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[Nicolai]

Hi,
I need some advice on industrial egg/chicken production.
I have never really breed animals before. I have always relied on hunting. But now I have embarked on ice, and there is little to hunt.
So, I brought some hens and a rooster. How do I set this up?
Do I just make an underground pen, and let them roam there? With nest boxes?
From what I have gathered on theese forums, it seems like most people keep the animals caged or leashed. But why, and how would I go about doing that?

Also, I have no water source, will that matter? Will the animals require water?

[geail]

animals don't require water.  they require food if if they have the [GRAZER] tag, which chickens do.  This food comes in the form of cave moss or grass which they automatically eat if it is in their area.  Chickens eat so little that having them chained to a 3x3 area will not run them out of food.
What you need for your set-up is an area for them to live with moss growing, nest boxes (for each hen if chained or a group of them for communal pen/pasture, a door to lock out all the dwarves trying to get the eggs (which I find to be easier than forbidding all the eggs within the boxes), and a rooster.
After setting up your pen/pasture/chains, assign your chickens and build your nest boxes.  All you have to do after that is lock the door, keeping those filthy dwarves and their egg snatching fingers away, until you have the desired number of chick(en)s.  Then simply unlock the door to allow the dwarves to harvest excess eggs and assign any additional roosters (you only need one) to the slaughter.

[Rvlion]

Using the 'i' set up a Pasture/zone were you let the chickens roam.
Place several Nestboxes in this zone.
This will automatically produce eggs, which can be cooked in a kitchen workshop into a meal.

To start breeding you need to place at least 1 female chicken and nest box behind a locked and forbidden door, so dwarves cannot claim the eggs before they hatch.

For more information check the wiki.

As a side note, my chickens have never become hungry while in a completely stone room. It is just like dogs and cats... They do not seem to eat.

[Nicolai]

What you need for your set-up is an area for them to live with moss growing

When you say moss growing, does that mean visible plants?
I have a layer of peat, does that count?

[Aviator CJ]

Grazers need grass or cave moss, so plain peat won't do the trick. But as Rvlion said I don't think this includes chickens, or any poultry in my experience - they are fine in my 5x5 stone room.

[wuphonsreach]

See also "Chicken Control"
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=109680.0

[Laurin]

Fowl has the [GOBBLE_VERMIN_CLASS:EDIBLE_GROUND_BUG] tag. So they might pick up what vermin is on the ground.
I have never seen a hungry poultry, so I don't think they need any grazing.

For breeding just close the door, forbid the eggs or forbid the eggs on your stockpile(s). Keeping the door shut is the easisest way. Once the chickens have hatched, they must be assigned to the pasture zone. Make sure the zones are large enough, or they will fight.

You can butcher the males except one and rely completely on eggs. The egg production can be enormous.

[Mageziya]

Personally, I prefer Blue Peafowl for my poultry industry. While they cannot lay as many eggs as a chicken, they consistently lay a decent amount of eggs (Peafowls always lay atleast 6 eggs (8 max), chickens always  lay atleast 1 egg (15 max.). They also produce more products when slaughtered, so peafowls are a good choice. Don't freak out though, they can come in migrant waves and are sometimes for sale in caravans.

Of course,there is nothing wrong with a mix of birds, seeing as they all cost the same in embark points.

[Laurin]

I just noticed that the vermin that shows up in the fowl pasture zones like worms and lice isn't visible anywhere else - it's just there to feed the chickens.

[DavionFuxa]

Poultry, Dogs, Cats, and Pigs don't seem to have the Grazer tag, so they can be left in a stone room no problem. Having multiple types of poultry also presents the advantage of different types of meat and eggs if that effects Dwarves in anyway as well.

As for Grazing animals, you basically need to have them graze on grass or cave moss. Your floor of peat won't provide nutrition - but that isn't to say you aren't in the right place. Simply discover a cavern with moss in it, and you should eventually see moss start to grow on your previous peat floor.

[BrisoS]

Hi,
I need some advice on industrial egg/chicken production.
I have never really breed animals before. I have always relied on hunting. But now I have embarked on ice, and there is little to hunt.
So, I brought some hens and a rooster. How do I set this up?
Do I just make an underground pen, and let them roam there? With nest boxes?
From what I have gathered on theese forums, it seems like most people keep the animals caged or leashed. But why, and how would I go about doing that?

Also, I have no water source, will that matter? Will the animals require water?

What I figured out from trial and error:
1)Place your hens in a pasture (zone) and build one nest box per hen.
2)Rooster can be anywhere on the map
3)Find a soil area where moss gross on the ground. Outside pastures = chicken massacre sooner or later
4)Do not collect eggs. Forbid eggs in every stockpile. The eggs need to stay in the nest boxes and the rooster will eventually fertilize them (from anywhere on the map, they have super sperm)
5)Baby chicks will not grow for at least a year (exactly a year?)
6)Roosters (maybe hens too?) will start fighting if the pasture gets too crowded

[Nicolai]

Thank you all, my chicken pasture is a success.
We are rolling in meat and eggs.

[Nicolai]

If I butcher chickens (not grown up), do they still give meat?

[Mimodo]

If I butcher chickens (not grown up), do they still give meat?

Not sure on that... I'd like to know too

[Lich180]

Pretty sure chicks don't give any meat, just a skull and maybe some bones. The yearlings give a little meat, and bones, while the older ones (2 years I think) give the max amount of meat and bones.