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For all that I have a BOOK blog, most of my incoming searches are on chickens. It makes a little sense, as I am a (sort-of) owner of chickens, and I did review a book on chickens. But there are a few recent search questions that I thought I would answer in one post, per my experience. Please remember that this is just through my experience. If you have real problems, health-wise, or predator wise, please go to your local vet and/or feed store and see if they have any suggestions

1. How long do chickens live?

The average lifespan of a chicken is 7 years. Most people slaughter their chickens after they stop laying eggs at high levels of production (after 1-2 years), but I am raising my girls as pets, so no slaughter for them. There are of course examples of chickens living long lives, and I hope to have a few examples myself! Part of the problem is that even on a small scale where people order birds in quantities of ten or so, they are being bred to produce MANY eggs and still be slaughtered for meat at the age of one or two. Longevity is not a concern for their breeders.

2.How do you keep a chicken warm in the winter?

Two options. One is to keep them inside your house, in a heated space. This can be messy (and depending on how many birds you have, TERRIBLY noisy!) The second is to heat their hen house. A heat lamp can be a good choice, but safety concerns must be addressed. If you have a well insulated hen house, then barring a few very cold days in the bleak months of January and February, your hens should keep themselves warm.

3. What are the options of chicken housing?

The options are ENDLESS. There are many places that you can order pre-made chicken houses, painted or not, your choice! Many people use a shed similar to a garden shed, with windows cut out and roosts and nesting boxes added. If you have a long chicken, a large dog crate can work, though it needs to be cleaned more often. Chickens LOVE to roost, so an enclosure large enough for them to sleep on a stick at night really is all it takes for them to be happy it would sometime seem!
We had an unusable garage that we transformed into a chicken house. It was a large space for them, had enough insulation that they were able to make it through the winter with only a few cold nights, and had access to a fenced in pen that was all theirs. After we gave away the majority of our flock (they can be a lot of work when you have 40…) we were down to 3 and they slept in a dog crate that was in a more secure room.

4. Roosters: Necessary or not?

Not necessary! Chickens will lay eggs regardless if there is a man around. Their eggs will NOT be fertile however, so you would not be having babies, just plain eggs. Please keep in mind that most people do not want their roosters, so if you have the space, you could rescue a rooster that would otherwise be killed. Our rooster is an incredibly nice boy who protects his girls. He has twice fended off dogs that got into the pen, with not a feather disturbed on the hens. I did have his spurs removed because I felt that it was unnecessary for him and they looked scary when he was doing his business with the girls. A painful procedure, but it was done by my vet and we had no complications.

5. What types of predators?

We had raccoons and skunks as our predators of choice, unfortunately. Neither are particularly nice as they seem to enjoy flaying the birds, or just killing as many as possible. While it is important to keep your birds happy and warm, keeping them ALIVE is key. You MUST MUST MUST have a secure hen house because if you don’t, animals WILL get in, even if you live in an urban area. Skunks and Raccoons, among other predators, are EVERYWHERE. Not a sight you want to wake up to, BELIEVE ME.

Here are some fun websites:
Conspiring Chickens
Wikipedia’s Entry
Bird Hobbyist
UK’s Animal Corner
Dr. Bob’s All Creatures Site
Oldest Hen?

I am happy to give advice on birds. Remember that if you want chickens for pets, you can always find older hens that people are giving away, and they still will lay the occasional egg. Also, they are VERY food focused. Just because they are older does not mean that they are unfriendly. They will love you quite quickly if you have food every time you see them!!!

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