Candling Eggs

Candling eggs is a fun and educational activity for both children and adults When incubating eggs at home, candling ensures you keep only the healthy eggs It is also just really neat to see the embryos growing! You can candle your eggs at home, but be advised, if you have darker eggshells, they can be harder to see Lighter colored eggs are easier to see through All chickens’ eggs hatch after 21 days of incubating at 995F Stages of embryo growth are very similar throughout the bird kingdom, with only small variables differentiating them

Training Hens to Lay in Boxes

We’ve all had that one or two hens who love to lay their eggs in the most surprising places We had a hen that sat on the front seat of the side-by-side every single day, and left us a tan egg There was also our hen Dotty, who loved to lay her eggs in the dog bed, making the perfect organic dog treats Although it can be funny later, when you can’t find your chickens’ eggs, it can become frustrating very quickly

 

There are several reasons why a hen would prefer to lay her eggs anywhere other than the nesting

Apartment Style Gardening

Dreams of living the country life often start in times of our lives when we are not yet able to fulfill them Like many people out there, I myself once dreamed of rolling hills and a simpler life while living in an urban sprawl My husband and I lived in a small Japanese apartment for 2 years before we settled back in Alabama That being said, no matter the space you have, there are still many options out there if you want a piece of the farm life

 

Apartment style gardening has grown in the past decade, with more and

Black Australorps

The story of the Black Australorp breed began first in England in the early 1900’s A man named William Cook from Kent, United Kingdom, created the Orpington chicken Orpingtons are large, heavy feathered, docile poultry Orpingtons then were shipped to Australian homesteads in the 1920’s to fill a need for laying birds The Orpingtins were crossed with other egg production breeds, such as the Leghorn, Rhode Island Red, and Minorca Thus, the Black Australorp was born, and its namesake is a combination of the words Australia and Orpington

 

Black Australorps still exhibit some of the characteristics of their Orpington cousins

Composting Chicken Coop Bedding

If you’ve ever driven though the countryside on a Spring day, you may have been struck by the odor of chicken manure spread over the fields While a temporary, smelly inconvenience, chicken manure can drastically improve grass health Nitrogen is one of the most important indicators of pasture health, and chicken manure happens to be high in such an essential nutrient Along with nitrogen, composted chicken manure regenerates soil heath by adding phosphorus and potassium, common ingredients in store-bought fertilizers

Before adding your chickens’ spent bedding to your garden, it must be composted first Composting allows time for the breakdown

Duck Nutrition

There is a saying that chickens are the “gateway drug,” of livestock Many of us have started out with chickens! Raising chicks into healthy adult chickens takes some know-how and practice

All joking aside, you need to know the nutritional needs of ducks before you decide to add them to your flock Ducks and chickens can live together in the same area, but ducks will have different nutritional needs Ducks tend to be messier than chickens by nature, so ample room is a must

 

Water, water, and more water!

The number one key to

DIY Chicken Feed

Most of us feed our grown flock of birds layer pellets Layer pellets are a great food, containing most of what an adult hen needs to survive If you would like to treat your chickens with a ration that does more than simply let them survive, try making your own!

That being said, chickens allowed to free-range on a good sized, diverse piece of yard, do not have to be fed a special diet at all Chickens allowed to be chickens will balance out their nutritional needs completely naturally! However, all chickens need some type of complete daily ration to

Affordable Ways to Make the Coop Homey

We’ve all seen the Pinterest chicken coops of our dreams I’m not knocking those beautifully designed coops that have more stately architecture than a million dollar home I think many of us envy that luxurious coop in the backyard That being said, we cannot all achieve such coops, but we can look for thrifty ways to get pretty close!

Here are a few ways you can redecorate your coop on a budget this year, making you and your chickens a little happier!

Old Windows

Old windows, taken from old houses during renovation, are easy to

All About the Sapphire Splash

Today I’m here to tell you about a chicken breed most of you have never heard of before, the Sapphire Splash
Most of us have heard of the Sapphire Gem, a beautiful dark grey chicken that adds a sophisticated touch of color to a mixed flock The Sapphire Gem has a cousin, the Sapphire Splash Both are breeds originate in the Czech Republic
I just love Sapphire Splash chickens, and not just for their color Sapphire Splashes have some of the best temperaments of any chicken on the market now My family has always had at least one SS

How to Store Chicken Feed

You don’t need a fancy barn or coop to keep your feed organized! For years I spent so much time walking from coop to barn, to barn to house, and back down again Having all my feeding areas spread out was frustrating and a lot of extra work Of course barns are important for animal shelter, but you don’t need a barn to store your feed!
Just make a metal storage box instead!

Here’s a fact for you: feed attracts vermin
No matter where you decide to store your flock’s feed, mice will smell it and they will come It’s for this reason,