Flock Journey is the education home of Hoover's Hatchery | Ready for birds? Shop at hoovershatchery.com
The journey
Know what normal looks like, notice when something is off, and know what to do next.
Go further
Pasty butt is when droppings dry over a baby chick’s vent and block it. Check every chick’s rear several times a day…
The earliest signs of heat stress in chickens are behavior changes, not collapse: hens crowd into shade, stop scratching, eat less, drink…
Most chick sneezing comes from irritants such as bedding dust, feed particles, ammonia from droppings or poor brooder ventilation. Chilling or overheating…
What Backyard Hens Love Most Sometimes our chickens are just like kids. Put a serving of steamed kale on one side of…
Raising chickens can be one of the most rewarding homestead or backyard hobbies, but like any animal, poultry are vulnerable to external…
Keeping Your Backyard Flock Healthy Through Good Care Chickens are amazingly healthy animals. Given good care they’re hardly fazed by winter’s chill…
Splayed leg (spraddle leg) is when one or both of a chick’s legs point outward instead of under the body, usually from…
Pin feathers are new feathers growing in during a molt. Each one is a pointed shaft wrapped in a waxy keratin sheath,…
Chickens should get antibiotics only for a clear bacterial infection diagnosed by a veterinarian, and only as that vet directs. Water-soluble antibiotics…
Pasty Bottom in Chicks: Causes, Fixes and Prevention It’s a rite of passage for new chicken owners—thinking you’ve got the cozy brooder…
How Much Space Do Chickens Need for a Healthy Flock Raising happy, healthy chickens isn’t just about food and water—it’s about space.…
Homemade Chicken Feed: What Your Flock Needs to Thrive Backyard chicken keepers are some of the most resourceful people out there. A…
Molting is a natural and essential part of a chicken’s life! It’s when they shed old feathers and grow new ones. Some…
Have you ever noticed at the end of a long, lazy day of foraging that your chickens have a little bulge in…
Top Chicken Diseases Every Backyard Keeper Should Know The internet is full of beautiful chicken coops, elegantly feathered chickens and chicken keepers…
Raising happy, healthy chickens often starts with what you feed them. One increasingly popular practice among backyard chicken keepers is fermenting chicken…
For a chicken flesh wound, isolate the bird in a kennel with clean shavings, wash the wound with warm soapy water, apply…
A hen grows through four stages: chick (0 to 6 weeks), pullet (6 weeks to 6 months), laying hen (about 6 months…
Roosters are usually larger, with bigger combs and wattles, longer colorful tail feathers and pointed saddle feathers on the back. They crow…
Sour crop is a condition where the crop, the throat pouch that stores food, stops emptying and the contents ferment. Signs include…
The internet is full of beautiful chickens in magazine-worthy coops. But let’s be real, chickens are barnyard animals, and barnyard animals can…
Deworming chickens is an essential part of maintaining a healthy flock. Worm infestations can lead to weight loss, decreased egg production and…
Why Chicks Peck Each Other and How to Help Injured Birds Every spring, I get the itch to add to my backyard…
Believe it or not, chickens are one of the most common domesticated animals in the world, providing us with eggs, meat, and…
Common questions
Know what normal looks like, notice when something is off, and know what to do next. It is one of the eight Flock Journey journeys: a guided path with deeper articles whenever you want them.
Keepers who want to spot problems early, or who are worried about a bird right now.
Pick the article that matches what your flock needs right now. Each one stands on its own, and the rest are a click away.
No. Start anywhere. The journeys all connect, so you can move between them as your flock changes.
The next journey is Growing Your Flock. You can also see all eight journeys on the Journeys page.
Start with the article that matches the symptom, such as panting, sneezing, limping or pasty butt. If a bird is declining or symptoms persist, call a poultry-experienced veterinarian.
