Or, my story of The Rooster formerly known as ChickenHawk. Now, as a general rule, I don’t name birds I am not keeping. It’s very difficult to process (butcher) an animal with name, at least in my worldview. The story I’m about to tell was a good learning experience for me, in particular, on the […]

Guest post by Sherie Bradley We finally had our own place….with acreage! I couldn’t wait to get some chickens. There was a shed in the backyard that my husband had dreams for, but I was secretly making plans to turn it into a super coop. I already had my ducklings growing like weeds at my […]

by Meredith Chilson   One feather amongst many. The ground in the chicken yard and the floor under the roosts in the coop are littered with feathers this week, as the chickens shed their faded, tattered plumage, and the annual molt begins.   This feather was different than the others. Larger, longer, and imbued with a […]

by Jennifer Sartell of Iron Oak Farm We’ve already had several fires in the wood burning furnace this September and it’s not even officially Autumn. We live in Michigan and last year our area of the state received record snow falls and temperatures 30 below zero. According to the Farmers Almanac, we’re in for another […]

by Meredith Chilson My first flock of chickens was one day old when I picked up my order at a local all-purpose hardware store.  I’d ordered “straight run” –thinking I would have some hens for eggs, some young roosters for meat and one fine rooster to perpetuate the flock. The plan worked out fairly well. […]

by Meredith Chilson Once upon a time, a chicken hatched some eggs.  Now, I understand that this happens all the time, but this time was different.  The eggs belonged to another hen.  They were adopted. The mother hen was very happy to finally have a brood of her own.  She was particularly fond of her roo-chick, […]

by Liz Hessen of For the Love of Chicken Poop In the beginning we said no roosters – NEVER ever! Well, Harry said ‘no, never ever’ to getting a rooster. A long time ago he also said ‘no’ to chickens. Then ‘maybe’ one or two. So six hens and almost two years later we have […]

Story and photos by Jennifer Sartell of Iron Oak Farm I am very pleased with the collection of roosters we have at the farm. They’re pleasant birds that get along nicely with one another. They’re gentle with our hens and I don’t have to worry about visitors approaching our roos. This hasn’t always been the […]

by Jennifer Sartell of Iron Oak Farm Sometimes when I’m writing these posts I forget that many of our readers are new to chickens. Or maybe want chickens, or are simply interested in chickens and are still in the learning phase of their venture. I’ve had chickens for more than half my life which makes […]

by Meredith Chilson Many backyard flocks have a rooster or two—to protect the hens as well as to help create the next generation of chickens.  We had a lovely Buff Orpington rooster living in our family’s coop for a while, in fact. The family rooster I’m going to tell you about now, though, is only […]