Parts of a Chicken

 

 Chickens do have ears although they are hidden by the feathers on the side of the head. But when the feathers are pushed aside, the openings that serve as ears appear. There is no outer ear, such as we humans have, but chickens do have earlobes which can be clearly seen. The color of the lobe varies with the breed of the chicken, ranging from white to almost black. Chickens with white earlobes lay white eggs exclusively while birds with dark lobes lay brown eggs. The fascinating Araucana breed of chickens can even have earlobes that are a pale green or blue color. Sure enough, they lay eggs of the corresponding hue. It appears that the same gene that determines the color of the earlobe also determines the color of the egg. The color itself is determined by the presence of porphyrins which occur once hemoglobin, the oxygen-transporting molecule found in red blood cells, is broken down. This whole process is controlled by genetics, which means the color of the eggs is under genetic control.

 

December 27, 2020 Sunday Update water line in coop

 This weekend relocated the water line in the coop. Relocated the sink into the coop, added a new water line to it. I then rerouted the water line to the automatic chicken water bowl. I added three additional water points with valves for future. Two of the new drops I placed because I can add these line into different interior cages.  I placed one valve on the outside of the coop near the storage container. 

I also relocated the position of the interior florescent light and added another LED light at the entrance of the coop. I placed three additional tables around the sink and relocated the refrigerator. I was trying to create a educational area within the coop. Outside of the coop, to the east around the tree, I removed much of the junk I had stored. I see this area as a chicken run. I also am considering making the garden part of the chicken run as well. If I can keep all of the chickens contained in the fenced area it may be better for the school. (Just a thought)

Chicken Coop Update

  Spent today demoing some early parts of the chicken coop at school.  In 2018 I had students build 3 holding areas that were to be used for chickens and other animals. I have been thinking that they take up too much room in the coop for the amount of use that they get. 

 

 

When the three cages were made and prior to the use by our goats!

 

Also, it appears I did not post that I moved the 19 chicks from room 13 out into the coop area yesterday December 17. They are getting big, have most of if not all of their feathers, and there are many of them.

    

 

 

 

Move Chicks Again!

This time the move was into a brooder I built for a large number of chicks I have and due to wanting to keep them indoors. The new brooder is four feet by eight feet. I made the walls two feet high, anticipating to add another 30-inch screen high wall. The coop has the ability to be broken up into four sections.   The cage construction was finished on Tuesday, Dec 8th. (add photo) I want to keep the chicks indoors for at least six weeks.