Really Cool Facts about Chickens

FACT:  Chickens lay on average about 1 egg a day, depending on the time of year and the age of the chicken.

FACT:  It takes about 4 to 6 months before a baby chick is mature enough to start laying eggs.

FACT:  Chickens can stay warm just fine - even on the coldest MI winter nights - no you do not need to add heating lamps or other (extremely dangerous - think... oops my device just caught all that dry material in my coop on fire and I just burned all my chickens alive!) devices to warm up your chickens.  Remember they are covered with feathers (just like what your warm winter coat is filled with to keep you warm on winter days) - they have great natural insulation from cold.

FACT:  There are dozens and dozens of different breeds of chickens - with all sorts of different colored feathers - they are really beautiful creatures.

FACT:  Different breeds of chickens lay different colored eggs.  Egg colors can range from white and brown, which are the most common, to green, blue, bronze and yellow.  You can select your chicken breed based on what color egg you would like to have them laying.

FACT:  Chickens are very curious and love to come up to you to see if you will feed them.

FACT:  Chickens love to eat just about anything - veggies, carbs, fats and protein!  They really love just about any bug crawling in your garden bed or lawn.  There are a few exceptions.

FACT:  Chickens are great for the environment!  If you feed your chickens all your table scraps and the bits and pieces that you don't eat or cook during meal prep or post meal clean up - that food doesn't go into a landfill!  And guess what if you do that consistently, maybe even daily, you will prevent a huge amount of solid waste from going into the landfill.  A lot!  Read here how much it can save.

FACT:  Did you know that most cities (City of Saline included) are charged by the waste removal services BY THE POUND.

FACT:  If you combine the last two facts together you will be saving your local government body a lot of money in reduced fees for waste removal.  This in turn can either reduce your taxes or more likely slow their inevitable increase considerably.

FACT:  The critical things to keep chickens healthy and happy are 1.  Food (chicken food is not very expensive)  2.  Water (easy peasy)  3. Shelter - they need a place to roam about a bit (commonly referred to as a run).  As well as a place to sleep at night (commonly referred to as a coop).  And finally,  4. Safety - you have to make sure that predators (either 4 legged or winged) can't get to them.  So item 3 and 4 go hand in hand.

FACT:  The City of Saline ordinances on chickens will allow you to have up to 12 chickens on your property.  Each government municipality has it's own rules and regulations on every sort of animal and livestock, so it's a good idea to check your local ordinances regarding chickens to make sure you know what the rules are.

FACT:  No roosters allowed in the City of Saline.  Probably a good thing for getting a good nights sleep.  They do start crowing very early (before the sun rises).

FACT:  Roosters are primarily a watchdog and an early warning device for predators.  Only really needed in communities that you plan to "free range" your chickens (let them wander about on their own outside of any contained fencing of any kind).

FACT:  Roosters don't lay eggs, so if you don't need a watchdog because you chickens are safely contained in you run, then who needs em - there just a bunch of freeloaders.

FACT:  Eggs will never turn into baby chicks if you don't have roosters.  Occasionally, you will have a chicken who gets "broody", which simply means she wants to sit on the egg she just layed.  But,.... with no roosters, it doesn't matter how long she sits on her egg, it will never hatch.  If your chicken becomes broody, it is OK to simply, gently reach under her and retrieve the egg she is laying on.  She might nip at you so go cautiously!

FACT:  You can buy chickens through the mail (Yes they arrive at the post office) from a large chicken operation like Murry McMurry (such a fun name).  But you can just as easily buy them at Tractor Supply Company - which cost about the same and such instant gratification.  You can get a lot of breeds at TSC, but if you are looking for some of the exotic breeds you should try Murry McMurry.

FACT:  Big chicken operation websites like Murry McMurray are a great place to do research on chicken breeds, egg color, egg quantity, and many, many, many other variables regarding each breed.