by Hank Will Photo by Oscar Gutierrez Your backyard chickens depend on you for their health, housing and safety, and, in exchange, they will supply eggs, entertainment, pest control, fertilizer, meat and more. You should anticipate losing a bird to predation occasionally, but these tips will help keep your flock safe from a wide variety […]

by Cheryl Long and Tabitha Alterman – Photographed by Barbara Bourne The conventional egg industry denies that free-range/pastured eggs are more nutritious than eggs from chickens kept in crowded, indoor conditions. The American Egg Board’s Web site states “True free-range eggs are those produced by hens raised outdoors or that have daily access to the […]

by Jennifer Burcke Photos by author Last Wednesday, the first day of summer officially arrived at 1840 Farm. In New England, bidding a final farewell to the previous winter and the mud season that follows is an annual tradition. I normally feel the need to celebrate the arrival of the heat. Without the hot summer […]

by Meredith Chilson Photos by author I’ve been reading with interest and nostalgia fellow blogger Rebecca Nickols’s articles about her broody hen. I remember well the times I would go to the nests, and a hen would puff up and hiss at me. The growly sound of a broody hen is something I won’t soon […]

by Rebecca Nickols Photos by author When I’m not at my paying job, as a nurse, I’m usually outside working on the planters, wreaths and living-roof birdhouses we sell at our local farmers’ market. My seven free range chickens not only provide me with the freshest best tasting eggs available, they also provide an endless […]

by Cheryl Long — Photographed by Jordi Sole Marimon If you have ever considered raising chickens, it’s a lot easier than it sounds. One way is to start with day-old chicks purchased from a farm store or mail-order catalog. Mail orders usually require a minimum shipment of 25 chicks, so if you just want three […]

by Madelaine Fletcher — Photographed by Dusko Matic From urban hen adventures in the North to 4-H chicken projects in the South, the backyard poultry revolution is sweeping the nation. Healthy chickens are an important priority if you are raising them for meat or eggs, as breeding show birds or game birds, or if you […]

by Jessie Fetterling – Photographed by Kenneth B. Hill Have you ever considered raising chickens in your own backyard? Whether you live in the city or the country, you can raise a few hens and enjoy fresh eggs that are significantly more nutritious than commercial eggs you purchase at the supermarket. Local laws concerning poultry […]

by Meredith Chilson Photos by author It was May 8 when our fluffy little chicks arrived at the post office. We settled them into their new home in our attached garage, within a corral of cardboard, under a heat lamp, and spent the better part of several days with our lawn chairs pulled up to […]

Story and photos by Karen Herring We began with a small coop that was very hard to clean. It was short and you could not stand upright in the coop or enclosure. We had seen a coop similar to what we built but it was also too short to stand in. We did a lot […]