About the Author

Whether you are a first-time homesteader on a journey to learn how to raise ducks or have hatched more flocks than you can count, here are 10 duck raising questions that both novices and experts often have.

If you have a rooster, chances are you’ve been spurred or chased. Stopping aggressive behavior is not impossible. Differences in breed, individual temperament and the time he has been allowed to exhibit aggressive behavior all play a part in the difficulty of stopping attacks, but you can do it!

Learning how to care for ducklings is a little different than learning how to care for chicks. Though they have similar overall needs for food, water, warmth, and safety, ducklings require some important modifications to their environment.

When can chicks go outside? Chicks can go out permanently when “fully feathered,” meaning all fluff has been replaced by true plumage. If even the neck still has fluff, brooder …

Brown egg laying hens consistently appear on best egg layer lists and can be the backbone of a productive backyard flock, many laying more than 200 eggs per year.

Brown egg laying hens consistently appear on best egg layer lists and can be the backbone of a productive backyard flock, many laying more than 200 eggs per year.

Coccidiosis is one of the leading causes of death when caring for baby chicks. One way to help protect your birds against this disease is to feed a medicated chick starter.

There are more than 60 breeds of chickens recognized by the American Poultry Association and hundreds of other chicken breeds that have been developed worldwide — many of whom lay gorgeous eggs in a rainbow of hues ranging from white to cream, green, pink, blue and even chocolate brown.

Why not step up the unique a notch and go beyond the standard brown and white eggs by adding blue egg layers to your flock?

Because they don’t have feathers to self-regulate temperature, newly hatched chicks depend on mothers to keep them warm. Darting beneath wings when they’re cold, and coming out to eat and drink, babies thrive on the mother-to-chick relationship. Brooder chicks must have appropriate heat sources, and humans must closely monitor them with thermometers and good judgment.