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Backyard chickens have become much more popular in recent years and with that popularity have come some myths and misunderstandings that need some clearing up. Maybe these chicken myths existed in my pre-internet youth, I’m not sure, but I am going to set the record straight on at least a few of the ones I have come across.

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Chicken Myth #1 – Chickens Are Vegetarians

The early bird gets the worm, right? Chickens are birds. They love worms, bugs, and will even eat a small rodent if it will hold still long enough. Chickens are omnivores, not vegetarians, and it can be detrimental to a chicken if they aren’t allowed to consume nonvegetarian products. Chickens need a substance called methionine which they get from eating meat. Without it, chickens can become sick and die.

If you are shopping at the supermarket and see “fed a vegetarian diet” steer clear. Send a message to chicken and egg producers that you ain’t no dummy. You want chicken products that come from healthy robust chickens who were allowed to get their methionine from eating bugs and worms, not a synthetic supplement.

Chicken Myth #2 – Roosters Only Crow at Dawn

Sadly, this is not true. Roosters crow. A lot. All day, every day. They sing you the song of their people at dawn, at noontime, at five in the evening. They might even try and sing you to sleep. Point is, roosters crow ALL DAY LONG.

The crow when there is a predator, they crow when someone pulls in the driveway, they crow whenever they dang well feel like it. Three a.m. or Three p.m., if you have a rooster you might here a good old Cockle doodle doooooo !

This is the reason many suburban areas allow people to have backyard hens, but not roosters. If you think the neighbor’s dog barking is annoying, imagine having a rooster crowing all day and night.

Chicken Myth #3 – White Chickens Lay White Eggs

When I was a kid. my parents teased us that white milk came from white cows and chocolate milk came from brown cows. Apparently, there is the same type of rumor about chickens. I don’t know if someone’s parents were teasing them and forgot to tell them they were joking but some white chickens do lay brown eggs, and some brown chickens lay white eggs.

The color of the egg depends on the breed of the chicken, not the color of it. This page has a great list of chicken breeds separated by the color of egg they lay. There is a wide variety of egg color in the world, white, blue, green, brown, cream and the same variety in the color of chickens. Truth is, they don’t always match.

Chicken Myth #4 – Brown Eggs are “Organic”

For poultry products to be labeled organic, they must meet a strict set of standards set by the USDA. It has nothing to do with the color of the egg. All of my current chickens lay some version of a brown egg (yes even the white hens!), and my chickens would not meet the USDA organic standard.

Not because I use hormones or antibiotics, but because I feed my chickens meat scraps. Mammalian parts are not allowed under the organic standard. I don’t agree with the practice of feeding chickens an all vegetarian diet only to have to supplement them with a synthetic chemical. Seems rather inorganic to me.

So my brown eggs are just plain old farm eggs, not “organic” eggs.

Chicken Myth #5 – You Need a Rooster to Get Eggs From Your Hen

No rooster necessary. Hens produce eggs no matter if there is a rooster around to fertilize them or not. If you would like those eggs to turn into baby chicks, you will need a rooster, but for a good egg-salad sandwich, hens are all you need.

This is because of the way the fertilization process works in chickens. In humans, your body releases an egg and it hangs out in your uterus for a few days waiting for Mr. Right. If he doesn’t show, the egg breaks down and is flushed out of the body during everyone’s favorite time of the month. In chickens, the egg (yolk) is released and travels to the oviduct. This is where the magic happens if a rooster is around, if not, the egg continues to form, sans fertilization, and is laid wherever the hen sees fit. Which is not always where you see fit!

Chicken Myth #6 – Chicken’s Don’t Lay Eggs in the Winter

I remember the first time I heard this one. We were visiting family for Christmas and I asked if there was anywhere to get fresh eggs near them. My sister-in-law (who is normally a pretty smart lady) said “I don’t think they are in season”

The truth is many chickens do lay eggs all year. Some might slow down in the winter, but they don’t completely stop the egg laying process. Some don’t even slow down. It all depends on age, breed, and health of the chicken. I am able to sell eggs all winter because I have some young chickens and some breeds that are known for their prolific laying.

People also use heat lamps to keep chickens warm through the winter and this has the added effect of mimicking longer sunlight hours. More sunlight, more eggs.

Chicken Myth #7 – Chickens Can’t Fly

It may seem impossible for those chunky little birds to get their butts off the ground, but the truth is they can fly. Some can do it pretty well. Chicks start testing their wings at a few weeks old. They love to fly up on top of feeders, waters, or the side of their enclosure if there is no lid.

Many chicken owners clip the wings of their chickens so they will stay in the enclosure they are put in. If the wings aren’t clipped, the chicken can fly.

Have any other good chicken myths? Have a question about chickens? Leave them in the comments and I will answer them the best I can.