Policeman Shoots Children Over Chicken

According to a report on Radio Mozambique a policeman shot three children, including two of his own sons, because they ate a chicken he had been keeping for his dinner.

Why farmed ducks endure worse conditions than chickens

Why farmed ducks endure worse conditions than battery hens. To stay healthy, they require access to ponds and space to roam. But many thousands of birds farmed in Britain for their meat endure appalling conditions. Sanjida O'Connell investigates.

An interesting article, perhaps a little one sided but worth a read.

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Chicken From China On Your Table Soon

The U.S. Congress tore down a barrier to imports of chicken from China last week. President Obama signed an appropriations bill on Wednesday that clears the way for the imports by allowing the U.S. Department of Agriculture to conduct in China the safety inspections U.S. law requires for any country exporting food to America. The congressional move in 2007 to block funding for those regulatory steps amounted to an import ban. Now USDA will go through its normal regulatory process to open the door to Chinese imports, which could take up to 18 months.

Ten months in prison for The Chicken Killer

A man in England has been jailed for a total of 10 months after torturing and killing 24 chickens before their coop was burnt down.

Kevin Hughes, 20, was sentenced after pleading guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to an animal, and a further count of arson. A number of people were arrested after the attack, but only Hughes was charged.

China May Stomp On American Chicken Feet

China buys and eats an estimated $350 million in U.S. chicken feet each year. Now upset over new American tariffs on Chinese tire imports, Beijing has retaliated with an investigation into alleged anti-competitive practices by American chicken importers that could threaten this traffic to the China.

Be afraid of the urban chicken

I do not happen to agree with the author of this next story but thought it was worth passing on.....

Chickens are dirty, vicious and require a lot of upkeep. From time to time, they fly the coop and you have to round them up. They leave gooey little messes all over the yard. Too cold and they die; too warm and they die. And they smell. Read More

Antibiotics in poultry and eggs a bad idea?

Antibiotics injected into poultry and eggs to reduce the spread of infection may be making people less susceptible to important antibiotic treatment, says the Public Health Agency of Canada.

The agency says Health Canada should ban the use of cephalosporins in agriculture because — although the drugs are effective in reducing the spread of illness in animals — they were not intended to be used in farming, and the effects of eating animals treated with the antibiotics are unknown.



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Salmonella Poisoning On The Rise

The BC Centre for Disease Control is reporting a significant increase in cases of salmonella and is reminding people to handle their food properly, particularly when preparing and cooking chicken.

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Chick A Poo

A new fertilizer, “Chick A Poo, ” is made from chicken feces. Chick A Poo

Regina City Council bans the raising of livestock unless the animals are pets

The City Council of Regina Canada passed a bylaw banning the raising of LIVESTOCK like chickens, cows, pigs and rabbits within the city limits.

So if you're raising chickens as pets in your backyard, that's just fine. But if you are going to eat them, you can't.

It is not clear if you are allowed to eat the eggs that your pets may lay.

Energy In Chicken Droppings

A growing number of environmentally-minded poultry farmers in the United States, Canada and Australia are looking to peck away at their greenhouse gas emissions by transforming chicken dung into biochar fertilizer, as well as biogas and a form of bio-oil that can be used to run farm operations
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Chicken or Black Tit?

In England in 1946, egg taste-testers were used to test The Palatability of Eggs and Birds. In a six-year study with the Cambridge Egg Panel, one of many similar bodies formed during second world war to help regulate the nation's food supply. Participants tasted the eggs of 212 bird species. This resulted in a 129-page report called The Palatability of Eggs and Birds: For the egg panellists, "samples were tested in the form of a scramble, prepared over a steam-bath, without any addition of fat or condiment". Each taster assessed each sample on a scale dropping from "ideal" way down to "repulsive and inedible".

The paper concludes with a list of the different egg types "in descending order of acceptability". Keep in mind that these are the aggregate preferences; individual tastes may vary. Most acceptable: chicken, then emu, coot and black-backed gull. The eggs of last resort, as rated by official British egg-tasting persons: green woodpecker, Verreaux's eagle owl, wren, speckled mousebird and, dead last, black tit.

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More Strange Chicken News

A British man who admitted biting off another man's ear while dressed in a chicken suit was sentenced to 15 months in jail.

Snake-bite chicken

In a strange story, health authorities in China are asking restaurants to stop serving Snake Bite Chicken. Said to be detoxifying, snake bite chicken is served by a small number of restaurants in south and south-west China.

