Do your chickens have names? The first of my chickens that I ever named were the original six Cornish cross meat birds we raised. As a farm kid, I’ve always known where food comes from and it didn’t bother me that we would eventually eat these chickens. So we named them Marsala, Extra Crispy, Pot […]

Laws tend to be about following rules, something that many homesteaders aren’t necessarily keen on embracing. Matt Wilkinson shares his take on existing small-scale poultry keeping and chicken processing laws and how you can make them work for you. Skeptic and Solution Finder I’ve never enjoyed being told what to do, especially if I could […]

Try out Carrie Miller’s White Chicken Chili for a spicy treat and warm alternative to red chilis. White chicken chili can be made on the stove or in a crock pot, I will be using a crock pot. This easy recipe is sure to please just about everyone who enjoys a bit or spice with […]

Joel Salatin (aka Chicken Man), Author of Pastured Poultry Profits, writes about the pros and cons of U.S. government poultry processing regulations. Legislation Protecting Small-Scale Poultry Producers One of the early poultry processing laws in the U.S. was passed by Congress in 1957. The Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) requires that any poultry intended to […]

Summer was warm, the days were long, and you got used to having lots of eggs. Then your hens stopped laying. Michele Cook looks at the many different reasons your hens may (temporarily) have stopped laying eggs. Why have my chickens stopped laying eggs? Ugh! This is a common complaint from chicken keepers all over […]

Nurture your nascent covey in this cozy hand-built brooder box by Kelly Bohling.  All photos by author. Getting Started and Re-Purposing I’ve used several homemade brooders for brooding and raising quail over the years. Storage tote models work well, especially if you’re just starting out. After brooding several generations of chicks, though, I decided to […]

Predators know no “urban” or “rural” boundaries. Learn what predators you may see in your urban/suburban yard and how to protect your poultry. Some days it seems like poultry predators are everywhere. Not even your back yard is safe from suburban poultry predators who want nothing more than to go after your feathery friends. Here’s […]

Part of our Breed Profiles series, Sussex chickens are dual purposes birds with several distinctive plumage patterns. History Possible, like the Dorking, originally introduced to the British Isles by the Romans Contemporary  breed Originated in south east  England area of Kent, Sussex, and Surrey.  Probably most popular table bird in 19th c and through mid-20thc. […]

Veteran chicken keeper Carrie Miller has some recommendations for 2020 chicken items, based on her experiences. Every year new and improved chicken items come out on the market to help make chicken keeping easier. While some items get better and better each year other items were great from the start and need little to no […]

Button, Bobwhite, Coturnix, Jumbo; how do you know which quail are the right fit for you? Alexandra Douglas has lots of answers for your questions. When I was a child, I always dreamed of owning quail. I visited a family friend who bred parrots and saw these cute little birds on the bottom of the […]