As I weeded a patch of string beans one July morning, sadness overcame me
The plants were loaded with beans, but the silence got to me
My garden adjoins our chicken run Whenever I’m planting, weeding, or harvesting, our 14 hens are my companions They watch me from just beyond the fence and encourage my work with cheerful, expectant clucking The hens joyfully feast whenever I toss tasty weeds or vegetable thinnings over the fence But, on that July morning no perky hens kept me company
If bread is the staple of human life, calcium is its backbone Lacking calcium, the bones of every living creature, from people to flounders, wouldn’t exist Without calcium neither clams nor bird eggs would have shells Chickens, and especially laying hens, need plenty of it to maintain both their health and laying ability
Laying hens have a calcium dilemma When chickens were wild birds roaming the Southeast Asian woodlands, they would only lay one or two clutches of eggs a year, maybe two dozen total Every egg removes calcium from the hen’s body, but when she didn’t lay many eggs,
Anyone studying the Hoover’s Hatchery catalog or Website faces one easy and one challenging decision The easy one is deciding whether to buy layer or broiler chicks
With delicious fresh eggs the goal of most people it’s easy to rule out broiler hybrids, like Cornish Rocks
Other choices get challenging Hoover’s sells dozens of breeds and hybrids that all promise good egg production How does someone select chicks that are likely to begin laying at the youngest age and keep producing for many months?
Actually, that’s also a fairly easy decision but takes some planning and thought Hoover’s lists the characteristics of
Of the hundreds of chicken breeds out there, only one always looks dressed to attend a wedding The Delaware chicken wears delicate lace every single day, just in case a ceremony is about to start Most backyard flocks lean on Rhode Island Reds, Ameraucanas, Barred Rocks, Australorps, or ISA Browns, and far too few include this dainty yet meaty heritage bird If you want a flock with a little extra elegance and plenty of practical value, the Delaware deserves a closer look
Keeping Bears Away From Your Backyard Chicken Coop
Raccoons live almost everywhere and love dining on chickens, eggs, and feed Wise owners of backyard flocks keep their hens in a sturdy coop with doors tightly closed when nighttime raccoons are on the prowl
Imagine the damage a 20-pound raccoon could do to a coop if it weighed 500 pounds!
That would be an American Black Bear
In many ways bears behave like giant raccoons They have an amazingly keen sense of smell, love eating chickens, feed, and eggs and have nimble paws able to open gates and unscrew jar lids And, they are
Summer’s dog days can be brutal Plants droop, wildlife slips off to the shade, and people retreat into air-conditioned comfort But what about the chickens out in the coop? If you are searching for the best chicken breeds for hot climates, the good news is that some birds handle scorching weather far better than others, and a few smart management habits can keep your whole flock comfortable when the mercury climbs Choosing wisely now means fewer heat scares later
How Hens Make Eggs: The Journey from Ovary to Nest
The delightful fragrance of sizzling bacon fills the kitchen as freshly cracked eggs plop into the frying pan Along with whole wheat toast topped with English marmalade, few breakfasts are more delicious than eggs fresh from the backyard coop
Before those eggs enter the pan, they’ve undergone a remarkable journey that starts in the hen’s ovary
When a female chicken hatches she has two ovaries but one gradually shrinks and becomes unfunctional The other gradually matures to generate all the eggs she’ll lay When she’s about 20 weeks old, give or take
Ask a longtime baseball manager which player matters most and you will often hear the same answer: the utility player Rarely the flashy media star, a utility player is the flexible athlete who can step into almost any position at a moment’s notice and still get the job done In the world of backyard poultry, the New Hampshire Red is that utility player It may not be the single best layer, the fastest broiler, or the most striking show bird, but it does all of those jobs well, and that all-around reliability has made it a backyard favorite for
