Chickens

Love them or hate them, honeysuckles are probably here to stay. As dense shrubs or growing come up creeping vines, there are few people who have not partaken of the childhood tradition of getting a little drop of nectar out of these pretty but pesky flowers. But how about our chickens? Can chickens eat honeysuckle? … Read more

All chicken owners know that these omnivorous birds are voracious eaters. Bugs, fruit, veggies, all kinds of stuff. Pretty much anything they can reach, it seems like chickens are keen to try it. In fact, one of the best ways to ensure your chickens get a properly varied diet is to feed them leftovers from … Read more

Japanese knotweed is a shockingly persistent invasive species that has spread from Asia to Europe, North America and most other parts of the world. It grows in abundance, fast and deep, and proves difficult to eradicate. Most methods of control prove futile, but a few lucky folks are having success by letting their livestock to … Read more

If you keep chickens, you likely already know that they will eat just about anything they can reach. Of course, this includes the chicken feed that you so thoughtfully provide for them, but they’ll steal food from other animals and even your pets, nibble on grass and chow down on every other plant growing around … Read more

Chickens can eat all sorts of things, including things that people would ordinarily eat. Fruits, vegetables, meats and even grains. One such grain that is enjoyed at breakfast tables around much of the world is oats. In North America, quick oats are particularly popular since they are fast and easy to prepare. Can chickens eat … Read more

If you have owned chickens for any length of time, you probably already know that they will eat pretty much anything and everything. They will even eat things that aren’t edible, or things that they shouldn’t. This can make for problems when people give chickens scraps and treats from their pantry or table. Though highly … Read more

If you raise chickens for their eggs, you’ve probably settled into a rhythm with them: you know your hands, no they’re laying schedules and they know when to expect you to come by and collect those eggs. Once you get into a groove, it is a wonderful thing having fresh, wholesome eggs on demand whenever … Read more

One of the funny things that humanity shares with most animals, at least most animals that live on land, is that they sneeze. Sometimes this is downright hilarious, when your dog or cat gets a sneezing fit, other times it can be frightening if they’re sick or struggling to get something out of their nose. … Read more

Chickens are birds. Everyone knows that. Still with me? Good. But the real question is whether or not “birds” as a group fit best fit into some other, broader classification of the animal kingdom. Are chickens mammals? No, of course not, as they don’t have mammary glands. Are they reptiles? How could they be? They … Read more

If you’re a proud owner of baby chicks, then you know how precious and delicate these creatures are. And naturally, you probably want to ensure that your little feathered friends grow up healthy and strong. One of the most crucial aspects of raising baby chicks is their diet. But what do baby chicks eat? Baby … Read more

There’s one thing that pretty much every living animal on Earth has in common: the fact that at one point or another, it will suffer from some kind of internal parasite. Yes, even our hardy chickens! Parasites are successful in nature because they’re highly adapted to beating or dodging the host organism’s own immune system, … Read more

No matter what kind of breed you have, where you live, or how you raise your chickens, one thing they will always need is a coop. The coop is where chickens go to sleep at night and stay safe from predators. Your chickens will probably be spending a lot of time in the coop if … Read more

For your average backyard chicken owner, the prestige of a breed is just not that important. You want healthy chickens that can lay a few eggs or grow up strong and plump to make a good table bird. That’s it. But for those true aficionados or keepers who have very specific purposes and intentions for … Read more

When it comes to chicken runs, there are a lot of different factors that you need to take into consideration. One of the most important is what kind of ground cover you put in your chicken run. This ground cover will help determine how comfortable and safe your chickens are, as well as how easy … Read more

For those of us who keep chickens and like them, it is really easy to get attached to them. Their personalities and the way they interact with the world around them are so endearing, and it gets worse when you start to form a bond with a particular chicken. And the way some of the … Read more

When it comes to homesteading, it rarely fails that you’ll wind up with a genuine menagerie of animals running around. Sometimes they will all get along, but much of the time there will be conflict. The fur, and sometimes feathers, will fly! There is hardly any arrangement I can think of that would cause more … Read more