Neighbors Help Make Backyard Flocks Possible

Occasionally a friend visits us at Winding Pathways  He’s a retired professor of ornithology…a bird guy The first thing he does is “go visit our girls” These girls are our backyard chicken flock

 

Our chickens are attractions that entice friends here and are ambassadors of positive neighbor relations Our hens give us eggs while showing visitors how well these fascinating food producing animals fit into modern lives and suburban backyards

 

We live in an urban world A couple of generations ago most Americans grew up on farms or in small rural towns Although they now live in a modern suburb they

Tips for Reducing Flies in the Coop

Flies are a constant nuisance, especially in backyards where you have livestock  Chickens don’t attract a huge amount of flies when compared to larger livestock like cattle or pigs, but they will still attract flies  Thankfully, there are a few simple ways to keep the annoying flies at bay

One of the first steps to reducing flies is to keep the coop and run clean  Flies are scavengers and feed on feces, decaying things and anything gross  If you keep the coop cleaned out, you’ll reduce the feed supply for flies around the coop  Remove poop daily  Poop in the

The Best Chicken Coop Bedding for a Healthy Flock

One of the first questions almost every new chicken owner asks is simple: What is the best chicken coop bedding to use? It sounds like it should have an easy answer, but the truth might surprise you, even if you have been raising hens for years The bedding you put on your coop floor affects everything from odor and bacteria to your birds’ feet and the cleanliness of your eggs, so it pays to get it right from the start

Interestingly, very little scientific research has focused on bedding for backyard flocks Most studies have looked at industrial broiler farms,