The Secret to Healthy Bedding in Your Coop

When we first started our backyard chicken journey, we did a lot of research on bedding for our girls Clean, dry bedding is paramount in keeping your chickens healthy Yet, if you have kept chickens for any length of time, you know they poop a lot wherever and whenever they want

Chicken poop contains nitrogen and when it’s broken down by bacteria or by getting wet, it creates ammonia Too much of this can cause respiratory stress or other infections in your chickens So, the need for good ventilation is vital to your chickens health as well as dry bedding

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Chickens and Their Personalities

Most chick catalogs and websites reveal general characteristics of chicken breeds  For example, Leghorns and most other white egg breeds are described as being flighty and noisy  In contrast most heavy breeds, like Australorps and Wyandottes, are claimed to be quiet, gentle, or tame    Some catalogs even go further claiming that certain breeds, often Orpingtons, are friendly

While biologists caution about affixing human personality traits to animals, catalog generalizations of chicken temperament are mostly accurate  Light colored, white egg laying breeds are usually nervous, strong flyers that are somewhat difficult

Managing Frostbite in Your Flock

If you’ve never experienced a January in Minnesota; you should, at least once in your life I was born and raised here, and still there are times when I’m taken by surprise at the sub-zero temperatures we get! I mean the kind of temps where your skin hurts just being outside and your lungs sting when you inhale too quickly Usually around this time of year, weather officials start to issue warnings about the dangers these temps can cause They tell us it’s important to take special care to cover our exposed skin, pack an extra pair of clothes