by Rebecca Nickols Photos by author Once again, I’m amazed at how clever and creative some chicken keepers are when it comes to constructing their coops. I especially appreciate the coops that repurpose and recycle materials. I’ve about decided that with a little imagination (and some basic building skills) you can make a coop out […]

by Rebecca Nickols Photos by author It’s hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk! It’s so hot the chickens are laying hard-boiled eggs! There’s always some element of truth in many of the old folklore sayings, and with the record high temperatures we’ve had across the Midwest, I’ve been tempted to crack open an egg outside […]

by Rebecca Nickols Photos by author The first of May I purchased three adorable chicks from our local hatchery in Springfield, Mo., Estes Hatchery. I chose this hatchery partly because of the variety of birds they had to choose from and the fact that they had a good success rate in sexing chicks. (I’d rather […]

by Meredith Chilson Photos by author I’ve been reading with interest and nostalgia fellow blogger Rebecca Nickols’s articles about her broody hen. I remember well the times I would go to the nests, and a hen would puff up and hiss at me. The growly sound of a broody hen is something I won’t soon […]

by Rebecca Nickols Photos by author When I’m not at my paying job, as a nurse, I’m usually outside working on the planters, wreaths and living-roof birdhouses we sell at our local farmers’ market. My seven free range chickens not only provide me with the freshest best tasting eggs available, they also provide an endless […]

by Rebecca Nickols Photos by author When my husband and I were designing our coop we poured over the numerous free blueprints, photos and examples of chicken coops at BackYard Chickens (backyardchickens.com).  I’m amazed at how clever and creative some chicken keepers are when it comes to constructing their coop. I especially appreciate the coops […]

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, […]

 Rebecca Nickols Photos by author   Here’s a great way to repurpose, reuse and recycle your empty chicken feed sacks. It’s not a new idea: I’ve seen several online sites with instructions on how to make grocery totes out of all sorts of creative materials. I read them all … then took what I liked […]

by Rebecca Nickols Photos by author In my recent post Broodiness in the Coop, I wrote about how Henrietta (my Buff Orpington) is in a persistent state of broodiness … She has become so obsessed with entering motherhood that she spends her entire day sitting in a nesting box dreaming of her own flock of […]

by Rebecca Nickols Photos by author My young flock is going into their third week, and I’m always amazed at how fast little chicks grow! This group of young pullets are different from the previous chicks I’ve raised. They don’t care to be held, and when I do catch one they chirp and struggle to […]