by Jennifer Burcke Photos by author It’s official. Spring has finally arrived here at 1840 Farm. It’s about time that the winter that wouldn’t end finally ended. We do live in New England, so I am always hesitant to audibly declare that we have made it through another winter. Believe me when I tell you […]

by Jennifer Burcke Photos by author This Easter will be the very first at 1840 Farm to include eggs from our own hens. Somehow, coloring these eggs seems a little extra special and worthy of a celebration. This year, a grocery store egg dyeing kit just won’t do. Luckily, we’ve been making our own egg […]

Lands at Hillside Farms visit by Kimberly Furry We all have been busy thinking and talking about the chickens. The girls checked out pictures online of various breeds. Ara loves Silkies, as do I. We saw them on one of our fall ventures to the Lands at Hillside Farms. Silkies have amazing temperaments, according to […]

by Jennifer Burcke Photos by author Fried eggs, broiled eggs, scrambled eggs, poached eggs, boiled eggs, Eggs Benedict, omelet, deviled eggs, egg salad. I could go on, but I’m quite sure that I’ve had my moment. You know the one. The one where I become my own version of Bubba from the movie Forrest Gump. […]

by Jennifer Burcke During the last few months, I have found myself in a chicken conundrum. After tending to the needs of our seven chicks all week, they force me to do the unthinkable. I shudder to tell you of my poultry-keeping horror. This terrible deed requires me to gather my inner strength and do […]

by Margaret E. Kellogg Photos by author. I have had great experience with incubating some eggs. I had the delight of having a duckling, a chick and then a batch of chicks. With the first couple, I tried something new to me: I put them in with a companion. For the duck, this worked well, […]

by Meredith Chilson Q: I’m wondering if one can get a hen to go broody and hatch eggs that one might order online. Does anyone know?— Rachel A: This is a great question, Rachel, and one that others might be wondering about on these “thinking about spring” days.The most honest answer to this is, however, […]

by Jennifer Burcke I’ve officially crossed over to crazy chicken lady status. How do I know? Easy. I found myself standing at the stove this morning chopping apples and cooking oatmeal for the seven chickens who live at 1840 Farm. What has become of me? It’s been dreadfully cold here in the past week. So […]

by Jennifer Burcke “Now is the winter of our discontent.” So begins Richard III by William Shakespeare. No, I won’t turn this into a post about iambic pentameter. However, I will tell you that here at 1840 Farm, the year 2011 began in much the same way as Shakespeare’s epic masterpiece. We are deep in […]

by Jennifer Sartell The thing I love best about raising chickens, is that there is always something new to learn. Especially when it comes to breed diversity. In 1994 I was watching a show all about chickens on Canadian television, sadly, I can’t remember the show’s name. The program featured a chicken that laid a […]