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Raising Backyard Turkeys for Meat
Of all homestead poultry projects, raising backyard turkeys seems to appeal to the least number of people. Turkeys are amazingly stupid — from the newly hatched poults who can starve to death while trampling in their feed because they haven’t learned where to find it, to the hens who lay their eggs standing up.
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Broad-breasted Vs. Heritage Turkeys
Though frozen turkeys reside in your grocery store all year, they become the main attraction during the final two months. Many like the idea of heritage turkeys for Thanksgiving
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The Pros & Cons of Coop Heating: Do Chickens Need Heat in Winter?
Recently, I’ve been writing about safely heating backyard chicken coops and addressing the question: Do chickens need heat in winter? In New England, we get buried under heaps of snow and experience temperatures in the negatives.
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Chicken Soup is Good Medicine
Have you ever wondered why chicken soup is good for you? As cold weather approaches my thoughts invariably turn to that ultimate comfort food — chicken soup.
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Simple Turkey Brine Techniques
We love our turkey dinners, especially toward the end of the year, but we’ve all suffered from dry, tasteless white meat that must be smothered in gravy to be palatable.
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Toxins in the Environment
Poisoning is relatively unusual in backyard poultry, especially if you use common sense in keeping your flock away from pesticides, herbicides, rodenticides, fungicide-treated seed (intended for planting), wood preservatives, rock salt, and antifreeze.
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Chicken Tractor Designs to Inspire Your Creativity
Chicken tractor designs are becoming more popular as more and more homesteaders and folks who keep backyard chickens are looking for flexibility and the ability to move their flock around the backyard or the homestead. Here are three great chicken tractor designs that you can build at home for your flock.
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How Long Do Chicks Need a Heat Lamp?
Do chickens need heat in winter? Only the babies, and only for a short time. But how long do chicks need a heat lamp?
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Time to Start Winterizing Chicken Coops
Is it time to start winterizing chicken coops? Snowflakes softly fall to the ground, and an icy breeze cuts through the early morning hours.
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All About Araucana Chickens
The Araucana chicken has some bizarre features; they are rumpless and have ear tufts. Oh yes, and they lay blue eggs. These rumpless birds are missing more than just tail feathers; they are missing the entire coccyx.
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