backyard-flock
How to Trim Chicken Beaks, Claws, and Spurs
Claw Trimming A chicken’s spurs, toenails, and beak are made of keratin, the same substance as your fingernails and toenails. And like your nails, they continually grow. Chickens evolved in …
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Is Feeding Chickens Scraps from the Kitchen Safe?
Feeding chickens scraps from the kitchen is a great way to give them healthy treats and make sure your leftovers don’t go to waste. Next time you clean out your …
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Do You Need Toys for Chickens?
Professionals agree chickens need enrichment. Keeping your flock healthy, either for egg or meat production or companionship, is most likely your primary goal. Maintaining healthy chickens is a process that includes many …
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Are You Wondering What Do Roosters Eat?
The common answer from chicken keepers when you ask them “what do roosters eat” is that they feed their roosters the same thing as the rest of the flock. This …
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NPIP Certification: Why it Matters When Buying Chicks
Today most backyard chickens, even the endangered heritage chicken breeds, are ordered online and brought to their new home by the post office in a most convenient fashion. It may …
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Feeding Backyard Chickens: 5 Mistakes to Avoid
Nutritional deficiencies are a relatively rare problem for a flock of backyard chickens, ducks or other poultry. Of greater nutritional concern are the following five easily avoidable mistakes commonly made …
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A Guide to Common Duck Diseases
Domestic duck breeds are generally extremely hardy and don’t often get sick as long as they are fed a healthy diet, given plenty of room to exercise and access to …
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What Can Chickens Eat Out of the Garden?
Recently one of my podcast listeners asked me, what can chickens eat out of the garden? He wrote: “A question that occurred to me recently is regarding garden waste. I recently …
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How to Bathe a Chicken
Do you know how to bathe a chicken? Do chickens like baths? Hell no! There is a reason for the saying, “I’m madder than a wet hen.” However, as the …
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How to Guard Your Backyard Flock with Domestic Geese Breeds
Our backyard flocks quickly find their way into our hearts. I can remember clearly the first time I lost my Cayuga duck, Marigold, to a hawk attack. Despite our efforts …
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