Goose Breeds: There are about 15 breeds of domesticated geese. Basically, the goose is raised for meat. Personally, I like goose meat much better than turkey. Whatever breed of goose you prefer, you’ll probably want to separate breeds or choose only one, because purebred geese are more marketable than those that are crossbred. An exception […]

Egg Breeds Indian Runner. There are many varieties of Indian Runner ducks of which the White Penciled, Fawn, and White are said to be the best egg producers (225–325 eggs per year). The Indian Runner originated in Asia (as did the rarer Bali to which it is related). Runners are a nervous, light breed (drakes […]

Our adventure in turkeys began with a simple phone call. Ten days ago, I received a phone call from a dear friend in a bit of a pickle. She had left a few days earlier on a road trip from Ohio to Colorado. She called from Topeka, Kansas, in need of a favor. The friend […]

We all know some of the problems associated with roosters when protecting your flock of hens: Noise Aggression Mounting your hens When we think of our roosters, we rarely think of them as a guardian, but that is their primary role when it comes to a small holding or farm. If not for egg fertilization, […]

I’ve been incubating my own eggs for about 10 years now. My advice to anyone starting out is to get the most foolproof incubator you can afford. I tend to be a minimalist at heart when it comes to projects. If there’s a simple tool that can do double duty, or if a task takes […]

A few weeks ago I started the evening chores like every other night. I grabbed the wire egg basket from the front porch and headed to the chicken coop. I collected eggs from our Buff Orpington pen, our Leghorn pen, and our Araucana and Olive Egger pen. When I went into the French Black Copper […]

  It seemed fitting that after Zach and I wrapped up our final Community Chickens podcast episode that I name my new chickens after the Golden Girls! That was a suggestion of Zach’s on the show.     You may have gotten a glimpse of my chicken coop in my previous post regarding Bruce. Here’s a […]

With chickens’ popularity at fever-pitch now, thousands of first-time chicken keepers will be bringing home chicks for the first time this summer. Unfortunately, if you don’t research your breed correctly, you could well end up buying the wrong chicken. You should make sure you understand what makes the ideal chicken breed before you go buying […]

When Chicken Math Goes Too Far So, we have all heard of chicken math. It has claimed us all from one time or another. What happens when the chicken math has gone too far? After six years of adding, adding, and more adding it has become apparent, the addition needs to become subtraction. How do […]

Rolling through the chicken feed aisle at our local farm-supply store can feel a little overwhelming. The “chicken diet” options have come a long way since I first brought home 6 broiler chickens when I was 14 and a bag of cracked corn. Our local feed store not only carries several brands of chicken feed […]