Unlike cows and sheep, chickens are not primarily grazers and cannot digest large amounts of tough fiber. Short pasture perennials are therefore more suitable than taller plants as forage for free range chickens. But, like any pasture, forage for chickens must be suitable for the climate and properly managed. Warm Season Forage Among warm-season greens, […]
Continue Reading
The white birch is Russia’s national tree. Its curative properties have been recognized in that country since ancient times. Russians have long used birch bark to treat wounds. They used birch tree essential oil as a dewormer. They used birch sap, birch tar, and other birch tree extracts to treat hundreds of diseases, from bronchitis […]
Continue Reading
A chicken — or any other poultry — that persists in flying out of its enclosure can be an annoyance. It may destroy vegetable gardens and flower beds (yours or your neighbor’s). It may get into the wrong pen and mess up your breeding plan. Worse, it could get run over on the road or […]
Continue Reading
Vultures are often blamed for killing chickens that were already dead when they got there. Vultures are primarily scavengers. They subsist mainly on animals that have been dead for two to three days. A vulture is a large, black raptor with an exceptionally wide wingspan. It flies in large, languid circles while seeking something to […]
Continue Reading
Longtail chickens require specialized treatment to maintain the beauty of their lavish tail feathers. Here are 7 ways the care and feeding of longtail roosters differs from that of other chicken breeds. 1. Plenty of Perches A lot of what we know about caring for longtail chickens comes from the traditional management of Onagadori roosters […]
Continue Reading
Most chicken keepers have some amount of equipment in storage. They might be things used only seasonally, like chick feeders, drinkers, incubators, and brooders. Or they might be feed cups, waterers, and pet carriers used only during the show season. Other things might simply be spares that can be swapped out so the dirty ones […]
Continue ReadingBuilding a chicken coop can be an extremely easy, fun, and educational experience for your family. However, it can also be a challenging and stressful experience if you don’t know where to start. There’s a lot to keep track of when building your own chicken coop, and every step is extremely important for keeping your […]
Continue Reading
If a hen and her newly hatched chicks are left to wander around the poultry yard, the babies may fall prey to house cats, hawks, and other predators. And baby chicks can slip through most yard fences that are properly built to confine mature poultry. Chicks wandering around a yard can get chilled in damp […]
Continue Reading
Chicken keepers vary in levels of experience, from novice to expert. But no matter how knowledgeable we might be, and how carefully we manage our flocks, all chicken keepers face the same three challenges. Predators Everyone who keeps poultry sooner or later experiences that heart-stopping moment of realization that a predator has come to call. […]
Continue Reading
The scaly leg mite (Knemidocoptes mutans) is a tiny pale gray round creature, only about 1/100-inch in diameter. Despite its small size, in large numbers it can cause big problems by digging under the scales of a chicken leg and deforming the shank, feet, and toes. Unfortunately, dealing with scaly leg mites is a common […]
Continue Reading