by Meredith Chilson Photos by author It has seemed like spring would never arrive. The winter dragged on with snow and ice and zero temperatures. March came in like a lion with blowing snow and went right on out with blowing rain; in fact, April weather was a lot like that in March. Those welcome […]

by Jennifer Burcke Photos by author It’s official. Spring has finally arrived here at 1840 Farm. It’s about time that the winter that wouldn’t end finally ended. We do live in New England, so I am always hesitant to audibly declare that we have made it through another winter. Believe me when I tell you […]

Dad being silly! by Kimberly Furry I purchased a few books and searched for some books at our local library about building chicken coops. Unfortunately, they weren’t what I imagined. I’ve searched the Internet endlessly and the Community Cluckers blog. I have some ideas and great pictures, but nothing concrete with regards to actual plans. […]

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 […]