Hens: The Prepper's Complete Guide to Raising Chickens
Beautiful in a feminine, rounded way that is subtle when compared to the male chickens, a female chicken is called a hen. An egg-laying breed hen will consistently provide the prepper and their family with eggs for the first five to seven years of her life. A hen usually has subdued color patterns to the male chickens and they are duller in feather shape and their overall sheen. Hens do not grow shiny pin feathers, saddles, or long-tail feathers like roosters; but are still pretty and with many demure color variations.
Most female chickens tend to be timid to being held as chicks and usually become much friendlier once they begin to reach maturity. This friendliness is one of the first differences in personality that you will begin to notice. There are always exceptions to personality rules with animals. Just as with roosters, the hen personality is present from just a few days old too: they will sit down more often and their heads are often to the ground eating. As a full-grown hen at approximately 6 to 9 months, your girls will continue these behaviors with their heads to the ground constantly searching for food.
A hen can be very entertaining in personality and you may find yourself growing fond of your flock. Even flocks built from a single chicken breed you will notice many differences in their personalities: some females are more aggressive and some are timider, some are great foragers, and you will see them hunt lizards and other little pets all day long; and some chickens are just bird brains and not very smart at all. A smart hen is cautious to new stimuli, but a little pushy for her own needs within her flock.
Our favorite hen of all time was quite a stunning hen. Her name was Stormy, a sturdy and friendly Plymouth Barred Rock breed chicken. These are the chickens that “grandma kept” and you could tell by watching her that Stormy was so smart - instinctually. Barred rocks are larger chickens and she weighed approximately 11 pounds. A daily egg layer of the most delicious large brown eggs, Stormy was an excellent hen. After several years and through a homestead move, Stormy and her sister Midnight were killed by an urban predator - most likely a hungry raccoon or fox.
Hens can be one of a preppers' most precious assets when SHTF and society’s rules crumble around you. You must have water and you must have food to live. A hen provides you with an almost daily protein source that’s hard to beat in its nutritional value - and her food needs are likely found in the environment around you. Keeping a small egg-producing flock healthy enough to continue laying during a crisis will always be better for your long-term survival outcome, than using one of your egg-laying hens for a single chicken dinner.
While it may seem silly at first - having a hen or small flock is good for your mental health. As you get to know your chickens, the hens will sit and “talk” with you, giving you endless hours of cheap entertainment. Your kids or animals might be the only entertainment you get for a while in a survival scenario. Chickens are quite a joy to watch peck around the yard, squabbling over the bugs they find. Hens are also very open to being held, just as a pet parrot, dog, or cat might seek your human touch. Your hen will even fall asleep in your lap once you develop their trust through several interactions.
Keeping hens is an excellent source of nutrition for your family during a crisis that many other people might not otherwise have access to. Even during the start of the COVID pandemic in 2019 and continuing through today, eggs became a scarce commodity, prices of eggs rose quickly in the grocery stores as the shelves became empty, and many people rushed to add chickens to their homesteads, realizing the great value chickens can provide to your family’s food security. The same is true during a major disaster or society collapse- these hearty birds will be your family’s best friends for survival, and your hens are at the heart of this process.
