There are those who will argue that corn contains all the nutrients necessary for a chicken to survive, and they may not be wrong. What they might not understand is that a chicken’s body is not able to utilize all those nutrients.

Did you know that chickens have 4 types of feathers? These include webbed feathers, down feathers, bristles and filoplumes. Each type of feather has a different function.

Stories from the good ‘ol days (while processing chickens). We did it…Hubby and I (along with my parents) processed some chickens. Don’t worry…I’m not going to detail the butchering process. Instead, I’m going to tell you how we learned more about the good ‘ol days.  You know the good ‘ol days when life was simpler, full […]

I was recently asked “how often do you clean out the chicken coop?” Well, the answer can vary, depending on: how many chickens you have where the nesting boxes are compared to the roost area how much time the chickens spend inside the coop where do you keep their food and water the time of […]

This past August, I had the pleasure of attending the MOTHER EARTH NEWS FAIR in West Bend, Wisconsin. There, I got to see Robin Mather speak about the benefits of grass-fed beef. My grandfather was a cattle rancher. I grew up, loving everything about horses and cows. Each Christmas, my grandfather gave his six children 1/2 a […]

Years ago when I was entering the world of backyard chicken keeping, I pondered the vast variety of chicken breeds to choose from… I knew I wanted a breed that would be winter hardy, a good egg layer and also “family friendly”. After searching through hatchery websites, online chicken forums, and poultry magazines – I decided […]

  Out here in western New York, Labor Day signals the return to school. School buses flash their lights through the foggy mornings; children are hustled out the door with new backpacks, uncreased paper and unused erasers. It has been many years since the school bus stopped at the end of our driveway, but in […]

*Warning* this post discusses some disgusting yet important information for keeping a flock of healthy chickens. Clean drinking water is probably the single most important thing you can do to keep your flock healthy. In this post I’d like to discuss the correlation between clean drinking water and a condition called Pasty Vent, which if […]

Such a frustrating problem! Once a chicken begins eating eggs, it’s a difficult behavior to break. It usually starts innocent enough. An egg accidentally gets broken and a curious chicken gives it a try and finds that it has discovered a delicious new source of food. It soon learns that as eggs are laid, a […]

How to clean farm fresh eggs is a highly debatable topic… Should I wash my eggs? Warm or cold water? Should I use soap, bleach, vinegar? How to store farm fresh eggs is another topic that many people have an opinion on… Should I store them in the refrigerator? Should I store them at room […]