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Chicken Feather & Skin Development
Add to Favorites Doug Ottinger lives in northwest Minnesota with his wife, Connie. They raise chickens, ducks and geese on their small hobby farm. Doug’s educational background is in agriculture, …
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Buying and Saving with Friends — End-of-Day Hatchery Specials
Add to Favorites By Doug Ottinger – Buying leftover, bargain-chick assortments from your favorite chicken hatchery is one of the most fun-filled adventures that any poultry keeper or group of …
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How to Protect Chickens from Hawks
When I walked out to the chicken coop and looked up, I was horrified to see a red-tailed hawk calmly eating one of my White Leghorns. When the hawk spotted me, it flew off and dropped the Leghorn’s body.
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What Killed My Chicken?
Keep a flock for long and sooner or later you’ll be asking yourself, “What killed my chicken?” Many marauders love our backyard chickens as much as we do, and each leaves a calling card that offers a clue as to which predator you’re dealing with.
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How Do Chickens Mate?
“How do chickens mate?” might be a question you have when you first keep a rooster. And it might seem a bit disturbing at first if you have not witnessed a rooster pursuing an available hen.
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The Best Rooster Breed for Your Flock
On the hunt for the best rooster breed for your flock? There’s plenty to choose from, but which breed will work best for you?
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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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Twas the Night Before Christmas — Chickens Edition!
With apologies to Clement C. Moore. The following should prove to all the children out there that Santa visits good chickens, too.
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Raising American Buff Geese for Holiday Dinners
ALBC Research & Technical Program Manager: Our family has always had a taste for something different on the holiday table and the Christmas goose is among one of our favorites. As our family farm continues to grow, we thought that perhaps adding geese to our property would be a boon for our holiday festivities.
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Chicken Predators and Winter: Tips to Keep Your Flock Safe
Chicken predators are always a concern for small flock owners, but the risk of attack may actually be worse in winter months. Winter is the season of privation for all creatures, but extreme weather can change it from a time of scarcity to a season of starving.
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