Firecracker Noise Scared Chickens To Death

The owner of a motorcycle shop in China had to pay over 16,000 yuan for the death of about 800 chickens. The noise from firecrackers used to celebrate the opening of the shop sent the chickens into a frenzy and they eventually died from shock according to the owner of the farm.

Family ordered to get rid of pet chickens

A man may take his case for having pet chickens to the Supreme Court of the United States.

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Chickens Are In

The strain of the recession and concerns over battery farming is creating an explosion in urban chicken farmers.

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The chicken that laid the golden egg.

A bride in Saudi Arabia hid her wedding jewelry worth more than SR40,000 inside a frozen chicken in her freezer. Thinking it would be a safe hiding place while she was away honeymooning in Malaysia. However the young bride did not count on a power failure. So when her mother came over to tidy up before her daughter’s homecoming. She discovered that the food in the fridge had become rotten and threw everything out.

Reminds me of the case of THE BLUE CARBUNCLE.

Chicken Legs Spark Blaze

A chicken dinner sparked a blaze that gutted a newly refurbished kitchen in England.
Chicken legs left in an unattended oven started a fire that set soon the rest of the kitchen on fire. One person was taken to Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. The chicken was ruined.

Plumped Chicken

Chicken that is labeled "all natural" is often "plumped," meaning that it contains extra water, salt, and a seaweed extract called carrageenan. According to the Wall Street Journal. Plumped Chicken

Chicken Tonight

A generation ago, a chicken dinner was only for special occasions. Today, chicken is an everyday meal, enjoyed by more Canadians than ever before. It also represents excellent value and outstanding nutrition.

Chicken Tonight

Group seeks to protect rare chicken breeds

At about the time Foghorn Leghorn appeared on the Looney Toons drawing board in 1946, he began disappearing from America's dinner tables.

Now the bird on which the rooster cartoon character was modeled is among 66 types of old-fashioned chickens the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy is trying to save from extinction as factory-raised cross varieties command 90 percent of the market.

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Chicken farming

I found an interesting story on chicken farming in the news and I thought it might interest some of you.

Having spent his working life in advertising, including founding the multi-million pound agencies, Samuels Jones Isaacson Page, and Eurobrand Communications, Graham Page felt ready for a change.

He was fed up with the daily commute into London and, as a widower, wanted to be around more for his three children – so he sold up, got out and in March 2008, at the age of 63, set up a poultry farm.
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A Fox Got One of my Guinea Fowl

Yesterday in the early evening our guineas were squawking and putting out a loud distress cry. They were very agitated and we knew something was wrong. Even the chickens' posture changed, which is a sure sign of fear. Then the guineas flew up on the phone wires and barn roof, continuing their warning/distress cry. We figured there was a predator about, but we couldn't see anything.

A few minutes later, the front doorbell rang and one of our distant neighbours reported that a large fox was running down our drive with one of my birds in its mouth. So now Im down to 3 Guineas and a handful of chickens and roosters.

The perils of living in the country.

More than 500,000 people keep chickens in England

I found this interesting story about keeping chickens in England and I thought it may interest some of you.

It has been eight months since the arrival of Bouncy Beauty, Black Beauty, Henny Penny, Coco Pops, Emily, Gertie and Rosie — the bossy one.

Their pretty feathers colour the garden and speckle the daffodils with shades of black, red, brown, grey and white as they scratch around and flutter in fear ofmy determined three-year-old.

More than 500,000 people keep chickens in England and it is not hard to see why. It was a revelation to me how kind they can be, putting up with grubby expressions of love from my three little boys, quickly learning to come when called and sitting in the sun clucking and cooing beatifically. But as much fun as chickens can be, and although we haven’t bought an egg since last November, we certainly don’t seem to be saving ourselves any money.....


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Chicken Bandits

Florida police are looking for robbers that held up a woman for her chicken. The suspects followed the woman home after her shift at Popeye's Chicken in Jacksonville.

The suspects kept circling the home of the woman in a car yelling, "Give us the chicken!" then the suspects approached the couple with a shot gun and threatened to shoot them if they didn't put down the chicken. However before they left, the chicken bandits also took the woman's purse.

Obama Fried Chicken

A Brooklyn eatery is in hot water over its name. Obama Fried Chicken. Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the New York City fried chicken restaurant named after President Obama could probably find a more appropriate name. Black activists say the name is "very offensive to African Americans."

