Hatching Chickens Since 1936
Nine decades of hard-won flock knowledge including care guides, breed profiles, and stories from the hatchery floor.
Providing a healthy, hygienic environment for chickens to grow and thrive is a win-win for everyone—your chickens will be happy, and as a result, you will be, too. If you’re looking for effective ways to improve the health and well-being of your flock, you can start by making a dust bath! You may have already […]
It’s no secret that farm fresh eggs are tastier and better for baking and cooking than the store bought kind. Raising chickens for their eggs can be a very rewarding endeavor, but there’s a lot of preparation that goes into it. So what do you need to know to get started? Prep Before […]
Debate rages over whether it’s better to feed and water chickens inside the coop or outdoors in the run. The right answer depends on a number of factors, including how big the coop is in relation to the flock size, whether or not the chickens are confined indoors overnight and for how long, how secure […]
All insecticides are toxic to some extent, or they wouldn’t work. Permethrin is a synthetic version of pyrethrins — natural insecticides that are extracted from daisy-like flowers. Compared to natural pyrethrins, synthetic versions persist longer in the environment and therefore need to be applied less often. Permethrin comes in the form of a dust […]
Chicken keepers have many different reasons for having a backyard flock of chickens. Here are 20 of the best reasons put forth by people with a passion for poultry: Chickens lay eggs. Keeping your own flock of hens ensures a ready supply of freshly-laid eggs right outside your back door. Chickens eat insects. […]
The most common ways chickens acquire lice are from wild birds and other chickens. Once a chicken is infested, lice spread by crawling from one bird to another. Contact with infested feathers, especially during a molt, also helps spread lice. Lousiness is usually worse in fall and winter. Suspect lice if your chickens are restless, […]
When those fuzzy little chicks, ducklings, or goslings arrive in the mail, the first thing you want to do is pick them up and cuddle them. Young children, especially, can’t resist snuggling those cute little fluff balls. The more time you spend with your baby poultry, the friendlier they will become. However, among the important […]
When chickens are allowed to free range, certain breeds fare far better than others, especially in terms of avoiding predators. Ideal characteristics for free ranging chickens include wariness, inconspicuous plumage, acute vision, and foraging ability. Predator Wariness Chicken breeds that are best able to evade predators are the wary, high strung, excitable, so-called […]
Ducks have been called the New Chickens, in honor of their increasing popularity. But the first time-duck owner who attempts to manage ducks like chickens can be in for an unpleasant surprise. The two main issues are that ducks like it wet while chickens like it dry, and ducks don’t have the same sensible sleeping […]
Chicks shipped by mail require a little extra TLC compared to chicks you might hatch at home. Think about how you feel after a long journey — dehydrated, exhausted, probably a bit cranky. What you look forward to most is a long drink and a warm bed. Baby chicks are no different. They suffer the […]
Pasty Butt — also known as pasting, paste up, or sticky bottom — is a common condition in newly hatched chicks. It occurs when soft droppings stick to a chick’s vent, then harden and seal the vent shut. If the condition is not corrected, the affected chick may die. Although pasting may be caused by […]
The hatching of a chick out of an egg — whether laid by a chicken, duck, goose, or other bird — is a remarkable process. Each chick enters the world with a built-in food supply that can sustain it for up to three days after the bird hatches. How does this happen? Starting on the […]