Keeping the Flock Healthy

Keeping Your Backyard Flock Healthy Through Good Care

Chickens are amazingly healthy animals Given good care they’re hardly fazed by winter’s chill or summer’s sweltering heat In the five decades we’ve kept chickens our flocks have always been healthy

In the past few years millions of commercial chickens were killed to slow the spread of avian influenza, or bird flu It’s a deadly disease but hardly the only malady that can sicken or kill our faithful coop friends

Knowing that diseases lurk we constantly work to protect our hens from illness A key strategy is buying healthy chicks from Hoover’s Hatchery Then

VIDEO: Why Do Chickens Molt?

Week 7 With Rudd Rangers


The chicks are now 6 weeks old and moving their tractor everyday has become a part of my daily routine It is hard to believe that not too long ago, they were little fluff balls arriving in the mail! They are still the most friendly birds we have ever had! It is the highlight of my daughter’s day to go see them She even has a pony, but poor Sebastian cannot hold a candle to the love she has for her chickens! 

Week 8 With Rudd Rangers

This week the Rudd Rangers are turning 7 weeks old, with about 5 weeks left until processing day This week they have seemed to have made a leap in growth That is one thing I have learned about meat birds; they will appear to have a “lull” in growth for a couple of weeks, then you turn around, and almost overnight they have made huge leaps in size! They are still drinking about 2 gallons of water per day, but this week have increased their feed intake to a full feeder each day! Last week, they