Chickens and the Vegetable Garden

Millions of Americans proudly harvest tomatoes, squash, beans, lettuce and a host of other vegetables from their backyard garden Delicious, fresh, clean homegrown vegetables are far superior to counterparts purchased in the supermarket
The satisfaction that vegetable gardening creates extends to backyard chickens No market egg is ever as delicious as the one laid in a backyard coop Fortunately, few activities are as compatible as backyard chickens and gardening Chickens can help perform some of the most dreary gardening chores while converting pesky insects and weeds into eggs
Successfully meshing chickens with gardens can be tricky They

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

How to Manage a Chicken Run for a Dry, Healthy Flock

A well-run outdoor space is one of the best things you can give your birds, but to manage a chicken run takes more than just fencing in a patch of dirt Chickens love being outside to scratch, dust bathe, and soak up sunshine, yet they will strip every blade of grass in record time

How to Make a Simple Chick Brooder for Your Baby Chicks

There are few things more exciting than the day a peeping box of baby chicks arrives from the post office or comes home from the farm store Those little fluff balls are usually only a couple of days old, and without a mother hen to tuck them under her wings, every bit

Learning From Chickens

All across America millions of families have begun raising a small chicken flock in the yard Most have no experience, so many nature centers, farm stores, and garden centers are holding workshops on how to efficiently and humanely care for a few laying hens Classes are filled with young parents who say they want to raise chickens so their children learn where food really comes from and develop responsibility by caring for animals Their motivation isn’t just delicious food It’s an educational family project
Caring for chickens can give kids the satisfaction of helping provide family food

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

Do Chickens Make Good Pets?

Every so often, a woman is spotted on a New York City sidewalk, leash in hand, walking a chicken Ask her whether chickens make good pets and you’ll get an enthusiastic yes Her hen lives with her in her apartment Ask the same question of a family raising batch after batch of Cornish Rock broilers for the grill, and you’ll get an equally firm no, because to them chickens are food animals The truth, for most people, sits somewhere in between So do chickens make good pets? The honest answer is that they can, for the right person, with

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