Tips for Cleaning Eggs

You’ve successfully raised your fluffy, sweet chicks into beautiful hens  Your hens have started to lay and you can’t wait to crack open your first home raised egg  When you go out to the coop to collect eggs, you might be surprised to see that your eggs aren’t always clean and perfect  There are many things online about the do’s and don’t of cleaning eggs  What’s the best and safest way to clean your farm eggs?

Should you wash fresh eggs?

You may be surprised to learn that the United States is one of the few countries that sells refrigerated eggs 

Where to Begin if You Want to Start Raising Chickens

Animal husbandry or livestock for agriculture Chick eating food in the tray and two chicks that are sleeping Under the light bulb warmth on straw in the nightWhich came first… the egg or the chicken? That’s what comes to mind when someone asks me what they need to do if they want to start raising chickens And for the record, the answer is the egg (Today’s domestic chickens are the result of breeding wild jungle fowl with other birds to create what would become the chicken So, it seems to reason that someone at some point crossed two birds

How Daylight Affects Egg-Laying

Chickens are farm superstars  They produce eggs almost daily  Some chickens have even been known to lay multiple eggs per day  They don’t require much food in order to produce those eggs, either  One thing that many chicken owners quickly realize is that some chickens tend to slow down or stop laying eggs in the winter

 

Why is that?  Keep reading to learn more about why chickens may stop laying in the winter

 

Hens and Daylight

The hen’s body and egg production is a complex cycle that is impacted by the amount of daylight 

10 Reasons You Should Raise Quail

Do you dream about raising birds, but you can’t raise chickens in your urban area? Or maybe you do raise chickens, but you’re looking for something different If you want to raise birds that lay delicious eggs and have meat that is considered a delicacy, then you need to think about raising quail Here are 10 reasons that you should be raising quail Quail
  1. Space Requirements Quail are considerably smaller than chickens, ducks, geese or turkeys Their smaller

Keeping Your Flock Safe From Predators

Chickens are a wonderful addition to any farm or backyard Chickens, however, attract not so wonderful critters to your farm or backyard You may realize that chicken feed will undoubtedly attract mice to your feed shed But have you thought about the predators that will be attracted to your chickens? Chickens that aren’t secured in a coop make an easy meal for predators like raccoons, foxes and hawks Here’s how to make sure that your birds stay safe
A coop is a must have
You cannot keep your chickens safe without a coop At night, chickens roost

10 Reasons You Should Raise Quail

Do you dream about raising birds, but you can’t raise chickens in your urban area? Or maybe you do raise chickens, but you’re looking for something different If you want to raise birds that lay delicious eggs and have meat that is considered a delicacy, then you need to think about raising quail Here are 10 reasons that you should be raising quail

Quail
  1. Space Requirements
    Quail are considerably smaller than chickens, ducks, geese or turkeys Their smaller

How to Identify Chicken Preadators: Weasels

This less common chicken predator is one that shouldn’t be written off just because it’s not as common as the fox, raccoon or birds of prey Chicken keepers that have weasels should always be prepared to deal with this vicious predator This is the fourth installment of our 4-part series in how to identify chicken predators: weasels
Identifying Weasel Attacks
Weasels, although small, are notorious for being both ruthless and hard to deal with Weasels will leave chickens in a bloody mess There will be feathers, blood and chicken carcasses left behind Weasels will often kill

How to Identify Chicken Preadators: Birds of Prey

It may seem silly to think that a hawk could attack a chicken and fly away with it, but it happens all of the time Red-tailed hawks, red-shouldered hawks, eagles and owls will all attack chickens if given the chance This is the third of our 4-part installment of our how to identify chicken predators: Birds of Prey
Identifying Attacks from Birds of Prey
One of the first signs of an attack from a bird of prey is a scouting bird Hawks, eagles and owls will scout their prey out well before attacking it You may

Quick Notes About Raising Turkeys

Raising turkeys is not that different from raising chickens The meat that home-raised turkeys produce is flavorful and bountiful Turkeys are also more social than chickens and makes raising them a fun and rewarding experience If you currently raise chickens, you probably have most of the equipment that you would need to raise turkeys

Baby turkeys are called poults You can purchase day-old poults just like you can chicks You’ll need to set up a brooder for them similar to how you would for chicks Poults can be a little bit more adventurous and may jump over short

Methods for Preserving Fresh Garden Vegetables

A home vegetable garden can provide you and your family with an abundance of healthy and delicious food Today we’re providing some methods for preserving fresh garden vegetables The extra garden goodies can be preserved so that your family can enjoy them all year long Traditionally, foods were dried or cured Don’t worry though, these aren’t your only options to preserve your food Modern methods allow us to preserve foods in ways that are safe and delicious

Drying
Drying