One of the coolest parts of raising chickens and being a backyard chicken keeper is collecting multi-colored eggs every week! Blue eggs, green eggs, pink eggs, even orange eggs! But maybe there’s a higher demand for white chicken eggs in your neighborhood – or perhaps some of your family members prefer bright, white eggs. So, …
Chicken eggs
There is nothing better than having a consistent supply of fresh eggs from your very own flock of hens – but if your hens produce more eggs than your family can eat daily, you will quickly accumulate eggs. At that point, you may be wondering: How long do farm fresh eggs last, and how should …
Need chicken nesting box ideas? Start here! Chickens are amazing. They provide so much and generally ask for very little. They are often a staple of any homestead, farm, ranch, or household. With a tiny space and a little effort – they can flourish. Good layers like Leghorns, Rhode Island Reds, Red Stars, and Orpingtons …
If you’re new to keeping hens or want to expand your little flock, then the nesting boxes are vital. Here’s why. Hens are fussy (and fickle) creatures. And if they don’t like their nesting boxes or there aren’t enough, they will start to lay elsewhere instead! And, as someone who spent hours last year retrieving …
For many years, I only fed my chickens whole or cracked corn. I hoped they were getting all the nutrients needed from the bugs, seeds, fruit, and the surrounding pasture. After a while, however, I noticed my chickens were hardly producing any eggs. Out of 14 hens, I was lucky if I got an egg …
Most chickens lay their eggs in the first few hours of daylight. But it makes you wonder… Could they lay eggs at any time of the day? Exactly what time of day do most chickens lay eggs? Does the weather impact egg laying? Let’s find out! As the cold winter weather settles in, we’re all …
My chickens know more about ancient customs than I do! Every Easter, they promptly stop laying eggs, obviously respecting the medieval tradition that banned the consumption of eggs during Lent. Tradition aside, why do chickens stop laying eggs? And, can we help our hens get back into the swing of things? It’s hardly surprising that chickens stop …
Backyard hens will produce just as many eggs without a rooster as they will with a rooster, but there are more advantages to having one around than just the possibility of getting a baby chick from time to time. Of course, not every chicken owner can have a rooster strutting about within their backyard flock. …
We all know that keeping chickens free-range provides them with the best living conditions – they can roam freely, pick the best natural food, and display all their natural behaviors. Free-range chickens have other benefits, too. Eggs from free-range operations are potentially more nutritious than the regularly farmed eggs because chickens have access to more food items …
This epic guide contains many DIY incubator ideas and tutorials on how to make an incubator. But first, I need to tell a funny story about my hens! With 12 hens, you’d think at least one of them would be willing to sit on a nest full of eggs from time to time. But – I guess …
For a long time, needing an egg collecting apron was something of a pipe dream. My little flock of hens rarely produced more than one or two eggs a day, so a pair of hands did the job just fine. Now we’ve expanded our poultry project and put our ladies on a new diet, however, …
My Indian Runner Ducks always look a little bit like penguins, but if my chickens start waddling around like Pingu or Feathers McGraw, I know it’s time to worry. Any self-respecting chicken adopting an upright stance like a penguin is likely to be egg bound, which means she’s struggling to move the egg through her …
I found a duck egg this morning after several months of watching our 12 Indian runner ducks scoffing down food without giving us anything in exchange. It made me wonder what makes them stop laying and, more importantly, why, on a cold and wet autumnal day, they suddenly decided to start again. So, When Do …
Thinking of raising chickens or ducks on your homestead? Whenever the need or want arises for fresh eggs and meat, chickens are always the front-runner. They’re common, easy to find, inexpensive, and they do their job extremely well. What if I told you that ducks also fill that niche extremely well, though? I’ve put together …