My husband and friends had carefully packed the tiny Toyota Echo to the roof with all the things they needed for a medieval reenactment weekend 12 hours away in Montreal.  Picture a clown car with three burly guys, swords, cloths, and camping gear.  But they had forgotten the decaf coffee that my husband drinks.  Just […]

The CDC announced this week that they are investigating a multistate outbreak of multidrug-resistant Salmonella Reading infections linked to raw turkey products. There are 90 confirmed human cases of illness, and 40 of those have been hospitalized. People are sick in 26 states. Confirmed outbreak Illnesses started on dates from November 20, 2017, to June 29, […]

Salmonella is to chickens as E. coli is to beef and Vibrio is to seafood. They are bacteria that are typically partnered with a particular animal or group of animals. But did you know chickens have another bacterium that is actually more common than Salmonella? It’s Campylobacter. In fact, Campylobacter is the most common foodborne illness […]

The Man: Meet Bruce. Bruce is a 4-year-old Lab/Pug mix. Bruce has a lot of energy, he’s super sweet, loves to play, is always down to cuddle, but doesn’t listen and has killed chickens before. Bruce uses his super speed to patrol all backyard activities. While he spares the neighborhood rabbits, his territory remains an […]

Whether you have 2 birds or 200, it’s important to know what to do if an illness arises in your flock! Backyard chicken keeping is a lot of fun! But, sooner or later, chicken keepers will be faced with an illness that affects one or more birds in their flock. By acting quickly and being […]

When it comes to raising chickens, bacteria are always a concern. Bacteria can sicken entire flocks, as well as the people who are tenderly caring for them. The problem with bacteria is that they are everywhere – from the soil in the ground to the intestines of birds. And no matter what we do, there […]

I am the granddaughter of a poultry farmer. As a child, I grew up chasing ducks, feeding chickens, collecting eggs, and keeping away from the geese (mean little buggers they were). This also means that I learned a thing or two on bird keeping. Rather, how birds can make us humans sick if we are […]

Whether you have 2 birds or 200, it’s important to know what to do if an illness arises in your flock! Backyard chicken keeping is a lot of fun! But, sooner or later, chicken keepers will be faced with an illness that affects one or more birds in their flock. By acting quickly and being […]

In this series, I’m going to break down the five most important parts to setting up a quality brooder for chicks. In part one, information was given to hopefully help you choose your brooder, now a heat source needs to be chosen. There are some exemplary options out on the market today. Most of the […]

The first snowfall of the season happened the other day.  Although beautiful to me, it was a bit of a shock to the new girls in the chicken coop.  When I opened the door to let the chickens out in the morning, none of them eagerly came out as they normally would.  In this picture, […]