Urban homesteader Todd Allen of Chicago explains how they feed their chickens without any purchased feeds. My wife and I are urban chicken keepers. For the past four years we have not fed commercial feed and our flock of nine hens is healthy and productive. We hardly buy them any food at all. It was not our plan when we started keeping chickens. We did not know it was … [Read more...]
Hens on holiday: 3 strategies for eggless living
A few years ago, a family friend asked one of our daughters, "So, where do you buy eggs when your hens stop laying?" My daughter replied that we never buy eggs. He responded with disbelief, and my daughter told him that we had not bought eggs since our first hens started laying in 2002. The friend had a hard time understanding how we lived without eggs during the winter months, … [Read more...]
Keeping City Chickens: 7 things to consider
by Bethany Staswick "Is that a CHICKEN in your yard?" We get the question all the time as people walk by on the city sidewalk. Yes, it is a chicken. And, in fact, we have ten of them. When we bought our house in the city with the extra side lot attached (take the yard tour here), we didn't intend to raise any animals. But less than a year into living there, we met … [Read more...]
7 tips for success with a farm dog
Many people think a dog is a dog, but when it comes to working dogs on farms, nothing could be further from the truth. Just as you would never hire an unqualified person to do a job in an office, you should not get an unqualified dog to do a job on your farm. While you might laugh at the idea that a chihuahua could herd sheep, plenty of people have gone to the local animal … [Read more...]
Chickens and turkeys together?
If you have chickens and are considering adding turkeys to your homestead, you have no doubt either read or been told by a well-meaning friend that you cannot keep chickens and turkeys together. It is widely believed that chickens will give blackhead disease to turkeys and wipe out your flock. This is not usually true in natural situations, and there are several things you can … [Read more...]
How smart are chickens?
Chickens are social animals with unique personalities: Chickens are very social creatures, having the ability to distinguish between more than 100 faces of their species. They also have a distinct “pecking order” that is maintained and hardly challenged, which usually correlates with their personality. And despite their small size, they have the mental capacity to complete … [Read more...]
Did you know…?
Chickens have their own unique language. While they don’t have a language as varied as humans, chickens have been found to use different calls and sounds to indicate different matters. From finding a good food source, to a mating call, to even warning the flock of a potential predator, chickens utilize many different sounds to communication with one another. In total, there are … [Read more...]
Chickens vs. Ducks: What’s the difference when it comes to eggs?
by Victoria Redhed Miller Here at Canyon Creek Farms, we have been raising laying hens since 2007, and laying ducks since 2008. Here's a brief comparison of duck and chicken eggs. Productivity At various times we have raised Blue Swedish and Indian Runner ducks, and now maintain a laying flock of Khaki Campbell ducks. The Khakis have consistently started laying at 5 to … [Read more...]
Did you know…?
Egg color is related to breed. Some people assume that you can tell what color eggs a hen will lay by its ear lobe or feather color. There are a lot of chicken breeds that lay brown eggs, and yes, sometimes the color of the feathers will match. But this isn’t always the case. It all comes down to genetics. Egg color is based upon the genetics in the animal, just like genes in … [Read more...]
Did you know…?
Chickens are omnivores! In many classic TV westerns, chickens are shown eating grain and corn thrown by a ranch-hand or child. Because this is primarily their food source on farms, it has led some people to assume that chickens are vegetarians. Chickens are actually omnivores who enjoy many insects, and in some case, small frogs, mice, snakes, and bugs! They do also enjoy fresh … [Read more...]
