What is a Heritage Breed?

Chickens have been a source of protein for hundreds of years  When the Spanish explorers arrived in the Americas, they had chickens in tow  These birds were bred to be hardy and productive  As European settlers arrived in North America, they continued to bring their chickens with them  They bred for health, longevity and productivity  

 

In 1873, the American Poultry Association began defining breeds  These standardized breeds became highly adapted to various climates  Some breeds were extremely cold hardy and would continue to lay through the darkest winter  Other breeds were developed to be a good

How to Keep Up with Chickens During the Holidays

Chickens can demand a good bit of your time, especially if you have a lot of them  As someone who has always had chickens, I know how much work they can be  But, I’m also a busy mom to three kids and I love to travel, which means that I had to learn how to manage my chickens effectively, even when I’m not around  The holiday season is much like traveling- you may be home more, but in between family dinners and shopping for gifts, your time to care for your chickens is going to be limited  Here are

How to Perfectly Hard Boil an Egg

Hard boiled eggs are a convenient and nutritious snack  They can be turned into a stand-alone protein snack, deviled eggs, egg salad or garnish on a salad  For many years, people quit eating hard boiled eggs because of the cholesterol content  Now, research has shown that not only is the cholesterol content in eggs nothing to worry about, but eating hard boiled eggs can actually lower your bad cholesterol levels  All the more reason to finally learn how to make the perfect hard boiled egg!

Knowing how to hard boil an egg is a must in the kitchen  Cook them

My Favorite Ways to Eat Eggs

Growing up, I wasn’t much of an egg-eater  In fact, I can clearly remember several times that eggs made me sick first thing in the morning  The fact that I keep about 30-40 laying hens at any given time may not make much sense  Although I wasn’t a fan of eggs as a kid, I’ve learned to enjoy them much more the older I’ve gotten  Eggs are packed with protein and farm eggs are packed with nutrients like carotene and vitamins  Here are my favorite ways to eat eggs that will please even the people that don’t care for

Reasons Birds Stop Laying

If you’re raising chickens, one of the reasons that you probably started with chickens is so that you could have fresh eggs  It can be a bummer when your hens stop laying  What causes hens to stop laying eggs?  Let’s dive into why birds will stop laying

The Science of Why Birds Lay Eggs

In nature, most birds will lay eggs only in certain times of the year  They will lay eggs when it’s the best time to raise their young  The ‘best’ time depends on temperature, whether food is readily available and other factors from the environment  Some birds will

Why can poultry be shipped through the mail?

Did you know millions of baby chicks are shipped through the mail each year in the US?  You might be surprised that baby chicks can be shipped through the post office  It’s not like you can take a puppy to the post office and ship it across the country, so how can hatcheries and poultry farms ship baby chicks?

 

It’s All in the Anatomy

In order to understand how baby chicks can be shipped, we need to go over a little bit of chicken anatomy  Let’s consider how a baby chick is formed  The chick develops within the shell and the

Why do Chickens Roost?

When you’re building a chicken coop, one of the pieces of advice that you’ll find is to build your chickens a roost  You may wonder why your chickens need a roost  Isn’t that what nesting boxes are for?  Let’s dive into why your chickens need a roost and how to create the perfect roost for them

How Chickens Sleep

You know that your chicken coop will need nesting boxes, but you might not know that your chickens will need a roost also  Your chickens will not actually sleep in their nesting boxes  The nesting boxes are designed to give hens a

Do you Need Anything in a Nesting Box?

The majority of people that own chickens get chickens so that they can have fresh, wholesome eggs  That’s a wonderful reason to have chickens  However, for many new chicken owners, the whole idea of your chicken laying eggs can bring up a bunch of new questions  One of the most common questions that I get from new chicken owners has to do with the nesting box and whether or not you need anything in it  Let’s talk about the purpose of the nesting box and whether you need anything in it or not

The purpose of the nesting box

Hens are

Boredom Busters for Chickens

You’ve probably heard the phrase ‘busy as a bee’  I think that ‘busy as a chicken’ should be just as relevant  Chickens are extremely busy and constantly going  Well, when they aren’t cooped up that is  Naturally, chickens would spend the majority of their time walking around scratching the ground searching for insects, seeds and bits of grass to eat  They would get up before daylight and spend the entire day doing this, only retiring right at dark

In an ideal world, you’d be able to let your chickens out everyday and they could spend their days out and about 

Hen to Rooster Ratio

You’ve decided that you want to raise backyard chickens  Now, the question of what you need to get comes up  Many people are quick to choose a breed, but often overlook a very important question- “How many hens and roosters do I need?”  You may be surprised to know that you don’t need a rooster at all if you’re just looking to have fresh eggs  Hens will produce eggs even when a rooster isn’t around!

But, if you’re set on having a rooster and you dream of a backyard farm, baby chicks, and being woken up by the crow of