In this past year of caring for chickens, ducks and turkeys my days have been filled with many first-time experiences.  Over the past 5-7 years I’ve dreamed of raising chickens and have romanticized about gathering eggs each morning. After a full year of living ‘the dream’ let me share with you a summary of the […]

It gets dark here in Michigan around 5:30 now. The forced winter hibernation has begun. Zach and I have been scrambling after he gets home from work to take advantage of the waning daylight hours to rush through outdoor projects before the sun sets. Last night we worked on goat fencing with the Jeep headlights […]

Every flock needs a super star, right? Well, Betty the chicken certainly thinks so. It seems a lot of my chicken pictures include our Barred Rock named Betty.  Why is that you may wonder.  The answer is simple.  Betty likes to be in the spotlight!  When she sees that I have my phone or camera, […]

In this 16-minute TED Talk, Dr. Frank Robinson, a professor and researcher at the University of Alberta, addresses all the questions you might have about chickens but were too afraid to ask. Whether you’re a novice or an expert, check out Dr. Robinson’s talk to learn more about these curious animals.

Betty the chicken…full of spunk…she’s a flier! She’s one of the new girls in our colorful flock of chickens; a barred rock beauty full of spunk. She frequently flies the coop (well she actually flies the chicken yard)…                      …is she trying to impress the others […]

How much space does a chicken need to comfortably rest at night? Is a roosting bar an essential element in poultry housing?

Let me start by saying that we have had a little broodiness before.  No big deal…we moved the chicken out of the nesting box a few times, collected the eggs and all was good.  But this time…no eggs in the nesting box for two days!  The ladies ALWAYS lay their eggs in the same nesting […]

I’ve been worried about Big Tom, our Black Spanish male turkey. Through the years I’ve become quite attached to Big Tom. He’s a large, impressive bird. The heavy folds of skin above his eye give him a foreboding look and he can be quite intimidating. But really, he’s a puppy at heart. Tom follows us […]

At some point in our restauranteur history, an evil plot was hatched: to cut a wing in half and call it two. If that logic holds water, one could make the argument that if you have the intent, and the knife skills, a chicken could qualify as a quadruped (four-legged creature) or even a spider!

I had 3 guineas: Penny, Marcia, and Kelly. Being game birds, they tend to be very high-strung, even as chicks. Their basic reaction when anyone got within a couple of feet was to run away and if I needed to corral them for any reason, they behaved like I was going to rend them limb from limb. […]