How to Manage and Prevent Lice in Your Chicken Flock

Raising chickens can be one of the most rewarding homestead or backyard hobbies, but like any animal, poultry are vulnerable to external parasites One of the most common—and frustrating—pests you may encounter is chicken lice Left unchecked, lice can spread quickly through a flock, reducing egg production, stressing your birds, and even leading to secondary health issues Fortunately, with the right management and prevention strategies, you can keep lice under control and your hens happy and healthy

Recognizing the Signs of Lice in Chickens

Chicken lice are tiny, straw-colored insects that live

How to Integrate Your Backyard Flock Into Orchards and Row Crops

Put your flock back to work!

This was a lesson I learned years ago when I first became interested in growing my own garden At a potluck with friends in Oregon I was blown away by my friend’s tomatoes

I asked her: “What’s your secret?”

“Chickens!” she said

As it turned out, she was using a backyard-scale crop rotation that incorporated her laying hens, occasionally allowing them to graze her garden beds, add fertility, eat bugs, scratch up the soil, and eat seeds I realized that this integration was something I needed to try myself

My poultry experience began soon after, with

Letting The Girls Do The Work

Opening a box of just delivered peeping baby chicks is an exciting spring event Perhaps not as dramatic but just as fascinating is dropping bean, squash, corn, lettuce, and many other garden seeds in moist spring soil Both chicks and seeds promise delicious future food
About the time those spring chickens start laying, the summer garden is fading and tired as fall’s days shorten Then comes one of the least exciting of garden chores Dried vines, leaves, stems, tomato cages, and row markers need to be carted off to tidy up the space to rest for next