Chickens, like all things in nature, are a part of the ever changing seasons. Their bodies react and prepare for the next coming stage in life, the next spell of weather and climate. Below are three timelines; The Seasonal Timeline The Housekeeping Timeline The Anatomical Timeline These are approximate predictions to help the chicken keeper […]

Are you thinking (dreaming) of having your own flock of chickens? Do you know someone who has been poring over hatchery catalogs; spending long minutes following chicken websites; sending you all sort of ideas for chicken coops; talking about Orpingtons, Wyandottes, Sex-Link, and Sussex? My friend Jenny has developed the perfect gift, for you or […]

The other day I saw two of our chickens pecking and scratching a shallow hole in the ground.  They were making a new dust bathing area. They scooted around.  They spread their feathers.  They pecked some more.  They were working together on this one…great team work!  Notice the black chicken supervising the job.  She clucked […]

How much space does a chicken need to comfortably rest at night? Is a roosting bar an essential element in poultry housing?

There are those who will argue that corn contains all the nutrients necessary for a chicken to survive, and they may not be wrong. What they might not understand is that a chicken’s body is not able to utilize all those nutrients.

Did you know that chickens have 4 types of feathers? These include webbed feathers, down feathers, bristles and filoplumes. Each type of feather has a different function.

Stories from the good ‘ol days (while processing chickens). We did it…Hubby and I (along with my parents) processed some chickens. Don’t worry…I’m not going to detail the butchering process. Instead, I’m going to tell you how we learned more about the good ‘ol days.  You know the good ‘ol days when life was simpler, full […]

I was recently asked “how often do you clean out the chicken coop?” Well, the answer can vary, depending on: how many chickens you have where the nesting boxes are compared to the roost area how much time the chickens spend inside the coop where do you keep their food and water the time of […]

The Big Red Barn isn’t our “chicken coop” per se, but about a third of our chickens call it home. We call them…you guessed it, the “barn chickens”. Some of our chickens are anti-social and though we have a perfectly functioning chicken coop with amenities to fit every chicken’s needs and desires, some prefer to […]

  Out here in western New York, Labor Day signals the return to school. School buses flash their lights through the foggy mornings; children are hustled out the door with new backpacks, uncreased paper and unused erasers. It has been many years since the school bus stopped at the end of our driveway, but in […]