Chickens

The hardest thing that any chicken lover will ever have to do is pick their favorite breed. There are so many domestic breeds out there, each with its own personalities, perks, and characteristics, that settling on that number one bird can be an excruciating process. But even if you aren’t picking your favorite, picking the

Every homesteader knows by now how indispensable generators are. For getting work done around the property when extension cords just won’t reach to keeping the lights on after a particularly nasty storm, they’ll be getting plenty of up-time. But as ready and reliable as they are, they can be surprisingly finicky, especially during rough weather.

If you own chickens, or buy chicken eggs fresh from a farm and especially from a smaller vendor, the concern is always there that you might get a fertilized egg. Anytime a rooster is around hens, unless he’s been caponized, you can assume that those girls are going to lay fertilized eggs. The obvious implication

If you’re keeping chickens for eggs, naturally you want them to keep right on laying them so you have a steady supply. Whether you and your family are eating them, you are selling them, or using them for a breeding program, maintaining output is important. But, as productive as chickens are, there are plenty of

Chickens have a reputation as being the smallest of the common poultry species kept around the world, though they are certainly the most numerous. With that being said, even though they are the smallest compared to ducks, geese, and turkeys there is still a considerable amount of variation in how big chickens are… Excluding exceptional

Everybody knows that chickens lay eggs. You know that, I know that, absolutely everyone knows that. For most of us, that’s why we got chickens in the first place. And for beginning chicken keepers, one of the biggest fears is accidentally cracking open an egg that’s been fertilized. Usually, seasoned keepers will correct them and

Chicken fever is definitely gripping America again, and we see more and more homesteaders get excited about the idea of keeping a flock of their own. Chickens make surprisingly great and affordable pets, of course, but they’re also productive ones that can supply you with fresh eggs and excellent, high-quality meat. Perhaps the only downside

If you’re a chicken keeper, it pays to get acquainted with your birds. You need to know what normal looks like so you can spot abnormalities when it comes to health, behavior, and also their physiology. Birth defects and mutations can happen in chickens just like any other animal, and though they aren’t always cause

If you’ve spent any amount of time around chickens, you are probably already familiar with their typical physiology and body plan. Comb, wattles, beak, long neck, plump body, short wings, legs, and four toes on each foot. Simple as. Except, wait a second, does that chicken have 5 toes? It does, and on each foot!

If you’ve been spending any time around chicken owners, or reading chicken articles on the internet like this one, you’ve probably seen the term broody come up before. You’ve also probably seen references to broody hens. It’s an odd word, one you don’t really hear in any other context. But it’s an important one if