The chicks are almost 6 weeks old. They don’t know much more than how to eat, drink, forage and fly, and they approach mere acquaintances with too much familiarity. They lack social graces and respect for their elders, which the older hens won’t hesitate to teach. The chicks are still not allowed to free-range like […]
Feces collecting around a chicken’s vent indicate digestive troubles that need addressed immediately.
I’m a person who likes to prepare. Research, studying, and compiling information is a joy, and when I took up raising chickens, it was the preparation that convinced me I was ready for the hobby. But no matter how much I prepare, there’s always something I don’t know until I jump in. Usually, it’s something […]
Spending time with your flock, observing behaviors, and inspecting each chicken for injury and illness are important chores to add to the daily or weekly to-do list. You know your flock and its individual personalities best, which makes spotting problems easy. I keep a close eye on my Silver-Laced Wyandotte, Pauline. She’s my heaviest chicken, […]
Last week, when I’d take the chicks outside to their makeshift playpen—a 4-by-8-foot rabbit guard fence we built to keep the hens out of a raised garden bed—the chicks were afraid of the big world, snuggling up together in a corner or trying to escape. Yesterday, though, I saw a sudden change in their behavior. […]
Courtesy Rachel Hurd Anger One of the two Buff Orpingtons I’m raising to pullets for a friend is the runt of the flock. Upon opening the shipping box, the day-old chick was visibly in distress. As the others moved freely and excitedly, this Buff sort of leaned against the wall of the box. My kids […]
For your pooch and flock to live together in harmony, you need to know your dog and it’s boundaries.
Courtesy Rachel Hurd Anger Five future egg layers arrived safely to the post office this week. Two different postal employees called within minutes of each other to announce the chicks’ arrival, which says something about the infectious joy these little peeps can spread. With caution, I asked the first employee who called, “Are they chirping? […]
Photo by Rachel Hurd Anger A chicken’s journey around the circle of life can be a short one on any farm, whether rural or urban. Flock members can fall victim to acute illness, unexplained sudden death, human negligence and predators. These devastations can happen before a chicken reaches a ripe old age, despite the fact […]
If your hens give you more cracked eggs than whole ones, it's time to give them a calcium boost.
Summer is rough on your chickens. Do your part to help them keep cool.
