Lots of folks are perfectly happy to incubate their chicken eggs to produce healthy chicks. But some homesteaders really want to work with their broody hens to hatch eggs. Author Amy Fewell shares her experiences and lots of suggestions for efficient hatching with a broody hen. Rocky Beginnings I can still remember thinking that all […]

Blogger Sandy Cryder shares her adventures with her very first flock of chickens. The four Buff Orpington hens in my first flock were beautiful! Large bodied; warm, golden, buff colored feathers; heavy, feathered breasts; full, downy Fluffs; Red wattles and single combs. They lay large, brown eggs starting between 5-7 months of age. Buffs are […]

  by Heidi Carlson A few weeks ago, we lost one of our hens. A cute little girl, a Sicilian Buttercup, we think. One night, she just wasn’t there in the coop with the others at “tuck-in” time. It was my husband’s turn to lock them up and he came up short in the head […]

by Jennifer BurckeWe’re into our third spring as chicken keepers here at 1840 Farm.  We’ve encountered all sorts of challenges during that time.  We’ve dealt with the death of day old chicks, heat waves, hurricanes, and unending winters. One experience we have not dealt with is outwitting the natural instincts of a broody hen.  We […]

by Jennifer Sartell of Iron Oak Farm It was a proud moment for me a few weeks back. I, actually had to talk Zach out of buying chicks! I’m not sure if we’ve come full circle, each turning in opposite directions…not that Zach was ever really opposed to keeping chickens, but I can’t recall him […]

by Heather Nicholson of Scratch Cradle Are you getting more eggs in your basket?  In spring as the day length increases, chickens will lay more frequently.  Did you know that leg color, egg color, and behavior may change as well? Chickens lay fewer eggs in the winter and more in the spring and summer.  As […]

by Melissa Caughey of Tilly’s Nest Spring time is a time for new beginnings, broody hens and baby chicks.  When hens wish to hatch some eggs of their own, they become broody.  When broody, they puff out their feathers and hunker down inside the nesting box.  There they stay, dedicated to the thought of hatching […]

by Rebecca Nickols Photos by author A little after the first of May, shortly after I purchased three new chicks, my Buff Orpington, Henrietta, developed a bad case of broodiness. More than four weeks later, she still has it bad–you can see it in her eyes… In my first attempt to break Henrietta’s broody behavior, […]