Backyard Chickens

If you are interested in the Backyard Chickens issue that many cities are wrestling with you may want to read the article Concerns about backyard chickens are valid, but solutions exist

Trade in Chicken-Flavored Frogs Uncovered

A Nashville area restaurant is expected to face action for allegedly importing frog legs and serving them as "chicken."Read More

Sweden Chicken Sabotage

On Friday Sweden's largest producer of chicken products, recalled all its frozen chicken after pieces of glass were found in many of its products. Small pieces of glass have been found in a variety of Kronfaagel's frozen products since Monday.

One Million Chickens Destroyed In Texas

More than a million chickens have been destroyed in Texas after some of the Sanderson Farms birds tested positive for a rare respiratory infection called laryngotracheitis.

They say the virus is not dangerous to humans, so the meat from the infected chickens will be sold but I for one will not be eating it.

Communist Rebels Kill 8,000 Chickens

Suspected communist rebels killed 8,000 chickens in a brazen attack on a chicken farm in the Philippines. About 20 suspected communist rebels attacked the farm and set fire to several chicken pens. There were several guards on duty at the farm but they opted not to fight because the attackers were heavily armed.

Chickens used to test for mosquito viruses

Did you know that Chickens are being used to test for mosquito viruses. Read More

Colonel Sanders Statue Found At Last

A statue of Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Colonel Sanders that was thrown into a Japanese river 24 years ago has been found by construction workers.

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Scientists to Create a 'Chickenosaurus'

I don't quite know what to make of this next story but it would be an interesting addition to my hen house.

Chickenosaurus

McDonalds was out of Chicken McNuggets.

A 27 year old Florida woman was arrested and charged with misusing 911 after calling the emergency line three times to report that McDonalds was out of Chicken McNuggets.

Mystery disease kills 700 chicken in Nepal

More than 700 chickens have died in three different poultry farms in Nepal due to a “mysterious disease” within the past couple of days. Initial investigation on the samples have tested negative to bird-flu, according to technicians from the Regional Animal Disease Diagnosis Laboratory.

#4 How much work are you willing to put into looking after your birds?

#4 How much work are you willing to put into looking after your birds?

Looking after any kind of animal requires a certain amount of work. However chickens are one of the easiest animals to look after as they rarely get sick. They are very tough self sufficient animals. In fact they hardly need humans to survive. I say they hardly need humans because as long as your chickens have access to water, some food to eat and a place to spent the night they don't care if you are their or not.

Most breeds of chickens are highly resistant to illness. This most likely comes from thousands of years of living in filthy conditions with mankind. I have seen chickens drinking water that would kill you and I if we drank it. And they seem to love to eat the most disgusting rotten things they can find in the barnyard.

Most disease in chickens comes from overcrowding in large scale chicken farming operations. If you put 25000 chickens in a barn you are asking for trouble. For the small chicken owner who just has a hand full of birds in his back yard decease is rarely a problem.

Chickens are tough creatures in more than just decease resistance. I have seen them kicked by horses, fly through glass windows, fly into walls, chased by dogs, stay outside up in a tree on the coldest nights, get soaking wet out in the rain and so on. Sometimes they seem almost indestructible.

However some breeds are a little tougher than others and the toughness of the breed dictates how much work is required to keep them safe and healthy. As I have already said in previous posts the older more common barnyard breeds like Rocks and Rhode Island Reds are a little tougher than some of the small or fancy breeds. The fancy breeds like Cochins or Polish are a little harder to keep clean with all those fancy feathers and this makes them more susceptible to illness.

The Cost Of Raising Chickens

I found this interesting article on the cost of raising chickens and thought I would pass it on. Now I have to say that I do not agree with every thing in the article it is worth a read. With a little work and some ingenuity raising chickens can be almost free. However to achieve the Almost Free status one must think outside the box. You must raise your chickens more like our ancestors would have done.

Raising Chickens

#3 Is it cold or hot in your location?

For the most part temperature is not that great an issue when keeping most breeds of chickens. That being said you do have to take it into consideration if you live in a location that is subject to extreme temperatures.

Extreme Heat.....

