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How to Handle Baby Chicks, Ducklings, and Goslings

How to Handle Baby Chicks, Ducklings, and Goslings

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 […]

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Best Chicken Breeds for Free Range

Best Chicken Breeds for Free Range

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 […]

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Homemade Hand Sanitizer for Poultry Keepers

Homemade Hand Sanitizer for Poultry Keepers

After handling poultry or visiting the coop, you should thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water, as recommended in “Protect Yourself and Your Family From Germs,” a poster distributed by the Centers for Disease Control. If soap and water are not readily available, the CDC recommends using a hand sanitizer until you are able […]

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What Do Baby Chicks Eat?

What Do Baby Chicks Eat?

Newly hatched poultry come equipped with yolk reserves that provide baby birds with nutrients for many hours after they hatch. It’s nature’s way of allowing the early hatchers to remain in the nest until the whole brood has hatched. Hatchery chicks shipped by mail take advantage of these yolk reserves during the day or two […]

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Homegrown Chicken Tastes Great Without 11 Herbs and Spices

Homegrown Chicken Tastes Great Without 11 Herbs and Spices

Colonel Sander’s recipe for Kentucky Fried Chicken, made with 11 herbs and spices, is no longer a well-kept secret. The original KFC recipe appeared in the Chicago Tribune after being submitted by Colonel Sander’s nephew Joe Ledington. Mr. Ledington found the recipe in a scrapbook belonging to his late Aunt Claudia, the Colonel’s second wife. […]

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How to Remove Dried Mud Caked on a Chicken’s Shanks and Toes

How to Remove Dried Mud Caked on a Chicken's Shanks and Toes

Anyone who has had chickens for more than a few days soon discovers that they will eat or trample all the vegetation growing near their coop, eventually turning lush grass into bare soil. In a rainy climate, or during times of unusually heavy rainfall, the soil can rapidly become a sea of mud in which […]

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Four Kitchen Scraps Not to Feed Your Chickens

Four Kitchen Scraps Not to Feed Your Chickens

Chickens have a wide range of likes and dislikes when it comes to what they eat. Unless they don’t otherwise get enough to eat, most chickens won’t eat things that are bad for them, or at least they are unlikely to eat enough to make them sick. Feeding kitchen scraps can be a nutritious way […]

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Protecting Your Flock From Mites and Lice

Protecting Your Flock From Mites and Lice

Protecting your flock from mites and lice can seem like an impossible problem. In fact, many poultry producers in years past didn’t even bother trying to get rid of mites, lice and similar pest infestations because it was such a common and invasive problem. Fortunately, there are now some easy things you can do to […]

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