Developing chickens to lay eggs with consistently blue shells requires careful consideration and attention to the breeding. Even though blue shell color is a dominant trait, developing the best blue egg layers is always a challenge. For the 2022 chick season here at Cackle Hatchery® we prepared a ranked list of the best blue colored […]
Continue Reading
Guinea fowl are fiercely protective parents. Unfortunately they don’t seem to grasp the concept that their little ones can’t move as fast as the big guys. As a result, the keets easily get lost. Further, during their first two weeks of life baby guineas, or keets, chill easily. Trapsing through dew-wet grass while trying to […]
Continue Reading
Cackle Hatchery® and Cackle’s Chicken Breeder Farms are members of the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP). But exactly what is NPIP? What is NPIP? The National Poultry Improvement Plan is a nationwide collaboration between state and federal departments of agriculture. Its purpose is to monitor member flocks and hatcheries and certify them as being free […]
Continue Reading
Barred Plymouth Rock (Exhibition Type) – Sold as Baby Chicks Only
Minimums – Not Sexed = 3 Female = 3 Male = 1 Seasonal/Shipped Feb thru September Maximum of 5 Continue Reading
Garlic (Allium sativum) has so many beneficial properties that researchers haven’t yet discovered them all. What is well known is that garlic has broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties, making it effective against many bacteria, fungi, viruses, and internal parasites, including protozoa. That’s why so many people are enthusiastic about using garlic for chickens. Allicin and Ajoene Garlic’s […]
Continue Reading
Broodiness is a hen’s instinct to hatch eggs and mother the chicks. A hen that’s thinking of brooding will sit on the nest most of the day and may cluck like a mother hen during the brief time she leaves the nest to eat and eliminate. While she’s on the nest she will puff out […]
Continue Reading
A setting hen doesn’t know (or doesn’t care) whether or not the eggs she hatches are her own. Under natural conditions her nest may consist of a collection of eggs from various hens in the flock. So, you might deliberately use your broody chicken hens as foster moms to hatch eggs laid by other hens, […]
Continue Reading
If you raise guinea fowl that you plan to free range, start with keets rather than full-grown birds. Keets become acquainted with their home ground as they broaden their foraging range. Adult guineas, on the other hand, are notorious for flying the coop the first chance they get. By raising guinea fowl from keets you […]
Continue Reading
Precisely how long an egg takes to hatch depends on a lot of factors including species, breed, strain, conditions under which the egg was stored prior to incubation, and conditions during incubation. But whether you plan to hatch eggs in an incubator or under a hen you need a more definitive answer the question: How […]
Continue Reading
Wry neck is a neurological condition in which a chicken’s head turns to one side or to some other abnormal position. Also called crookneck, the technical word is torticollis, from the Latin words torquere, meaning “to twist,” and collum, meaning “neck.” Wry neck in chickens takes on different forms, including these (illustrated) five: Head tilted […]
Continue Reading