The most important factor when dealing with extreme temperatures is not so much the birds but how well you look after them. With extreme heat you must make sure you give your birds lots of water. Now I know people will say you should always make sure you give your birds lots of water and they would be right. I just wanted to stress the importance of it when the temperature is high. As for what breed of chickens are best at taking the heat I would have to say that I have found Leghorns do fairly well. However as I live in a temperate climate and it is not that hot in my neck of the woods, their may be other breeds that would be better suited to your location. If you live some ware really hot, you would be wise to talk to other chicken owners in your area to see what breeds they like best.

Extreme Heat.....

Extreme cold is not as hard to deal with as extreme heat. Most of the common breeds of chickens can tolerate cold that would kill a person. However the larger breeds in most cases handle the cold better than the smaller breeds. I run heat lamps in the winter to make life a little nicer for my birds but the do not really need them.

#2 Where do you live. City or country side?

#2 Where do you live. City or country side?

This may not sound all that important but it may have a effect on the breed of chickens you keep. If you live out in the country and have a little bit of land then you can probably keep just about any kind of chickens you want. But if you live in suburbia you may need to take this into account when choosing your chickens.

Noise.....

One of the most common problems with keeping chickens in a urban environment is noise. Chickens can make a surprising amount of noise and you may find this a problem, for you and the people who live next door. For this reason it may not be a good idea to get a rooster. As every one knows roosters crow in the morning, or as some say Cock-A-Doodle. What a lot of people don't know is that roosters can start crowing before the sun comes up and keep at it all day long. They Don't Stop.

Hens can also make a large amount of noise. They often make noise when they are laying a egg, but they also make noise when they are upset by something like a predator. You cant do a lot about the noise the hens make during egg laying but some breeds are more likely to make noise that others when they are just upset by something. Leghorns make a lot of noise all the time and are best avoided if you think noise may be a problem. Barred Rocks and Rhode Island Reds are much quieter.

Space.....

If you live out in the country space is probably not a issue. It is up to you if you want to let your chickens free range on your property or keep them in a coop. If you are going to let them out to free range on your farm it is not that important what breed you choose. Some breeds are a little better than others at finding food to eat out side and avoiding predators but in my experience most common breeds do fairly well. If you let your chickens out you will loose some to predators but that is the way of things on the farm. If you are going to keep your birds in a coop the post important thing is not to overcrowd them. I have found that Rhode Island Reds do well in a coop. Leghorns are a good choice if you are wanting to keep each bird in a cage. Leghorns seem quite happy to spend their time in a cage.

Whats the best chicken for me

People often ask me what kind of chickens should they get? This may sound like a simple question but the answer depends on many factors.

Most people who ask me about chickens have very little knowledge or experience with birds of any kind. They are typically people who have moved out to the country side from the city and just want a few birds for eggs and sometimes meat. Sometimes they just want a few birds as pets. Also in the last few years there has been a growing trend for people who live in what I would call suburbia to get a few chickens to have fresh eggs. This suburban chicken phenomenon has been brought on by a growing environmental awareness and the resent tough economic times.

To help you decide what kind of chickens are right for you I have broken it down into 4 questions.

#1 What do you want the chickens for? Do you want eggs, meat, pets?
#2 Where do you live. City or country side?
#3 Is it cold or hot in your location?
#4 How much work are you willing to put into looking after your birds?

Today I will tackle the first question. #1 What do you want the chickens for? Do you want eggs, meat, pets?

Perhaps not surprisingly a lot of people say yes to all three, They want eggs, meat and pets. However many people end up dropping the meat requirement. I have found that many people who have not been raised on a farm just have a hard time killing any animal. This is not something to be embarrassed about. Killing an animal is never a pleasant task and if you have never done it it can be hard. Suburbanites also have a real tendency to make pets out of all animals and it is hard to eat a pet.

As for the answer. If you want one breed of chicken that will best accomplish all three tasks of providing eggs, meat and pets. I would recommend the Plymouth Rock also called Barred Rocks or just Rocks. The Plymouth Rock is a great egg layer, laying a nice good sized brown egg. They grow to a nice size for the family table and they have a wonderful friendly calm disposition so they make great pets. Another great all purpose bread is the Rhode Island Red. It has all the same qualities of the Plymouth Rock and if you want large eggs its the one for you.

Now some people who just want eggs like the Leghorn. I will admit it is a great egg layer but I never recommend them. I have found them to be nervous and flighty. They make a lot of noise and they are prone to eat their own eggs.

If you just want meat their are several excellent varieties of meat chickens on the market but it must be noted that all breeds of meat chicken are a little harder to raise. I will talk more about meat chickens in another post.

