Popular Egg Layer Breeds for a Friendly, Colorful Backyard Flock

If you are dreaming about adding to your flock this year, you are in good company Winter is the perfect time to slow down, scroll through a hatchery catalog, and plan which birds will fill your egg basket come spring Most people get into backyard chickens for the fresh eggs, and honestly, it is hard to beat a farm-fresh breakfast What surprises many first-timers is how quickly these sweet birds become beloved pets Choosing the right popular egg layer breeds means thinking about more than just egg counts It means finding hens that lay well, get along with their

We Have a Surprise for You!

The girls and I have very exciting news to share with our faithful friends and followers and we wanted you to hear it here first! No, I didn’t get new chicks to add to my flock YET! (winks)

 

You all know the girls and I love Strong Animals Chicken Essentials products and I use them religiously to keep

Quick and Easy Christmas Deviled Egg Wreaths

Hurry! You’ve been invited to a friend’s house for a get together and you’re not sure what to bring? Well, maybe not in 2020 but you know what I mean? Anyways, I’ll help you out! I’m not going to go into a long story on how I came about all of this It’s really not that spectacular And, if you’re in a rush like I was, the last thing you want to do is to scroll through a long story before you

4 Ingredient Egg Cups

Happy New Year! I know that all of us are looking forward to 2021 The new year brings a fresh feeling of new beginnings Many of us realize we ate too many of those delicious cut-out cookies during the Christmas season, and are in need of a bit of an overhaul in our healthy eating

 

In our

How to Prepare Your Flock for Extreme Winter Weather

It’s almost the middle of winter and here in southwest Minnesota, we still have no snow! Usually by now, we’re all singing “White Christmas” and wearing loads of winter gear out and about While us Minnesotans are all enjoying this weather, we know what’s coming The snow always comes and usually without much warning We have lived through many blizzards, but each year it still takes us by surprise

I was born and raised here and now we’re raising our family here I love every season But, there are certain things we do to prepare for winter, and preparing our

How to Decorate Your Chicken Coop for Christmas (Two Easy Ways)

Happy December, everyone! Like most folks around here, we got a good head start on our holiday decorating this year, and I decided to take it one step further and make things festive for the flock too If you have ever thought about decorating your chicken coop for Christmas, I want to show you two simple ways to do it The first look came together for under $10, and the second is a slightly fancier version for those fun holiday photos Do the girls care one bit? Not even a little But it sure is cheerful to glance out

Is it Safe to Eat Eggs with Blood Spots?

If you’ve been eating or using eggs for any length of time (hello almost everyone!), you probably have had a blood spot in your egg once or twice While this isn’t appealing to the eye, you need to know that they are perfectly fine to consume or use!

Contrary to popular belief, a blood spot does not mean that the egg is fertilized It simply means that a blood vessel ruptured while the hen was laying the egg This can be due to stress, genetics, or health of the hen

Some stressors can be environment – lack of fresh water, diet,

Treat Idea: Sprouted Grains for Chickens

I set off on a little adult science fair project this past week I decided that in honor of Thanksgiving week, I’d try out a new treat for the girls I placed an order for some raw organic, non-GMO barley and alfalfa seeds You can sprout many different types of grain, beans or lentils Please remember to never feed your flock dried, uncooked beans They contain a toxin, hemagglutinin, which can be deadly for your chickens However, when you cook or sprout beans, the toxins are destroyed and are safe to feed your flock

I chose

Egg Color and Quality: What Every Backyard Chicken Keeper Should Know

If you raise a backyard flock, you already know there is nothing quite like the eggs your “girls” provide for your family They taste wonderful, and there is something deeply satisfying about walking out to the coop each morning to gather your own breakfast It is honestly one of the most rewarding parts of chicken keeping Once you start paying attention to egg color and quality, you realize how much variety a single flock can produce, from creamy white to deep chocolate brown, and even blue or olive green If you keep different breeds, your egg basket can look

Gardening With Chickens

It’s August! What in the world? Where did the summer go? I’m torn between being ready for 2020 to be over (with Covid-19) and really wanting to throw the breaks on because I love this time of year! The mornings are starting to get a bit cooler here in Minnesota, but still warm up in the afternoon The cicadas are singing their song and the sunsets are stunning It’s also the time of year where our garden is starting to overflow with an abundance of produce! We’ve already had BLT’s 3 times and green beans until our hearts are