Want an easy (and free) way to feed your hens? Have you heard of black soldier fly larvae? Not sure what the big deal is? In this article, I’ll show you how we raise these insects on our farm – and why they’re such a valuable food source for your flock. You’ll also get our […]

Blogger Michele Cook writes a three-part series on caring for new chickens.  This is Part 2: Basics for New Chicks.  Look for Parts 1 & 3: “Housing Chicks” and “Sick Chicks”. Now that you have the brooder set up, let’s talk about the basic care for your new chicks. Your chicks will need food, water, […]

This is a companion piece to Liz Fulghum’s article Low-Maintenance Backyard Chickens. Here Liz provides detailed equipment lists and instructions for building a low-maintenance food and water system for your backyard chickens. This DIY food and water system is ideal for a backyard flock of 3 to 6 chickens and for busy urban homesteaders with […]

I often get asked how many chickens can you reasonably put in a coop. Scouring the internet gives me lots of different answers, from barely room for the birds to move, up to spacious chicken palaces.  There are lots of considerations here, including, the more room chickens have, the lower the threat of disease and/or […]

As fall descends upon us here in the North — bringing with it frosty nights and then snowy days — most of the green that covers the earth turns to brown. Now we must begin to give our animals a little extra help if they’re to make it through the long, dead winter. Chickens, for […]