Tamsin Cooper, Author at Backyard Poultry

What is Coconut Oil Good For in Chicken Husbandry?

February 18, 2020 · Tamsin Cooper · Feed & Health

Is coconut oil good for chickens? How can we use it in chicken keeping? Can we feed it to them and does it help fight disease? Here I attempt to sort the facts from the maybes.

Breed Profile: Bresse Chicken

December 24, 2019 · Tamsin Cooper · Chickens 101

Bresse chickens are France’s best tasting meat chickens. Much of their flavor is due to the unique geography they freely range over, as well as traditional feeding and husbandry methods.

Breed Profile: Golden Comet Chickens

November 23, 2019 · Tamsin Cooper · Chickens 101

Golden Comet chickens are friendly, calm, and prolific layers, making excellent backyard birds, but life is often shortened by reproductive tract issues.

Guinea–Chicken Hybrid: Can Chickens and Guineas Breed?

November 9, 2019 · Tamsin Cooper · Poultry 101

Guinea–chicken hybrids are an unusual phenomenon, as nature does not favor the cross, leading to health issues and early death.

Chicken Husbandry: Five Welfare Needs

October 25, 2019 · Tamsin Cooper · Chickens 101

Chicken welfare is an important consideration within chicken husbandry. We need to know chickens’ needs in order to raise them to be healthy and productive.

A Chicken’s Five Basic Needs

October 25, 2019 · Tamsin Cooper · Flock Files

Chickens are sensitive to their environment, motivations, and sense of well-being. Happy chickens cope better with changes and challenges, whereas distressed birds may easily go downhill.

Breed Profile: Barnevelder Chicken

September 8, 2019 · Tamsin Cooper · Chickens 101

Barnevelder chickens were developed from Dutch landrace and Asiatic chickens for their large brown eggs. Later they were standardized to double-laced plumage. They make charming backyard foragers.

Chicken Society—Are Chickens Social Animals?

August 18, 2019 · Tamsin Cooper · Chickens 101, Members Only

Are chickens social animals? How do they integrate into the chicken community? Learn about the rules, tricks, and sophistication of chicken society.

Buk-buk-buk! What Do Those Chicken Noises Mean?

June 3, 2019 · Tamsin Cooper · Chickens 101

Chicken noises comprise a language that poultry use to express their emotions and their intentions, as well as warning of different types of danger. Read how to understand their calls better.