Some absolutely hate having a broody hen. Others (me, me, me!) absolutely love it. When a hen goes broody, she’s ready to hunker down, hatch some eggs, and raise the next generation of flock members. For us, that means we don’t have to: Incubate eggs, Purchase chicks, Maintain a brooder, Or take special care of
Tag: Chickens
If you’re in the eastern US, you have probably felt the chill of the latest polar plunge. This cold snap came very early and it set quite a few record lows, both for nighttime and daytime temperatures. What did this mean? It means our animals suffered a premature cold snap, and they weren’t very happy
Predatory birds can be difficult to fight off when it comes to your chickens, but there are ways to minimize losses among free range birds. If your birds are not free ranged, you can eliminate losses completely; but most homesteaders prefer to free range their larger flocks of birds, as a loss here and there
Commercial feed can be expensive and unsustainable, especially for a family that is trying to reduce its dependence on modern conveniences. There are a couple of options for cheap, free, or pre-existing feed that many families could take advantage of to: slash their feed bills, reduce their dependence on outside sources of feed, and raise
Chickens are one of the most popular, iconic, flexible, and functional features of the historical homestead. Some modern homesteads only keep them for egg production and pets; but if your homestead is geared towards the historic style of self sufficiency (producing and making use of everything that your land can handle, including meat), you’re probably
You’ve probably heard about fermenting feed; it stretches feed, allows beneficial bacteria to grow, and increases digestibility. But have you heard about simply soaking your feed?! If you are currently feeding your chickens a layer or grower crumble (pellets, too!), even a specially ordered high quality organic feed, I cannot recommend soaking enough! Soaking has
Do you deal with an angry, hateful rooster every single day? Do you get challenged, chased, pecked, or even spurred? Does he make it nearly impossible to finish chores on the homestead? I know how the story goes, and I know how common this chicken owner’s “rite of passage” is among new homesteaders. Aggressive roosters
Like any other day, you go out to the chicken coop to check on the ladies and give them some feed or veggies scraps. You make it to the nesting boxes, hoping to grab some delicious, fresh eggs (or, butt nuggets as we like to call them!) and you find the weirdest little egg you’ve
Have you recently walked out to your coop and noticed that your hens were having a bad hair day? A REALLY bad hair day? With feathers everywhere and your hens looking absolutely ragged and homeless, it might look like a war has erupted between all of the chickens on your homestead. Welcome to the world