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 […]

by Meredith Chilson November weather.  Cold with an icy drizzle. Howling winds high in the naked treetops.  Muddy boots, damp socks and gloves.  Creeping shadows early in the evening—dark by dinnertime….and the days that mud freezes and hard balls of snow slam against windowpanes and cheeks as feathered and furry friends are herded into their […]

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 Photos by author Every devoted chicken keeper knows there are times when you wonder if your friends really want to listen to your tales of how wonderful it is to have backyard chickens, but Community Chickens understands how endearing and full of personality a chicken can be! If you were looking for a way […]

by Jennifer Sartell Photos by author Turkeys are amazing. This has been our first year raising these beautiful, large birds and I must say I’ve learned a lot! When we first decided to raise turkeys, I thought they would be like big chickens. And granted, many things about their care are similar. But the personality […]

by Kathy Shea Mormino It’s that time of year when I do a major coop cleaning and this year, it’s an easier task than ever before due to a few simple modifications that were made in our coops. Not only is it faster to complete the semi-annual ‘deep cleanings,’ but I find that I am […]

by Rachel Hurd Anger Photos by author Our backyard chickens just celebrated their second Happy Hatchday, and as we sort of pat ourselves on our backs for having some of the world’s oldest chickens, we’re all still recovering from our first predator attack. The victim was Clara, a Partridge Plymouth Rock, our most robust and […]

Rebecca Nickols   What does a DIY composter have to do with raising chickens? Well, if you have chickens, you have chicken manure … and if you’re a gardener (like me) this unlimited supply of manure can provide you with an endless supply of the world’s best organic fertilizer! In fact, out of the fluffy backside […]