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How to Train Chickens to Go into Their Coop at Night

Chicken Pop Hole Door

Chickens that spend nights within an enclosed coop will be protected from predators that prowl after dark. Chickens naturally want to “come home to roost,” although they may need to be taught where home is. Here’s how to train your chickens to go into their coop at night.   Furnish a cozy coop that provides […]

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How to Train Your Chickens to Come When You Call

Offer Chickens Treats to Come When Called

Training your chickens to come when you call them can be handy in a number of situations. You might use the training to gather your flock into the coop when you are ready to close it up for the night. You could call free range chickens together to protect them from a roaming dog or […]

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Chicken Feed — Whole Grains, Mash, Pellets, or Crumbles?

Scratch Grains

Commercially formulated rations are developed to maximize nutritional benefit based on a flock’s age, beginning with chick starter, then moving up to grower, developer, and lay ration as chickens mature. Meat birds have their own formulas for starter/grower rations and finisher ration intended to induce rapid growth. Aside from different formulas for different age groups, […]

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Chicken Keeping: A Time-Honored Tradition

Medieval Chickens

Chicken keeping has a long and successful history, dating back to antiquity. Some 19th century writers would have their readers believe that prior to the Victorian era poultry breeding was not a specialized occupation. It was certainly elevated in status once poultry shows began awarding prizes for quality and for new breeds, but the number […]

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What’s the Difference Between a Barred Rock and a Dominique?

Barred Rock

A lot of chicken keepers who are unfamiliar with both barred Rocks and Dominiques have trouble telling the difference between them. Once you’ve seen both, though, you’ll have no trouble readily identifying which is which. First let’s get one thing straight: “Barred Rock” is not a breed. The breed is Plymouth Rock. The original color […]

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Which Chicken Breed Looks Like a Hawk?

Easter Egger

With their large, hawk-like eyes, flattish head profile, downward turning beaks and striking feather patterns, Easter Egger chickens are often described as looking like hawks. Easter Eggers are related to Ameraucanas, which also have a somewhat hawk-like appearance. Easter Eggers are not considered to be a true breed, because they lack uniform conformation and plumage […]

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Myrtle the Para Chicken and the Battle of Arnhem

Stoessis Figurine

This September marks the 75th anniversary of World War Two’s Operation Market Garden, during which a hen named Myrtle parachuted into the Battle of Arnhem with Britain’s 1st Airborne Division. Summer of 1944 was hot in Leicestershire, England, as paratroopers of Britain’s Tenth Battalion, Parachute Regiment waited for deployment. Irritable after a series of proposed […]

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Geese: They’re More Than Meat and Feathers

Goose Eggs

Goose flesh makes a delightful dinner entrée and the feathers can be used to make a comfortable pillow, but the eggs are yet another reason to raise geese. When we don’t need them for hatching, we use eggs from all our flock – turkey, duck, chicken, goose, guinea and occasionally pheasant. Nothing goes to waste. […]

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