by Kelli Simpson We had this coop made by an out-of-work cabinet maker. Fortunately, he had chickens too and knew something of their needs. The “custom” part of the coop is the living roof, which we planted with a seed mix called chicken salad! Although the coop is more than adequate for our flock of […]

by Rebecca Nickols Photos by author Since we built our chicken coop one year ago, I’ve enjoyed sharing the construction and design. I particularly like how the red color stands out and, of course, I love the living roof! But what about the inside of the coop? I’m going to show you a peek behind […]

by Meredith Chilson Q: I’m wondering if one can get a hen to go broody and hatch eggs that one might order online. Does anyone know?— Rachel A: This is a great question, Rachel, and one that others might be wondering about on these “thinking about spring” days.The most honest answer to this is, however, […]

by Karla T. Q. Our hen is laying eggs on the floor. How to get her in the nesting boxes or doesn’t it matter? — Karen S., West Sunbury, Pennsylvania A. The main reason that I would say it does matter where they lay is that you want to be able to FIND them. For […]

by Jennifer Sartell At times I thought we were crazy, as each chick found its way home in a makeshift cardboard box. Heat blasting from the car blower to keep things nice and toasty, I would stop at a red light, wipe the sweat from my forehead and peek in the box one more time […]

by Meredith Chilson We’re only a few days away from the winter solstice. The nights are long; the days are short. This morning the sun rose at 7:30 and by 4:30 this afternoon it will have faded away behind the hills. My hens spend a lot of time on their roosts. I thought this would […]

by Karla T. We’ve always had a lot of self-sufficient living books at our house. The Almanac of Rural Living, Back to Basics, Making the Best of Basics and many more. So when we decided to start keeping chickens I did a LOT of reading both online and in our personal library. One book that […]

Guest post by Pam Baker I am, my husband and I are, proud to say we are backyard chicken farmers. But let me start at the beginning. Moving to Vermont was a decision based on family. At forty- something, my husband and I had grown tired of the suburban life. Well, actually, I had grown […]