When I started raising chickens, the supportive chicken community that we have today was just beginning to crop up online. The Internet was crawling with novices just like me whose aspirations in sustainability led them to a seemingly sudden chicken obsession. We had more questions than answers. Wannabe chicken keepers looked to legit country farmers […]
Modern chickens have been bred to ovulate like gangbusters. On average, an egg is produced every 26 hours when a hen is in her prime. When day-old chicks arrive, not much bigger than eggs, it’s hard to imagine that they’ll ever produce more food than you can eat, but they do! The amount my hens […]
City peeps raise chickens for many reasons that can vary from one backyard coop to the next. If you’re thinking about taking on a flock of your own, give serious consideration to the benefits it will bring you and your homestead. Here are the reasons I think chicken keeping is so great. 1. A Taste […]
When the overnight temperatures began plunging into the 40s this past week, I decided to eliminate the temporary housing the pullets have been living in. Just after dusk, when everyone was having trouble seeing, I scooped up the young girls and popped them into the coop with hens. Forcing territory into a community space was […]
Opening the coop to find a carpet of feathers that wasn’t there the day before can be shocking, whether you’re a beginning or experienced chicken keeper.
I believe chickens deserve the freedom to satisfy as many of their natural behaviors as possible. We all take risks in life to enjoy our own human lives, so why should the chickens be any different? Free-ranging, at least part time, is the only way to allow chickens the freedom to enjoy their lives to […]
Grow supplemental winter treats to keep your chickens happy and healthy when they can’t free-range.
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 […]
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, […]
