They have gorgeous black plumage, a friendly disposition, and excellent maternal instincts, but the Black Silkie Chicken breed has so much to offer other than those characteristics. This chicken variety possesses several unique features, no wonder it’s highly-prized by poultry fanciers. But behind the glitz and glory of Black Silkies, do you ever wonder about: […]
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The Dominique is said to be America’s oldest chicken breed. It was brought to the United States by settlers and helped them to survive the brutal first years of colonization. They were used as a dual purpose hen and even their feathers were used to stuff pillows, truly a multi-purpose hen. Unlike our present-day hens, […]
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We often get asked how many roosters should be kept with a flock of hens. What’s the ratio of hens to roosters. Although this question is a moot point for folks who cannot keep roosters because of the city or byelaws, it is a valid question for those who want to keep a few roosters […]
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The Wyandotte is one of Americas’ favorite hens. Created in the North-Eastern US it is a firm favorite of many homesteaders for its reliability in producing eggs and meat. It has the distinction of being the first American breed specifically bred to be dual purpose. It is a beautifully marked heritage bird. Sadly, it fell […]
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The Golden Laced Wyandotte is possibly one of America’s most beautiful and beloved chickens and one that is hard to mistake with its stunning plumage. It is a breed that was created in the fairly recent past by poultry farmers looking for a homegrown dual-purpose chicken. At the time there were few truly dual-purpose breeds […]
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These beautiful birds are under-represented in the backyard world of chickens. This is a great shame as they have many outstanding attributes for the small homesteader as we shall see. They are a fairly recent addition to chicken breeds, being ‘born’ less than one hundred years ago in the Netherlands. They are popular in the […]
It might seem strange to learn that even chickens can become infested with lice. They eat bugs, after all, but these external parasites are not the typical run-of-the-mill chicken treat-type bug. They spread fast and can cause severe problems for the entire flock. Identifying an infestation early, and treating the flock quickly, is extremely important […]
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Healthy, happy hens lay more eggs. Has it been proven scientifically? I don’t know, but from my experience, a healthy hen will produce more eggs than an unhealthy, miserable chicken. Chicken treats can make your hens happy and healthy. Obviously, we can’t speed up the ‘egg clock’, but by keeping your hens in tip-top condition, […]
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In the fifth chapter of The Definitive Guide To Keeping Chickens In Winter, we look at chickens molting in winter. So, you opened up the hen house in the morning and thought it was a crime scene from CSI. Feathers strewn around the floor in heaps…you think the worst! A predator killed the girls, but no, […]
Read More… from Chapter Five: Chickens Molting During Winter
The Cream Legbar has become a firm favorite here in the US at least, in part for its’ blue eggs. It is a fascinating study in genetics as few breeds have had their origins so well mapped. As you may imagine, the breed was not created overnight, in fact, it took several decades of study, […]
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