Yes Hens can view the baby as prey or food, they can and will also start enforcing the "pecking order" and a misplaced peck from an adult hen can wound or kill the chick. Try to keep the babies away from the rest of the flock until they can run or fight back About 8 weeks or so.
Yes. Chickens are social flock creatures. However, if you can't get more than one, just give them lots of attention. They like that. However, they may yet get lonely, but it's your choice. Definitely get more if you can, but if not, it's okay.
No Some farmers believe this will induce the hens to lay better but this is an unproven farmers myth. While the red pepper flakes won't hurt the hens it will not do much for the hen as they do not have the same effect on hens as they do on humans.
No The laying mash or pellets are fine for the rooster. There really is no way to stop the rooster from eating the same things you feed the hens other than keeping them separated. My hens are fed laying crumble all year long and the roosters thrive on it.
Communication. Chickens have sounds they make for various situations. Quiet clucks are contentment and soothing sounds for chicks. Loud excited clucks are for announcing the laying of an egg or for protesting the attentions of the rooster. Squawking sounds are for times when they are afraid or being hurt. It is all communication, just like the crowing of the rooster when he calls his hens back to the roost at night.
A hen laying an egg experiences the same pain as a woman giving birth to a baby or a cow giving birth to a calf. Of course it hurts! But it's all a part of nature, so why should we be so concerned about it?
A little dog food once in a while will not hurt the laying hens, however do not substitute dog food for a balanced layer feed. The layer feed has been formulated to be nutritionally complete and meet the needs of a laying bird with the correct protein, fat and calcium numbers. A full diet of dogfood will cause problems down the line health wise and especially egg wise since it is not formulated for hens.
Cats' natural instincts are to chase and hunt. So there is a definite risk to the hens. However, some new mom cats have adopted (and nursed!) baby chicks.
They might peck at your fingers, but it doesn't hurt. They don't technically bite, they peck.
The mother is most likely just protecting her chicks. Mother hens are often very protective of their young, especially newborns. This is not an uncommon thing. Try showing the hen that you won't hurt her chicks. I can't give you a lot of helpful advice on how to do this, but I am sure the Internet will help. Good luck! =)
Much of this depends on the breed, game chickens tend to be more aggresive. Chickens, like people, have individual personalities. You should never assume that ,because it is a certain breed, your chicks will be safe. Ideally, you would want to keep the roosters separate. If you must keep the rooster in the cage with the chicks I would recommend watching them closely for the first few days. Also , if a hen hatched the chicks she will most likely defend them.
A rooster in the hen house is not going to make the hens lay more eggs. If a farmer is wanting to have more chickens, then a select few hens can be put with a rooster for awhile to produce eggs that will actually hatch into baby chicks.
Yes! Don't do it!
No Some farmers believe this will induce the hens to lay better but this is an unproven farmers myth. While the red pepper flakes won't hurt the hens it will not do much for the hen as they do not have the same effect on hens as they do on humans.
not really the baby will start kicking inside you tummy other then that no it really shouldn't then
Expired food doesn't contain so much necessary vitamins and minerals baby bird needs to grow properly. It doesn't kill the bird, but may cause some problems with chicks development.
What is love? Baby. . Don't hurt me. . .Don't hurt me. . . No more. . .
it shoudnt hurt the baby, just what kind of boat is it?????it shoudnt hurt the baby, just what kind of boat is it?????
You should never incourage a Large Fowl rooster to breed with Bantam hens. He could very seriously damage/hurt the hens, and probably kill them in the process of mating. Breeding a LF male to Bantam females can not make the egg size of the hens bigger. The hen will lay the same size egg all her life.