by Meredith Chilson Mrs. Parsons, a lady who consistently reads this blog and often comments on posts, sent me a suggestion for a blog topic a while back. I’ve been thinking about it, and it seems to me that it’s appropriate for this month of politics, reflection and thanksgiving. Mrs. Parsons feels that “some of […]

by Rebecca Nickols Photos by author Fall is definitely a time of falling–leaves and feathers! My older hens have been molting for the last month and they look a sight! The coop is full of feathers, but it’s void of what I treasure the most–eggs! In fact the molting hens’ egg production has fallen off […]

Everyone enjoys spoiling their pets. We get a kick out of seeing them run to greet us at the mere sight of the treat container or the sound of the back door opening. But the wrong type of treats and treats in excess can be harmful to their health, stunt growth, shorten their lifespans and interfere with […]

By Rebecca Nickols Photos by author. Spiders…  It’s just something about their creepy-crawly legs and huge venomous fangs that can elicit a panic attack in an otherwise rational person. This is especially evident when a normally sane individual walks into a spiderweb at nighttime. Everyone knows that the largest, most poisonous spiders are nocturnal and are patiently waiting to […]

by Meredith Chilson Back in May, I wrote a blog post on “Feeding the Flock,” in which I explained how I change the types of feed my small flock of chickens eat: from the medicated starter that they briefly receive in their tiny little feeder when they are first hatched, until they are on layer […]

When you start raising chickens, you are bound to run into terms, abbreviations and phrases that might seem like a foreign language at first. Here is my non-scientific, layman’s guide to some of the more common terms and their meanings: Albumen– The clear, viscous liquid inside an egg, basically the egg white Apple Cider Vinegar […]

by Rebecca Nickols Q: Are hedge-apples safe for my hens to eat? …Pat Floyd A: This reader’s question caught my attention because I have Osage Orange trees (also known as hedge-apple, bodark, bowwood and bois d’arc) on my property and, like Pat, I wondered myself if I could supplement the chickens’ diet with the huge amount of […]

by Meredith ChilsonThere’s a short cut to my house.  From the main state road, if you take the road past the old school house, around the corner by the lake, continue on and up the hill past Saunder’s Pond, down the dirt road and across the bridge over Phillip’s Creek nearly six miles of travel […]

by Jennifer BurckeI chose to become a chicken keeper for a host of reasons, but the same two are always at the top of my list.  First, I wanted to connect to the generations of my family that had come before me.  They were farmers and I wanted to continue the family tradition of raising […]

  by Lisa Steele I would love to let my chickens free range, but our farm backs up to the woods which harbors foxes, raccoons, opossums and the occasional coyote, as well as a danger from neighbor’s dogs. We also have to worry about aerial predators such as red-tail hawks and eagles.  So our flock […]