specific number of feet from other buildings.   Concord, NC prohibits keeping chickens.   Columbus, OH requires a minimum of 5 acres to keep chickens and they must be one hundred feet away from roads or other properties.   Huntsville, AL requires coops be at least 150 feet away from other homes.   Homewood, AL requires that hens be 300' away from neighboring buildings and 100' away from any road.   Denver, CO requires that you place 2 signs in your yard for a month to see if neighbors object to your chicken keeping plans, followed by a $50 application fee, 100 dollar permit fee, and annual fee of 70 dollars.  Flocks will be inspected for sanitary conditions.   Washington, DC requires you to get written permission from your neighbors and keep hens at least 50' from other homes.   While some areas have no restrictions against hens, they do give citations for disturbing the peace if your birds become too loud.   Be sure you have checked local regulations before you begin your own flock.   For quite a bit more info on this topic, view Chicken Laws. If you're thinking about building your own hen house coop, check out Building a Chicken Coop. (Comment on this)
Thursday, March 17th, 2011
6:05 am	Designs for Building a DIY Chicken Coop   There are chicken coop plans widely available at online and at local building centers. Some plans are a free download with a list of all the materials needed for building. The best hen houses, however, are built by hand with your own needs in mind. As you plan your chicken housing, be sure to account for the number of hens you plan to have and the climate you live in. Grown chickens require 4 square feet of space at a minimum. So for every three full-grown chickens you plan to keep, you'll need twelve square feet of space. Of course, the more space you give them, the happier the chickens will usually be. Larger spaces means less squabbling, more exercise, and less illness. You can also buy chicken coop kits with all construction materials included. These are usually only meant for up to three hens, however, and can be cost prohibitive for larger units. Plenty of ready to go coops and runs are available online for mail order if you are just going to keep a couple of hens. These coops usually sit on the ground and are not secured against most predators. They are convenient, however, because they can be easily moved. As a secondary day pen, they can be perfect as a way to easily allow movement to fresh areas of the yard. Be wary of building materials that can be a hazard to both birds and eggs when building your own. Pressure treated lumber often has arsenic in it, which will be ingested when the hens peck at the wood. Also, be careful you don't:do not use paint that could contain lead. Anything your chicken eats can end up in her eggs and thus on your plate. Chicken wire is not very good for keeping out predators. Dogs, skunks, opossums, raccoons, and many other predators can tear right through chicken wire with ease. When designing your chicken coop plans, only use chicken wire for the bottom of the cage so that predators cannot dig under it. It is a great deterrent for that because the animal doesn't have the leverage needed to tear through from underneath. He'll either get discouraged or will hurt his paws on the wire and give up. Protect your chickens with heavier gauge wire on the sides and top of your pen. Even if your coop provides a lock down at night, predators are still going to attempt to break in to get to the feed grain, water, or into the coop itself. You may need something more substantial to keep raccoons out as they are quite intelligent. Many is the farmer whose come out to disaster when only a slide bolt or hasp was used to keep raccoons at bay. So keep in mind the predators in your area when building your chicken coop plans. If you take everything into account and do it right, a diy chicken coop can be the beginning of an enjoyable hobby for you and your family.   (Comment on this)
Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011
4:10 am	What and How to Feed Chickens When deciding what you will feed hens, you should take into account their age and your goals for your chickens. You'll need to use different feed for chickens which will be egg producers than you will for those meant for meat production. Feeding Chicks Chicks grown for egg laying should be fed a starter that is 20-22% protein, chicks raised for meat should have up to twenty-four percent protein in their feed. Use chick starter until the age of six to nine weeks (depending somewhat on the breed of chicken and how quickly it matures). Meat chickens should then be put on "broiler finish" grain until they are ready to slaughter. Many who raise meat hens should use feed that has antibiotics to prevent Coccidiosis. This is also a good idea for any hen unless you are planning to sell products that are "free range" or "organic". Commercially grown meat chickens are often loaded with hormones, so raising meat chickens at home is a popular way to avoid ingesting those. Chickens as Adults Once chickens reach adulthood, they are often moved to a 14 percent protein feed. Another important nutrient for egg layers is calcium, especially for large breeds such as Jersey Giants. Chicken feed comes in crumbles, pellets, mash and scratch. The best way to get the most balanced diet for your chickens is to mix some scratch in with pellets or crumbles, and supplement with vegetables and calcium. Many supplement their chicken's calcium intake by adding clean, crushed egg shells into the feed. Chickens will know what to eat when it's offered, according to their need. Vegetables and Peelings Healthy and happy hens can be had by adding things like spinach, romain, carrot peels, apple peelings, and whole grains like oatmeal, barley, and small amounts of fruit. Keep in mind that these are supplements, not replacements for the chicken feed. Chicken feed has all the protein and nutrients the chickens need. So long as it's fresh and not a meat product, it can be thrown to the hens instead of the garbage. Chicken Mobiles Mobile hen houses (hen tractors) are a great way to easily move your hens around the yard. This allows the hens exercise and gives them fresh available bugs, vegetation, and grit. If you have not the room for free ranging, you can use a chicken tractor to move them in a relatively small space without ruining it. This will also help keep your yard from getting brown spots where the chickens scratch to find morsels. Hazards Beware of using pesticides and fertilizers in any area where your hens might feed. Chickens will eat anything and everything they eat ends up in them and their eggs. Chickens can be poisoned by grass and plants where weed killers or sprays have been used. Whatever your chickens eat ends up in them and their eggs. In fact, pesticides and chemicals can show up in the hen's eggs long before the chicken itself shows signs of illness. If done properly, your home-grown hens and eggs will provide wonderful nutrition for your family. When you feed hens well they will provide you with years of fresh eggs every day. If you're interested in building your own chicken coop, check out Chicken Coop Plans. Read Chicken Coop Kits for an even easier project. (Comment on this)