The Wisconsin Mother Earth News Fair returns to West Bend, Wisconsin July 09-10, 2016. For tickets and more information, click here.   I’ve had the pleasure of attending a few Mother Earth News Fairs throughout the country. They are hands down one of the best ways and places where you can quickly learn from others, […]

This month’s “Cool Coop” comes from an area in the Southwest where you wouldn’t expect to find a bountiful vegetable garden, numerous fruit trees, and an abundance of flowering shrubs and flowers. When Betty Dixon and her mother, Betty Hunter, purchased their Corrales, New Mexico, property in 2003, it was a weed-infested lot with nothing more than tumbleweeds […]

Road trip! A car, snacks, friends and an awesome destination in mind. That is how my adventure to the Mother Earth News Fair in West Bend, Wisconsin, began. I have to tell you, it was an amazing experience. In fact, I think the term “Fair” does not do the event justice at all. It is […]

Depending on where you live in the country, your flock can be affected by a variety of pests. These include mites, lice, assorted fleas and ticks. Most people do not think of these as predators. How could something so tiny do so much damage? Well, in fact, it is important to stay on top of […]

These days the gardens, back porches, side steps, railings and cellar ways are filling up with oversized squashes, odd baskets of cucumbers or buckets of green beans, stalks of garlic and ripening tomatoes. Here, too, the yards, coops, barns, garage and assorted sheds on the homestead are filled with various sizes of poultry! There is […]

Let me start by saying that we have had a little broodiness before.  No big deal…we moved the chicken out of the nesting box a few times, collected the eggs and all was good.  But this time…no eggs in the nesting box for two days!  The ladies ALWAYS lay their eggs in the same nesting […]

Looking to make an easy, DIY dust bath? Click here to learn how… A lot of new chicken keepers — or even those just expanding their flocks — worry about the introduction of new chicks from the brooder to the coop. But, it’s not as scary as you think, so long as the temperatures are […]

My favorite breeds of chickens are Jersey Giant and Buff Orphington. I like big chickens and I can-not lie. But like many of you out there, we don’t just keep two breeds of chicken. We have a variety. A confetti of feather colors, patterns and plumage that is as different to each bird as is […]

Summer Vacations, just the words spark vivid memories in my mind. Hot days, cool nights, fireflies strobe lighting the scene as summer scented breezes dance around.  Lazy days where nothing really has to be done, but to sit back and enjoy yourself and maybe a new experience here and there. Each summer, we try to […]

It’s been a wonderful, fruitful year at Iron Oak Farm. The garden is coming along nicely, I’m picking ripening cucumbers every day and adding them to our refrigerator pickle jar. We also just finished kidding season, one of the most joyous times of the year. Our last pregnant doe gave birth to triplets last night. […]