by Jennifer Sartell Photos by author One of my favorite types of articles to read in magazines like Grit, Mother Earth News or here on Community Chickens are posts about different styles of chicken coops. It’s fascinating to see how each family takes a different approach to housing their animals. Whether it’s a collection of […]

by Rebecca Nickols Photos by author My young flock is going into their third week, and I’m always amazed at how fast little chicks grow! This group of young pullets are different from the previous chicks I’ve raised. They don’t care to be held, and when I do catch one they chirp and struggle to […]

by Jennifer Burcke Photos by author Asking questions, gathering information, and educating yourself are all important parts of the chicken keeping experience. At the onset of your chicken keeping experiment, there seem to be more questions than answers. Should we use a stationary chicken coop or a mobile chicken tractor? Do we want to keep […]

by Meredith Chilson Photos by author The newest additions to our poultry flock arrived safely a week ago. The dozen chicks have adjusted nicely to living within a cardboard corral and, as it is with all babies, I can’t believe how fast they are growing and changing! We’ve spent a big chunk of time watching […]

by Jennifer Sartell Photos by author It was a difficult decision to decide to raise our own heritage turkeys. These nine little poults are the first animals that we’ve raised with the sole purpose of harvesting for meat. And while I’m not a vegetarian, I’m still having some emotional issues bridging the gap between cute […]

by Rebecca Nickols Photos by author Inside a nesting box in this coop resides Henrietta, the broody hen … I should have known this would eventually happen. Buff Orpingtons are famous for their diligence and dedication when it comes to sitting on eggs. Even so, I was still surprised that the mother instinct seemed to happen […]

by Meredith Chilson Photos by author Last Saturday was a perfect spring day: warm breeze, sunshine—I was up early with plans for the day. Laundry washed and on the clothesline—check! Garden peas weeded—check! Garage cleaned and materials laid out for making “chick corral”—check! Nest boxes cleaned in henhouse—ICK! Crawly things! Ick, ick, ick. My plans […]

by Jennifer Sartell Photos by author One of the bittersweet things about raising ducks, specifically pekins, is that they grow SO fast. Ducklings are so adorable, and while my heart melts when they’re little, I’m not sad to get the brooders out of the house after they’ve grown. Our brooding time was about a third […]

by Rebecca Nickols Photos by author This week I added three new little chicks to the flock! These new pullets will not only add more color to my flock, but they’ll give me a colorful egg basket also! Fortunately, my town has a local hatchery (Estes Hatchery) where I can purchase and pick up my […]

by Meredith Chilson Photos by author Once upon a time, there was a girl who dreamed of chickens. Not the hundreds of white chickens that her mother raised for “egg money,” but colorful chickens that were delivered by the postman … just like in Margaret Wise Brown’s Little Golden Book The Seven Little Postmen. The […]