By Hank Will — Feature photo by Vicki Reid Hatching chicken eggs and raising chicks isn’t as difficult as you may think. People have been doing it for thousands of years without the technology we have available today. Whether you actually incubate fertile eggs or simply purchase day-old chicks, there’s every reason to believe that […]

 by Laura Sayre — Title photograph by Matthew Stallbaumer If you’ve eaten eggs from hens raised with access to fresh green pasture, you know how different these eggs look and taste in comparison to your ordinary supermarket variety. The egg yolk color is probably the first thing you notice: a deep, bright orange-yellow instead of […]

by Hank Will — Photographed by Suzanne Griepentrog At the end of the original Community Chickens Project in 2009, headed up by the editors of Grit and Mother Earth News magazines, Grit editor, Hank Will invited several project contributors to his Osage County Kansas farm to teach them how to humanely clean and package the […]

by Jennifer Burcke Photos by author   I don’t know who originally coined the phrase “Necessity is the Mother of Invention.”  While I’m unsure of its origin or inspiration, I am willing to make a bold statement about its application.  I believe firmly that Necessity must have been a chicken keeper. I pride myself on […]

by Rebecca Nickols Photos by author When my husband and I were designing our coop we poured over the numerous free blueprints, photos and examples of chicken coops at BackYard Chickens (backyardchickens.com).  I’m amazed at how clever and creative some chicken keepers are when it comes to constructing their coop. I especially appreciate the coops […]

by Christine Heinrichs and Don Schrider — Photographed by Lynn M. Stone Buckeyes Buckeyes, from the “Buckeye State” of Ohio, are one of the most-endangered American breeds ofchicken. Nettie Metcalf of Warren, Ohio, developed the breed while seeking a cold-tolerant and active fowl that could withstand the cold Ohio winters. Lustrous red Buckeyes are very […]

by Gwen Roland — Photographed by Preston Roland   Raise your own broilers, and avoid battery cage-raised, flavorless supermarket chicken. Though I have kept chickens for years, I never expected to eat any of the animals I raised. After they provided many delicious eggs, I would retire my layers to the barnyard. But Barbara Kingsolver’s […]

by Herman Beck-Chenoweth, J. R. Smyth Jr. and B.C. Wentworth Turkeys are so fascinating, fast and large that Benjamin Franklin suggested that the turkey would be suitable as our national bird. “I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country,” Franklin wrote. “He is a bird of bad moral […]

Photos and story by Cherie Langlois Thinking about getting some Muscovy ducks around your place? Well, then, what could be more adorable than a flock of fuzzy little Muscovy ducklings? If this is your first foray into raising ducks, you can buy your first baby ducks from a local breeder, feed store, hatchery or animal […]

by Amy Grisak — Title photograph by Mark Vogel Ducks can be helpful, colorful little characters in your garden patch, providing a measure of truly natural garden pest control – and the eggs they lay taste delicious! Here are some fun facts about a few heirloom breeds. Indian Runners are comical-looking ducks that stand tall and […]