by Jennifer Burcke Come closer, Dear Reader. I have a confession to make. I am about to tell you my deepest, darkest chicken-keeping secret. You already know that I raise chickens. What you don’t know is that I don’t eat chicken. No, I don’t mean that I don’t eat chickens that I raise. I mean […]

by Meredith Chilson I would love to be able to free range my hens. Even though we live in a rural area, on a back road, it’s a narrow valley we live in with that rural road running right down the center. On one side of the road is a narrow field with a small […]

Guest post by Pam Baker Chickens are fun. Ask anyone who has them. Well, fun is a relative term; you can’t take them to the movies or play cards with them, but many chicken keepers will tell you that they spend enjoyable hours watching their antics. Some make pets out of them, give them names […]

  by Rachel Hurd Anger   Considering I’m still nursing one of my children, it’s been all too easy to develop a maternal connection to my chickens, but it’s natural in the way that I care about their basic sustenance. When I go out to care for my chickens, to bring them warm water when […]

by Jennifer Sartell The shopping season is upon us again. Everywhere you look there are advertisements for things. Thing we need, things we must have, things we can’t live without, things, things, THINGS! The stuff of life can clutter our closets, our basements, our attics and worst of all, our brains. It can spill out […]

Guest post by Claire Culver My husband and I volunteer with FEMA’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program along with Zombie Squad, a nonprofit with a similar mission (but much funnier name and attitude). Both are dedicated to personal safety and disaster preparation/response. I have even become a trainer in the CERT program. However, I […]

by Susan Waughtal It seems like you can never have too many large plastic buckets on a farm. They are invaluable for hauling water and feed, garden veggies, compost, moving baby chicks, storing tools, collecting maple sap, and even making nesting boxes. My hen population has grown and they needed more nesting sites. Yesterday, I […]

by Rebecca Nickols I’m not able to let my chicks free range … too many wild and domestic predators. Some threats are obvious: foxes, hawks, raccoons, etc. And then there are the less inconspicuous dangers, namely Buddy and Sugar, the border collies, and the five chicken-hungry hunting cats. I don’t think the dogs would purposely […]

by Meredith Chilson Once upon a springtime, there was a fluffy chicken named Mrs. Feathers. Mrs. Feathers wanted to be a mother. She laid an egg every day in her nest of shavings and straw, and she even lined the nest with soft, downy feathers. Mrs. Feathers did not like to be disturbed by anyone […]

by Jennifer Sartell It’s that time of year again. Each morning I drink my coffee and look out on our pond to see that the ice has once again reclaimed the surface of the water. As the sun comes around the side of the house, its rays reflect brilliantly across the surface, and warms the […]