Please fence me in! Great advice from carpenter Frank Hyman about how to set posts. Photos by author. There’s a little bit of an art to setting posts for a pen. Okay, it’s very little art. Nonetheless, I’m particular about setting posts. I live in fear of my work looking like some fence lines I’ve […]

Learn how to build functional and fun gates for your chicken yard…and more with Frank Hyman. Photos by author. Part of the reason we keep chickens is because poultry have personality. Our chickens’ pens and coops should have a little personality too. And as far as the pens go, the best place for incorporating personality […]

Insulate, Clean, and Cover: Winterizing Your Coop The cold winter months bring many new challenges to backyard chicken keepers, particularly regarding the safety and well-being of your flock. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to face these challenges head-on without too much difficulty. Not only that, but the same steps you can take to […]

Inexpensive, easy-to-build chicken coops Once you get caught up in the idea of having chickens, it’s easy to find yourself spending more on them and the coop then you ever thought you would. For many people chickens are a hobby as well as pets with benefits: I’m thinking of my wife and me. We spent […]

Predators can’t be avoided, but coop doors can help. -Advertisement- If you’ve had chickens for very long, there’s a good possibility that you’ve lost at least one or two birds to a predator. Losing a favorite hen is never fun, and unfortunately sometimes the first sign of predator problems is when we lose that first […]

Charlotte French, Amanda Sorrell, Jeanette Beranger, and Patricia Foreman discuss the considerations you need to take when you are looking for or building a chicken coop.   This episode was proudly sponsored by Onduline. In this episode of Mother Earth News and Friends, we discuss the considerations you need to take when you are building […]

Open Sesame: Coop Doors that Open on Command Frank Hyman knows about DIY and being inventive. Here are some of his ideas for automatic chicken coop doors. The Basic Pop-Door One important goal for our chicken-keeping adventure was to continue enjoying two-week vacations a couple times a year. However, one common feature of most coops […]

These 10 fall chicken coop chores will help ensure your coop and chicken run are in good shape and ready for the cooler weather! Fall is an ideal time to check out your chicken coop and chicken run! Summer is often so busy that some of the little chores can get overlooked. And with winter […]

Learn tips and tricks for safely housing these marvelous birds from quail expert and owner, Kelly Bohling. (Unless otherwise noted, all photos by author.) Quail Are Easy to House Raising Coturnix quail—also known as Japanese quail—is an approachable endeavor, made easier by the low maintenance habits of the birds and their hardiness against disease and […]

In the past 2 years we’ve added 2 kit-style coops to our chicken yard. When I say kit-style I’m referring to the types of coops that you often find in your feed store or that you can order on Amazon. They usually come in a large box and you have to bolt the panels together […]