In the past 2 years we’ve added 2 kit-style coops to our chicken yard. When I say kit-style I’m referring to the types of coops that you often find in your feed store or that you can order on Amazon. They usually come in a large box and you have to bolt the panels together […]

This year we are downsizing certain areas of our farm and really taking some intentional/mindful  looks at where we want to go in the future. I feel like, at this point, we’ve tried a lot of things. We’ve raised a lot of different animals and over the years I’ve realized I have favorites and preferences […]

Sandy Cryder — When I got my first small backyard flock, my choices for how to keep them were few. I had a small coop given to me by my neighbors and a fenced in backyard. I was ready! Starting Small The gift coop was a good size for 4 hens. It was portable and […]

Frank Hyman shares plans and instructions for a practical (and cute) poultry nesting box. Nest Box Necessities A lot of thought went into the design and construction of our coop’s nest box. It’s such an important feature that my wife, Chris – the livestock manager – asked me – the facilities manager – to install […]

It’s spring time when lots of folks are getting their first chickens, or are adding more birds to their flocks.  Blogger Claire Woods shares tips for coop building materials. While dreaming up your ideal chicken coop, you know you want it to be safe, functional, and probably pleasing to look at. Chicken lovers are coming […]

While you want to keep chickens, you might not want the rodents that sometimes are attracted to their feed. Read about Carrie Miller’s methods for dealing with rodent problems. Chickens have a dirty little secret that keepers would rather not talk about. Do you know what it is? They are notoriously messy eaters. Chickens tend […]

New blogger Katherine Kretchmar comes to us from Minnesota. Happy spring! In my part of Minnesota that doesn’t mean green things yet, but it does mean that the snow is mostly gone (for now, though April can always bring more) and my chickens are venturing out of the coop. Variety of Chickens We have a […]

Coop Cleaning 101: The most important role in chicken keeping is to protect yourself while also protecting your flock. Coop cleaning safely is a must! Poultry, such as chickens, ducks, and turkeys can carry Salmonella among other harmful bacteria. You can easily protect yourself and your home with a pair gloves and rubber boots that […]

This is a companion piece to Liz Fulghum’s article Low-Maintenance Backyard Chickens. Here Liz provides detailed equipment lists and instructions for building a low-maintenance food and water system for your backyard chickens. This DIY food and water system is ideal for a backyard flock of 3 to 6 chickens and for busy urban homesteaders with […]

Chickens provide free compost, fresh eggs, and are extremely helpful garden assistants by turning up soil, eating insects, and keeping weeds at bay. They’re part of the perfect garden trifecta: fruit and vegetables, chickens, and bees. They’re also wonderful on their own, without bees or dedicated vegetable gardens. So if you have some extra space in […]