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8 Summer Strategies to Keep Your Chickens Comfortable

A New Hampshire Hen pecks at a feeder

A chicken is most comfortable when the environmental temperature hovers around 70-75°F. As the temperature goes up, so does the chicken’s deep body temperature. Fatalities occur if the chicken’s deep body temperature reaches 115°F or above. When summer temperatures start to rise, here are 8 strategies you can observe to keep your chickens comfortable. 1. […]

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Reasons Not to Use Chicken Wire

A chicken stands in front of chicken wire

The word “chicken wire” implies wire that is excellent for use around chickens. Nothing could be further from the truth. What Is Chicken Wire? Chicken wire — also known as hexagonal netting, hex net, hex wire, or poultry netting — has been around since the mid 1800s. It consists of strands of thin wire twisted […]

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Keep Digging Predators Out of Your Chicken Yard

A drawing of a chicken behind a fence held up by paving stones

Keeping predators from digging into your chicken yard can be a challenge. How much effort and expense you wish to put into discouraging diggers depends a good deal on how long you expect your fence to last. If you are planning what you expect to be a lifetime fence, you might want to go all […]

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Get Your Chickens Ready for the Fair

A chicken keeper holds her bird and the award she won at a local fair.

Before you get your chickens ready for the fair, a good idea is to attend a few shows and become familiar with the procedures. Once you have an idea how things are handled, you’ll be better prepared to get involved. And by making friends with people who regularly exhibit, you’ll be more relaxed and have […]

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Feeders for Baby Chicks

Two baby chicks feeding out of a chick feeder

One of a chick’s first instincts is to peck. As soon as chicks are in a brooder, they look for things to peck. On newspaper they will peck the print. If they don’t see anything else to peck, they’ll peck their own toes. Suitable feeders for baby chicks will help them find the starter ration […]

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How Many Eggs Does a Turkey Lay?

Turkey eggs

The best laying turkeys don’t lay nearly as well as the best laying chickens. Plus, given that a turkey is bigger than a chicken, and therefore eats more than a chicken, keeping turkeys strictly for eggs is not a practical endeavor. However, if you have turkeys anyway, you may as well enjoy their delicious eggs. […]

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Selecting Guinea Fowl

Guinea Fowl together in an open outdoor space.

Guinea fowl are terrific foragers that wander around gobbling up ticks and other harmful insects. They are also wonderful watchdogs, noisily sounding an alarm whenever they detect something amiss. If you’re thinking of adding these unusual birds to your flock, the first thing to understand when selecting guinea fowl is the difference between African guineas […]

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How Many Eggs Does a Duck Lay?

Ducks together in a backyard

Some duck breeds lay as well as chicken breeds. However, ducks kept mainly for meat or ornamental purposes do not lay nearly as well as those that have been selectively bred for their laying ability. Below is a look at how many eggs you can expect each duck breed to lay per year. How Many […]

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Protect Your Chickens from Infectious Coryza

A chicken suffering from Coryza

Infectious coryza is one of the most common bacterial diseases of backyard chickens. It is, in fact, the chicken version of the common cold. Avibacterium paragallinarum bacteria cause this respiratory disease. Like the common cold, infectious coryza is particularly prevalent in the fall and winter, especially in the southeastern and northeastern United States and in […]

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