Poultry parasites can cause harm to individual birds, or the whole flock. Elizabeth Mack identifies some common parasites to watch for and what to do about them. For small flock chicken owners, nothing raises more alarm than finding out that one of your chickens has parasites. Chickens can pick up internal parasites from ingesting contaminated […]

Learn all about common fly species from egg to adult, often found in poultry houses with manure and explore various methods to control them. Fly control is an integral part of poultry management. With today’s concern about environmental conditions, fly control takes on added importance. Besides their ability to mechanically carry disease organisms, flies may […]

Joel Salatin a.k.a. Chicken Man is both an experienced broiler farmer and businessman. Here he shares some of his economic wisdom and the nitty gritty of farm finances. Read and learn lots. The Gross Margin Pastured broilers were my ticket into fulltime farming. For that and many more reasons, I’m still in love with pastured broilers. In […]

Frank Hyman humorously shows us how to make two different types of DIY poultry feeders that are inexpensive and efficient. I enjoy having chickens as long as I don’t feel like I’m working for them. I especially like chickens when I can go on vacation for two weeks without worrying about them. But there are […]

A well-designed landscape can transform your garden into an extension of your home, offering an attractive and productive outdoor living space. For our feathered friends, a well-designed garden can offer protection and safe shelter as well as food for them to forage. While landscape design is probably not the first thing you think of when […]

Christine Heinrichs, veteran chicken writer, walks you through how to successfully show your poultry to judges at shows and fairs. The idea of keeping chickens may have occurred to you while you were walking the aisles at a local poultry show. “All these beautiful birds! I could do this.” People like to participate in shows […]

So you want your chickens and ducks to come home every night from their free-range adventures? Fala Burnett has excellent advice for using clickers to train your birds. Consider using the clicker training method with your flock for effective training, whether it is for a practical purpose or just for fun. Socializing your animals can […]

Sandy Cryder lets us in on her adventures with acquiring and learning about beautiful Ameraucana hens, their history, looks, and moods. New Chicks Choosing the chicks for my new flock was great fun and a big challenge. In addition to looking for hardy layers that could tolerate both heat and cold, would rarely go broody, […]

Matthew Wilkinson shares the early lessons he learned about raising and processing chickens. That Initial Excitement As soon as my daughter had blown out her fifth year birthday candles, I saw my opportunity. I approached my wife, knowing she was in a weakened state from this joyous celebration. I did not hesitate however, blurting out […]

When you think of a chicken, you probably envision a lovely rooster with a large single comb atop his head, and you hear the faint familiar crow that most people believe only happens in the morning—sorry to burst your bubble folks but rooster will crow all day long. With that being said, the image you […]