Todays’ article tackles one of the least endearing qualities of our beloved hens – chicken bullying. It is more than establishing the ‘pecking order’- it is systematically picking on one or two hens for no apparent reason. Bullying can be limited to feather plucking or escalate into full-blown warfare, with the receiving hen being severely […]
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What is a sour crop? We all hear about it from time to time but hopefully will never experience it with our hens. We will delve into what it is, how to treat it and how to avoid it in the future. Also, we’re going to look at impacted crops, which is something a bit […]
Read More… from Sour Crop in Chickens: What is it And How to Treat it
I think we all get ‘that’ craving every time spring comes round- introducing new chickens to our flock!? In fact, with our first flock, it didn’t even take us this long. After the first weekend, we went and got another six pullets. Before we knew it, we had twelve pullets in our coop staring back […]
Read More… from How to Introduce New Chickens to Your Existing Flock
One of the biggest problems backyard chicken owners face during the winter months is keeping their egg supply going. If you’ve kept chickens during the winter months before, you will know that, unfortunately, if you let nature take its course, your hens will stop laying completely during this period. I’ve raised chickens for over 7 […]
Read More… from Chapter Two: How To Keep Chickens Laying Eggs During Winter
Plymouth Rock is one of Americas’ oldest breeds. The hen was seen from coast to coast before the end of World War 2, and it became the nation’s main source of chicken meat and eggs. As a dual purpose hen, it excelled in good quality meat production and good egg production, the only hen that […]
Read More… from The Plymouth Rock Chicken: All You Need To Know
We’ve all heard the phrase ‘the pecking order. In our mind’s eye, we likely see colleagues and co-workers neatly arranged in order of ‘merit.’ From the CEO down to the janitor, everyone has a place in the ‘pecking order. The term ‘pecking order’ was first coined in 1921 by Thorleif Schjelderup-Ebbe to describe the hierarchy […]
Read More… from The Pecking Order: What Is It and How to Avoid Problems in Your Flock
The Silkie chicken has been called fluff-balls, aliens from another world, teddy bears, and many other things in between. Without a doubt, they certainly are unusual-looking chickens! Their strange appearance, friendliness, and mothering skills are surely what endears them to many folks. Today we are going to discover the history behind this unusual breed of […]
Egg candling is a neat, cheap, and easy way to discover what is happening inside the egg, but how do you do it? Here you will find the complete guide on what candling is and when and how to perform it. I will also explain some of the mysteries behind candling and help you get […]
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Your hen is squawking whenever you approach her, and she won’t leave her nesting box. What’s wrong, is she ill? Far from it, and chances are she is just a broody and wants chicks. If you aren’t planning on having chicks, this can be problematic because the hen in question will stop laying eggs. Whatever […]
Read More… from What Exactly Is a Broody Hen and How to Stop It?
There are not too many greater pleasures in life than strolling down to the bottom of your garden, reaching into your nest box, and pulling out a freshly laid egg. If you time it just right, the egg will still be warm! You joyfully walk back inside and take the egg into your kitchen to […]
Read More… from How To Store Your Chickens’ Freshly Laid Eggs