by Meredith Chilson Many backyard flocks have a rooster or two—to protect the hens as well as to help create the next generation of chickens.  We had a lovely Buff Orpington rooster living in our family’s coop for a while, in fact. The family rooster I’m going to tell you about now, though, is only […]

by Shannon Cole of Country Girl In The Village I first became interested in backyard chickens almost four years ago. Two friends of mine were starting flocks and I could not resist the excitement that came with getting that first set of day old chicks. My requirements in getting backyard chickens were a little different […]

by Margaret E. Kellogg Photos by author Hens will lay eggs without having a rooster, so how does one end up with 30 roosters? Well, we started out with one rooster, a Rhode Island Red named George. Then, when we obtained some Light Brahma chicks from the feed store, I got a rooster. They always […]

by Meredith Chilson Photos by author It seems to me that this time of year has an urgency to it. Maybe it’s from all the children trying to pack a final few days of summer in before they head off to another year of school. Or, maybe it’s from the migratory birds and the hibernating […]

by Jennifer Sartell Photos by author Many of my friends who keep chickens marvel at the array of roosters that we have living in harmony together. At one time we had 14 roosters coexisting happily in the same coop/yard. It’s getting to be that time of year when many of the cute little un-sexed chicks […]

Our Barred Rock, after she regained the feathers she lost because of stress by Nancy Farrell Q: My chickens are pretty much bald on their back ends. They are all still laying and seem fine, but we were wondering what causes this and what can we do to fix it? – Lynnette A: Lynnette, chickens […]

by Susan Waughtal Our colorful rooster, Knickerbocker, ended up on our farm by accident. Two summers ago we raised 200 mixed-breed, heavy-body heritage breed roosters as broilers. When we took the last batch of 50 to be processed, one of the holding cage doors at the processor did not latch properly and six chickens escaped. […]

Midge crows, now that he’s top roost by Nancy Farrell Q. My father has a 6-month-old rooster that shows all the sexual characteristics of a beautiful, full comb and tail, but he does not crow or mate. Another rooster in the yard is dominant, but that hasn’t stopped other roosters. Any ideas? — Bettina A. […]

by Karla T. It’s that time of year again! The chicken catalogs have begun to arrive and I get to start imagining and planning my additions to next year’s flock. I love looking through the catalogs and websites. What will I get this year? Will an unasked for and unwanted rooster turn out to be […]

by Jennifer Burcke “Now is the winter of our discontent.” So begins Richard III by William Shakespeare. No, I won’t turn this into a post about iambic pentameter. However, I will tell you that here at 1840 Farm, the year 2011 began in much the same way as Shakespeare’s epic masterpiece. We are deep in […]