by Meredith Chilson Q: I’m wondering if one can get a hen to go broody and hatch eggs that one might order online. Does anyone know?— Rachel A: This is a great question, Rachel, and one that others might be wondering about on these “thinking about spring” days.The most honest answer to this is, however, […]

by Karla T. Q. I have 10 chickens: five Silver Laced Wyandottes and five Buff Orpingtons, all born last February. I was going to get five Black Ameraucauna baby chicks this year and was wondering the best way to integrate them into the flock. If I have a broody chicken should I put the babies […]

by Karla T. Q. Our hen is laying eggs on the floor. How to get her in the nesting boxes or doesn’t it matter? — Karen S., West Sunbury, Pennsylvania A. The main reason that I would say it does matter where they lay is that you want to be able to FIND them. For […]

by Meredith Chilson I haven’t purchased eggs in about three years, not since my backyard flock of hens started laying. I’m happy to use fresh, flavorful eggs. I wasn’t worried a bit when the salmonella scare hit last year. I know my hens. I know what and where they’ve been eating; I know that the […]

by Jennifer Sartell At times I thought we were crazy, as each chick found its way home in a makeshift cardboard box. Heat blasting from the car blower to keep things nice and toasty, I would stop at a red light, wipe the sweat from my forehead and peek in the box one more time […]

by Meredith Chilson We’re only a few days away from the winter solstice. The nights are long; the days are short. This morning the sun rose at 7:30 and by 4:30 this afternoon it will have faded away behind the hills. My hens spend a lot of time on their roosts. I thought this would […]

by Karla T. We’ve always had a lot of self-sufficient living books at our house. The Almanac of Rural Living, Back to Basics, Making the Best of Basics and many more. So when we decided to start keeping chickens I did a LOT of reading both online and in our personal library. One book that […]

by Rebecca Nickols With the end of the year approaching, I find myself reflecting on the events of 2010. Of course it’s the year we got our first flock, but it’s also the year our neighboring city, Springfield, MO, gave their approval for residents inside the city limits to have backyard chickens. This has been […]

by Meredith Chilson I would love to be able to free range my hens.Even though we live in a rural area, on a back road, it’s a narrow valley we live in with that rural road running right down the center.On one side of the road is a narrow field with a small stream at […]

Guest post by Pam Baker Chickens are fun. Ask anyone who has them. Well, fun is a relative term; you can’t take them to the movies or play cards with them, but many chicken keepers will tell you that they spend enjoyable hours watching their antics.Some make pets out of them, give them names and […]