• Created on 2/19/12 by support

Most Americans are used to eating chicken from the store. Most of this chickens are about 8 weeks old or younger, and just like any other meat source, the younger the animal, the more tender the meat. You can fry, bake, grill, broil, stew, or crockpot store bought chicken, and pretty much be guaranteed you will still have tender meat.   Each year, millions of non-meat chickens are raised. While many chickens either die from predators or natural causes, there are those who look with a hungry eye upon a older, non-laying layer hen, or a rooster that is a year or two... read more

• Created on 2/20/12 by support

How To Keep Your Flock Happy (Let them act like birds!) What?  Keep your chickens happy?  They are, after all, well... CHICKENS!  Yes, yes; however you can make their lives happier and healthier by acknowledging a really important concept.  That is, although they have been domesticated for about a gazillion years, and do OK inside small areas, they were once wild critters who roamed the jungles looking for food,  keeping their young safe, protecting their flock, etcetera.  Watching them over their life-cycles is fascinating and informative, and we come to realize that... read more

• Created on 2/28/12 by support

  Raising Chickens on a Shoestring By Sandra Higgins Hanna      Whether you’ve received a couple chickens as a ‘gift’ or just couldn’t resist baby chicks, you now need housing for the little sweeties. What can you do if you hadn’t budgeted for new pets? Join many of us and ‘shoestring’ it! My white Silkie pullets were a Christmas gift. Best Christmas ever! These bantam chickens lay small eggs sometimes. For consistent egg-layers, research hen breeds before buying or taking home free hens. Here's what I saw that Christmas morning.   Hens, Chicks.... read more

• Created on 2/19/12 by support

Raising chickens to sell for meat can be a daunting task, when it comes to understanding the laws and regulations.   The best step to take is to contact your state Agriculture Department. The employees are knowledgeable and will know if your state follows the USDA exemptions or if you must follow additional laws for your state. It's better to have an idea on what you want to do, and discuss with your state Ag contact than to make assumptions that could potentially cause you to lose your flock and money.   First, this here is the article from the USDA for... read more

• Created on 2/19/12 by support

As documentaries and news articles come out with the latest information about inhumane treatment of meat animals, or the newest outbreak of food poisoning, more and more chicken owners are looking to raising their own chickens for meat use. Many of these chicken owners aren't hunters, and possibly have never voluntarily taken a life of an animal for it's meat. Meat has always been pre-packaged in the perfect portion, with no face or anything other than perhaps a nice cartoon of a happy cow or chicken or farm on the label. As a society we are distanced from our meat,... read more

• Created on 2/13/12 by support

Describe '~Six tips on breaking your egg eater~' here       ~Six tips on breaking your egg eater!~                     Egg eating is a nasty habit sometimes found in young pullets, and even older hens. Although many people may say egg eating is impossible to break, and to just cull the hen, in many cases this is not true. Egg eating often starts when an egg is accidentally broken in the nest box, and the hen pecks at it. Finding that this weird yellow substance is tasty, they will quickly devour it, and when they lay their next egg- look for more.... read more

• Created on 2/19/12 by support

Many of us are used to the uniformity of whole chickens at the grocery store. When choosing to process chickens at home, the differences between the size and type of chickens vary greatly. Bantam chickens can be used for meat, but are obviously smaller. "Hatchery" birds that are "dual purpose" breeds often don't compare to the same breed that is raised and selected by a breeder for carcass characteristics. Older birds often are bigger, but still will look much different than the same weight of a store chicken. Below are some of the chickens I've personally... read more

• Created on 2/19/12 by support

  With the rising cost of food and especially meat, many people are looking to closer to home to start raising their food. Backyard gardens are on the rise, and many people are starting to raise their own chickens for eggs. Meat chickens are one meat source that can be raised with minimal space (compared to say, a cow), convert feed efficiently, and can be processed at home with not much more than a sharp knife and a big pot.    This post will go through all of the steps to process a chicken at home.   Obviously, this is "graphic". If you aren't here to see... read more

• Created on 3/2/12 by support

  For many of us backyard chicken enthusiasts, biosecurity is a big word that hints of government intrusion, regulatory oversight, and a host of issues we’d rather not have to deal with. However, biosecurity is something we should all be aware of if we want to protect our flock. First of all, a little background on why we can safely ignore the USDA’s Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). The USDA’s primary concern is to keep the food supply safe for consumers. The only concern they have with respect to the health, welfare, and happiness of your flock is whether or... read more

• Created on 2/22/12 by support

Have you ever wondered how a hen can lay an egg every day? Why some eggs are brown and some eggs are white? How many days an egg takes to hatch?   Here are the answers to those questions and many more.   Hens and eggs Female chickens are called pullets for their first year or until they begin to lay eggs. For most breeds, around 20 weeks is a typical age for the first egg. Some breeds lay eggs daily, some every other day, some once or twice a week. Some individual hens never lay eggs, due to narrow pelvises or other anomalies. Normal laying... read more