This post is your guide to all things chicken! Everything from why you should raise chickens, different styles of rearing, choosing breeds that are right for you, designing a coop, keeping you flock healthy and raising chicks. It’s the perfect place to start if you’re just starting out with your first flock, or are interested […]

I see folks with regular-sized chickens and bantams mixed together all the time. Is it wise? Do they get along? Can the larger chickens hurt the bantams? What is the best setting to mix different size chickens, if you do? Let’s face it, chickens are a lot more complicated creatures than folks give them credit […]

by Jennifer Sartell of Iron Oak Farm To give an honest answer to my own post title, I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t raise bantams. You see, I’m a big chicken kinda-girl. You show me an Orphington, Brahma or a big ole Cochin and I wan to wrap my arms around it’s fat fluffy self and bear […]

By Jennifer Burcke Last month, I shared with you that several of the hens at 1840 Farm were deep into a broody period.  Many of you were having the same experience.  You shared your broody stories on my post and on the Community Chickens Facebook page. Many more of you shared advice for dealing with […]

by Jennifer BurckeWe’re into our third spring as chicken keepers here at 1840 Farm.  We’ve encountered all sorts of challenges during that time.  We’ve dealt with the death of day old chicks, heat waves, hurricanes, and unending winters. One experience we have not dealt with is outwitting the natural instincts of a broody hen.  We […]

by Jennifer Burcke Bantams are the Rodney Dangerfield of the chicken world.  They get no respect.  People see them as fancy little creatures, not as an animal that has a place on the farm.  Trust me, I know from firsthand experience.   I used to see them the same way. From the first moment that […]

by Jennifer Burcke Bantams are the Rodney Dangerfield of the chicken world.  They get no respect.  People see them as fancy little creatures, not as an animal that has a place on the farm.  Trust me, I know from firsthand experience.   I used to see them the same way. From the first moment that […]

by Jennifer Burcke Photos by author I’m not sure where the last month has gone. It seems like I blinked and it was over. As I sit here writing this post, I can hardly believe that our latest batch of baby chicks aren’t really babies anymore. It’s true. While they are only five-weeks old, they […]

by Jennifer Burcke Photos by author One of the most difficult decisions involved in the chicken keeping experience is also one of the first to be made. Choosing which breed of chickens to live in your coop is a daunting task. In my last post, I wrote about selecting the best breed for your backyard […]

by Jennifer Burcke Photos by author Asking questions, gathering information, and educating yourself are all important parts of the chicken keeping experience. At the onset of your chicken keeping experiment, there seem to be more questions than answers. Should we use a stationary chicken coop or a mobile chicken tractor? Do we want to keep […]