Letting The Girls Do The Work

Opening a box of just delivered peeping baby chicks is an exciting spring event Perhaps not as dramatic but just as fascinating is dropping bean, squash, corn, lettuce, and many other garden seeds in moist spring soil Both chicks and seeds promise delicious future food
About the time those spring chickens start laying, the summer garden is fading and tired as fall’s days shorten Then comes one of the least exciting of garden chores Dried vines, leaves, stems, tomato cages, and row markers need to be carted off to tidy up the space to rest for next

Do Chickens Make Good Pets?

A woman is occasionally spotted on a New York City sidewalk, leash in hand, walking a chicken Ask her if chickens make great pets and you’ll get an enthusiastic, “Yes! They are wonderful” Her chicken lives with her in her apartment
Ask the same question of a family that raises batch after batch of Cornish Rock Broilers destined for the barbeque grill and you’ll get a resounding, “No, chickens are food animals”

Most families that keep a small

Adventures in Ordinance Change

During the past few years thousands of American families have started a backyard chicken flock Bringing a breakfast’s worth of fresh eggs into the house is as prideful and delicious as growing and enjoying home grown vegetables
Gardening is legal and encouraged everywhere Sadly, some towns have enacted ordinances banning chickens inside city limits The good news is that change is sweeping the nation Town and city councils all over are recognizing that citizens want to legally keep a small flock, and they realize that it can be done without causing problems So, many towns have

Choosing Chickens For Their Traits

In many ways chickens are like people Both species come in a dazzling array of sizes, body shapes and colors On top of easily seen features are less visible traits Chickens, like people, are individuals They have personalities Watch a flock and soon behavioral differences appear, and close observation makes keeping chickens fascinating Sometimes their antics are downright hilarious
Physical characteristics and behavioral traits are generally predictable by chicken breed Orpingtons, for example, are usually calm, quiet, and inquisitive, while leghorns excite easily and often make a racket They can also fly like a pheasant Yet

How to Keep Chicken Feeders and Waterers Clean and Poop-Free

Like most birds, chickens love heights Their natural perching instinct tells them to sleep up high where they feel safe from predators and can keep a watchful eye on the coop below The trouble is, they do not stop at the roosting bars you provide Given the chance, they will happily settle on the top of a feeder

Kauai’s Wild Chickens

Visitors to Hawaii’s island of Kauai are surprised and often delighted to spot chickens nearly everywhere Kauai’s wild chickens lead strings of chicks across shopping center parking lots Rooster crowing seems to come from every direction, and often cars must stop to prevent hitting the abundant birds as they prance across roads

It wasn’t always the case Hawaii is one of the world’s most remote places with thousands of miles of the Pacific Ocean separating it from any continent

If Eggs Could Talk

Pop open a carton of grocery store eggs and all 12 of them look identical Gleaming white and nutritious Open a carton of eggs laid by a mixed backyard flock of hens and the eye is greeted with a delightful array of shell colors, sizes, and shapes They are as fascinating as they are delicious
Chickens enjoy a genetic blend of 20,000 to 23,000 genes in over a billion base pairs That’s not far short of humans with 20,000 to 25,000 genes and 28 billion base pairs People come in all sorts of sizes, shapes, hues, and

How To Enjoy Backyard Ducks

Ducks scampering around the backyard are enormously fun to watch, and here’s the part that surprises most people: ducks have the potential to lay at least as many eggs as nearly any chicken breed They’re productive, entertaining, and genuinely charming birds Like chickens, they need healthy food, safety from predators and weather, and adequate housing to thrive From there, though, their needs diverge in ways worth understanding before you bring any home If you’re thinking about adding backyard ducks to your yard, here’s what actually changes

Golf Balls Don’t Hatch, But They Help Manage A Broody Hen

A broody hen can either be a frustrating problem or a big help to anyone keeping a flock of backyard chickens
Broodiness results from a strong mothering instinct The hens of many breeds, especially those that lay white eggs, rarely go broody, while other breeds, often heavy brown egg layers with fluffy feathers, are well known for their mothering instinct
It’s easy to identify a broody hen She’ll stop laying, puff up her feathers, sit in a near trance, vocalize with a distinctive squawk when you disturb her, and spend day and night in a nest box

Enjoying Chicken Behavior

One of the joys of keeping a backyard flock of hens is learning that most people are wrong about chickens
Ask most folks what they think of chickens and they’re likely respond that they are simple minded, smelly creatures useful only for producing tasty meals But keep a small flock, watch them closely, and the truth emerges Chickens are intelligent, sensitive birds that behave in intriguing ways They are individuals Every chicken behaves a little differently than her coop sisters and collectively they make wise decisions