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 […]

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 Harvey Ussery Photos by author Eggs from backyard flocks are some of the best eggs in the world. Those dependent on supermarket eggs may not even know what they’re missing out on. Chickens provide more food than just eggs. Necessary culling of the flock graces the dinner table with flavorful meat. But backyard flocks […]

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 […]