The High River KFC Bandits

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police are hot on the trail of some of the most wanted criminals in Canada. The High River KFC Bandits.

Last Friday night the RCMP responded to a break-in that occurred in High River. At about 12:30 a.m., an the alarm went off at the local Kentucky Fried Chicken, but by the time the RCMP responded the culprits had made off with several buckets of day-old chicken.

The investigation is ongoing.

Little Lil

A pet chicken called Little Lil that belongs to children at a school in Gloucester England has laid an egg which measures 10cm long and 7cm wide. According to the Guinness Book Of World Records, the largest egg ever was laid by a Black Minorca hen in England in 1896 and weighed nearly 12oz. A normal egg would measure about 4.5cm by 7.5cm. The staff at the School have been unable to measure the weight of the egg because the eggs scale they have will not handle eggs that heavy.

Little Lil, is a six months old Columbian blacktailed cross. She began laying eggs last October. It is common for young hens to lay large eggs but 10cm is unusually large.

Film shows soldiers 'biting heads off chickens'

Footage of a British army survival exercise has angered animal lovers. It allegedly showed soldiers from the 2nd battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment biting the heads off chickens and then eating the chickens. The video was apparently filmed in Iraq, in late October.

An RSPCA spokesman said: ""It's a revolting way to treat any animal. This footage sends out the wrong message. A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "The incidents shown in the videos were part of an exercise in survival training. In addition to British troops, the exercise involved local forces, and the birds were prepared and eaten in accordance with local custom. The British Army does not condone needless cruelty to animals."

Charlie the Chicken

Just three short years ago Charlie the Chicken was abandoned in the middle of Kendrick. Charlie plays no favorites "she" goes from house to house sharing her charm. Often the chip trucks, the logging trucks, the grain trucks, especially the grain trucks need to come to a screeching halt for Charlie. She is no doubt partial to the grain trucks as they always leave a little wheat or barley for her to nibble on. This time of year the pickings are a little slim. Residents far and wide are on the lookout for Charlie when they go through Kendrick as she may be in the middle of the street or perhaps just waiting patiently on the curb for traffic to go by before she makes a mad dash for a few grains of wheat.

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The Healing Properties Of Chicken Soup

Many debate which ingredient in chicken soup is most responsible for its healing properties. While the stock is clearly the most nutritious element, each of the other ingredients offer medicinal benefits as well. This article Old Fashioned Chicken Soup details the health benefits of the main ingredients in chicken soup.

Prison Chicken Not To Good

Two former jail inmates were in a federal court in the U.S.A. Thursday, saying they were emotionally damaged after eating some chicken they bought at a prison store in Kentucky in 2005.

Christopher Butts Hank Butson and Cory Cochran say the frozen Banquet Crispy Chicken they bit into was not edible. Butts brought the alleged piece of chicken to court in a paper bag, but the judge would not let it be used as evidence in court.

"I bit into a soft pocket of I don't know what," Butts told reporters after the hearing. "It wasn't meat. It was a soft pocket of pus and grain and corn or something."

A lawyer for ConAgra Foods asked the judge to throw out the suit, saying the plaintiffs never sought treatment for illnesses. The Judge has taken the issue under advisement and has not yet issued a decision.

22,680 kilograms of free chicken legs

Canadian Lottery Winners Jose Lima said he's handing out 22,680 kilograms of chicken legs to celebrate the $14.5 million he won last week in Lotto 6/49 and in memory of his father, who
who died five years ago. Hundreds of people have been lining up all day along Bloor Street West in Toronto to get some of the free chicken Lima is giving away.

A Great Web Site BackyardChickens.com

If you are interested in chickens you should take a look at http://www.backyardchickens.com/

Established in 1999, BackyardChickens has become the #1 destination for the information you need to raise, keep, and appreciate chickens.

New year headless chicken horror

A chicken's head was posted through a letterbox and its headless body found on a car in West Sussex England while a second carcase was found on a garage roof.
Police said they were working with the RSPCA after the "horrific" discoveries in Rustington on New Year's Eve.

Additives used in chicken 'could make cancers grow'

A common additive used in bacon and ham could fuel the growth of cancers, research suggests. High doses of inorganic phosphate salts – which are used to enhance the texture and flavour of processed meats – increased the size of tumours in mice. The chemicals are also added to bread, cakes and cheeses. The research will increase concerns that additives used to boost food industry profits could be contributing to cancer rates.