The best children's chickens depend on what you want. If you live in a hotter area better to get a barred hen, Red sex link hens or a good old Black sex link hen. They are great layers, are relatively good companions for kids, and make great thanksgiving and Christmas dinner.
These are some of the best chickens I have had. I am only twelve and will tell you that making you children kill there own chickens is necessary. It is very important that they understand where their meat comes from. Not that meat comes from a package in the store. Children must understand where there meat comes from that everything doesn't come from a store, but a real animal. It is very important to relate your children to having their own pet, and there own connection to their food. I was given four chickens, the one that is a rooster (There will be one or more out of four...) The other three were good layers and they were kept for a long time. It is ok for a child to get emotionally attached to a chicken, usually one ends up a pet, but they also should be ready to accept the chicken as a food source through eggs/dinner. Every child should have three chickens that follow them around and are the equivalent to a dog. It teaches many, many, many valuable lifelong lessons.
Cautions: Be careful to make sure the children are old enough and responsible enough so the chickens don't end up being the parents. Make sure the child doesn't become a pilot teaching flying lessons or anything the chickens would not need to know or might be dangerous. Trust me, it is much better for the chickens to have as little experience in flying as possible. Make sure that the child has enough time to take care of and feed his chickens.
Housing: Just a cage under somewhere protected from rain is good. One they are old enough, try and make a nest for them so they have somewhere to lay regularly instead of all over the place.
Grazing: Let them go out near the cage, hopefully you live near a forest and the chickens will learn in a few days to go out into the forest/backyard to find food. Keep water and food clean and dry so they can come back to the cage at night or when they are hungry. Try and set up a sound like a bell that will call the chickens in at night. Let them out at dawn and bring them in at dusk. If you are in a colder climate, you may have to enclose the house in a shed and make sure they don't get to cold at night. If it snows where you live, then get a breed for colder climates.
Have fun and get a chicken!
These are some of the best chickens I have had. I am only twelve and will tell you that making you children kill there own chickens is necessary. It is very important that they understand where their meat comes from. Not that meat comes from a package in the store. Children must understand where there meat comes from that everything doesn't come from a store, but a real animal. It is very important to relate your children to having their own pet, and there own connection to their food. I was given four chickens, the one that is a rooster (There will be one or more out of four...) The other three were good layers and they were kept for a long time. It is ok for a child to get emotionally attached to a chicken, usually one ends up a pet, but they also should be ready to accept the chicken as a food source through eggs/dinner. Every child should have three chickens that follow them around and are the equivalent to a dog. It teaches many, many, many valuable lifelong lessons.
Cautions: Be careful to make sure the children are old enough and responsible enough so the chickens don't end up being the parents. Make sure the child doesn't become a pilot teaching flying lessons or anything the chickens would not need to know or might be dangerous. Trust me, it is much better for the chickens to have as little experience in flying as possible. Make sure that the child has enough time to take care of and feed his chickens.
Housing: Just a cage under somewhere protected from rain is good. One they are old enough, try and make a nest for them so they have somewhere to lay regularly instead of all over the place.
Grazing: Let them go out near the cage, hopefully you live near a forest and the chickens will learn in a few days to go out into the forest/backyard to find food. Keep water and food clean and dry so they can come back to the cage at night or when they are hungry. Try and set up a sound like a bell that will call the chickens in at night. Let them out at dawn and bring them in at dusk. If you are in a colder climate, you may have to enclose the house in a shed and make sure they don't get to cold at night. If it snows where you live, then get a breed for colder climates.
Have fun and get a chicken!
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