As the snow begins to melt and the crocus start to push up through the earth, there’s no denying that Spring has finally come! It can be a very busy time of year as we rush to plant gardens, care for newly born animals and enjoy some extra outdoors time! But, spring is also an […]

Blogger Traci DeLore covers how to make some of the difficult decisions we need to make as chicken owners. Visions of backyard chickens don’t usually make us think of difficult chicken decisions. We think of cute, fluffy chicks and of happy hens scratching the grass. We really think of delicious fresh eggs for breakfast. However, […]

Mixing it up, birds of different feathers CAN flock together. Keeping a mixed flock is a thought bound to cross your mind when those spring chicks start arriving at the feed store. Maybe you have chickens and think you might like to add some ducks. Maybe you have ducks and want to expand into more […]

Have you ever wanted to try raising meat chickens for your family? Learn some of the ups and downs from blogger Kaylee Vaughn’s experiences.   After several years of owning and raising chickens, we decided that it was time to try our hand at raising meat chickens. In the past, we had raised and home-butchered […]

On a whim, my husband decided to apply for a job…2400 miles from our current home. For some reason, he was shocked when the company contacted him for an interview. Suddenly, the whim went from “oh well that would be interesting” to “oh crap how are we going to move with 22 chickens, three pregnant […]

Do your chickens have names? The first of my chickens that I ever named were the original six Cornish cross meat birds we raised. As a farm kid, I’ve always known where food comes from and it didn’t bother me that we would eventually eat these chickens. So we named them Marsala, Extra Crispy, Pot […]

Summer was warm, the days were long, and you got used to having lots of eggs. Then your hens stopped laying. Michele Cook looks at the many different reasons your hens may (temporarily) have stopped laying eggs. Why have my chickens stopped laying eggs? Ugh! This is a common complaint from chicken keepers all over […]

Predators know no “urban” or “rural” boundaries. Learn what predators you may see in your urban/suburban yard and how to protect your poultry. Some days it seems like poultry predators are everywhere. Not even your back yard is safe from suburban poultry predators who want nothing more than to go after your feathery friends. Here’s […]

Veteran chicken keeper Carrie Miller has some recommendations for 2020 chicken items, based on her experiences. Every year new and improved chicken items come out on the market to help make chicken keeping easier. While some items get better and better each year other items were great from the start and need little to no […]

Ascites in backyard chickens isn’t super common, but it’s possible you will come across this condition if you keep chickens. Ascites isn’t really an illness itself. Rather, it’s a symptom that something is wrong with your chicken. According to the Merck Veterinary Manual, ascites is when fluid builds up in the peritoneal cavities of a […]