by Meredith Chilson   One feather amongst many. The ground in the chicken yard and the floor under the roosts in the coop are littered with feathers this week, as the chickens shed their faded, tattered plumage, and the annual molt begins.   This feather was different than the others. Larger, longer, and imbued with a […]

by Meredith Chilson Not so very long ago, I wrote about my first week experiences as a new “parent” to turkeys.   My, how they grow.   At almost six weeks, they are feathered, looking like turkeys, and ready to chase bugs in the yard. They are still eating starter feed, but they’ll begin eating […]

by Meredith Chilson   One week as a turkey rancher. Wrangler? Farmer? Mostly…watcher. Just as I do when there are new chicken peeps under the heat lamp in the garage, I’ve been spending an inordinate amount of time sitting in the lawn chair pulled up next to the little turkey pen.         […]

By Meredith Chilson Right around Independence Day, I start thinking about my own roots. It’s a good time for vacationing near historic sights, exploring heritage, delving into the mysteries of fore-fathers (and mothers). I thought you might be interested, as am I, in the history of the domestic chicken. When researching my genealogical roots, I […]

by Meredith Chilson My first flock of chickens was one day old when I picked up my order at a local all-purpose hardware store.  I’d ordered “straight run” –thinking I would have some hens for eggs, some young roosters for meat and one fine rooster to perpetuate the flock. The plan worked out fairly well. […]

by Meredith Chilson It seems I’ve been part of many friendly discussions over the past few weeks.  Friends with chickens, who used to have chickens, who know someone who used to have chickens, those who eat eggs for breakfast, or know someone who used to eat eggs have weighed in and commented on several aspects […]

by Meredith Chilson I was talking about eggs with a friend the other day.  Eggs from the ladies that live in the coop in our side yard, to be specific. This friend said to me, “Now, that you have a rooster in with your girls—the eggs are all fertile, right?” To which another friend said, […]

by Meredith Chilson Once upon a time, a chicken hatched some eggs.  Now, I understand that this happens all the time, but this time was different.  The eggs belonged to another hen.  They were adopted. The mother hen was very happy to finally have a brood of her own.  She was particularly fond of her roo-chick, […]

by Meredith Chilson It’s a sunny spring day.  The coop doors are open to the outside, and the hens are digging and scratching in the wet leaves.  It’s too early, yet, to do a thorough coop cleaning—there will still be a few days of sloppy snowflakes and nights when the temperatures fall below freezing.  It’s […]

by Meredith Chilson It has been a long winter.  A very long winter.  I realize that the calendar has announced the coming of spring, but here in the valleys of Western New York, spring has not yet sprung.  Cold weather arrived before autumn turned to winter…and is here yet.  For many of us, plodding to […]