This topic may be basic for some but I think it makes a neat visual demonstration. An egg has two membranes. The inner membrane encases the white and yolk, the outer membrane lines the shell. When an egg is laid, it cools and a small air sac forms between the two membranes at the...
Compromise is often a bad thing but in the case of dual-purpose chickens it is a sensible and practical idea for the home flock. There is nothing more satisfying than watching a flock of robust hens roaming about the farm chasing butterflies in late summer or sucking up earthworms after a rain. They are...
There is nothing that compares to the variety of chickens available through mail-order. There are bantams and full-sized; light and heavy breeds; egg layers, meat birds, or dual-purpose; white, brown, chocolate, tinted and green egg layers; ornamentals and production breeds; the newly developed and the heritage favorites.
Now that my chickens are about seven months old they have completely settled into their surrounds. By settled in I mean they no longer stay in the pen and rarely use the coop. Every night I have to go out and take them out of the bushes and trees and put them back in...
What we really need to fear about bees isn’t the sting. Gardeners know that most bees are gentle creatures, and if not bothered, don’t tend to sting. The real fear is the loss of our bees … our essential pollinators. A few years ago, this story was big news, but while the media has...
Now that my chickens are outside and growing faster than ever I have found myself filling their old chicken feeder daily. Which is OK if I have the time, but as we all know life rarely gives you the time to do what you want to. Most commercially made feeders cost around $30. I...
After a month being in the house inside the brooder box the little chickens were final ready to go out in their new home.
As I’m raising my chicks in the brooder box I’m asked the question “How do you know when they are ready to go outside”? The answer I’ve always heard is that when their feathers are in and they are big enough to not fit through the fence they are ready to go. Obviously if...
I’ve wanted to get chickens for a while now and my wonderful wife got me six baby Araucana chicks for my birthday. So now I had to figure out a way to house them once they were grown, and not go broke in the process.
