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I'm fortunate to live on an island without a lot of predators: big (bear, fox, coyote, bobcat) or small (skunk, opossum, snakes). We do have transient cougars, but the deer population is quite healthy so there've been no run-ins with farmers or pet owners. We're not without predators: there are...

The first time you see a chicken dust bathing it can be a bit worrisome. Is it having a seizure? In its last death throes? Nope, just playing around in the dirt. It’s a bit counter-intuitive: you have to get dirty in order to get clean. Chickens don’t use water to bathe like some birds, but...

Here’s a follow up to my article “Pullet or Cockerel? Understanding Sexual Dimorphism Will Help You To Figure It Out”. Sexual dimorphism is the differences in appearance between males and females of the same species (i.e. combs, size, colour, etc). Knowing what those differences are will help...

From my Bitchin’ Chickens News – an insert that gets added to every egg carton: •It’s a myth that chickens lay an egg a day. You know that because my supply is up and down throughout the year. Laying cycles are affected by molting, winter daylight shortage, hot & cold weather, illness, stress...

Warning: Photos are not for sensitive viewers Several years ago, I was given an 18-month old Gold Laced Wyandotte. The previous owner, who had had her for 9 months, said she had only ever laid a handful of eggs. In the 4 months I had her I don't know if she ever laid. She appeared healthy...

If you buy eggs from a store they are graded and those with imperfections aren’t sold. Once in a while you might see flaws in a farm egg but you probably haven’t given it a great deal of thought. Here’s the lowdown on some egg oddities. Double yolks commonly occur in new layers when yolk...

If you keep chickens long enough you’ll run into most parasites, injuries, illness and disease. I’ve only had to deal with one prolapsed vent, and there’s a reason they call it ‘blow out’. A vent usually becomes prolapsed when there is an problem passing a soft-shelled or very large egg and...

We all know that calcium is required for egg shell production. If we have a hen that lays soft or thin shelled eggs we boost her calcium intake. So what should we be giving our flock to assist our girls to make strong, healthy egg shells? More egg shells, of course. I ask my egg customers to...

One of the challenges of keeping chickens is to determine the sex of chicks and young birds. It’s not an exact science, but it does get easier after looking at many birds – you begin to recognize patterns if you can watch chicks from hatch till maturity. Sexual dimorphism is the differences in...

I've shown off my birds a lot, but thought I'd share some of my set up. It’s a rainy, grey day but everyone cooperated for the photo shoot. I'm not a farmer, I'm a hobbyist and decided I wanted both a practical and aesthetically pleasing coop and pen. I spend a lot of time with my birds so I...

A few years ago I decided to make annual records of everything I got for free (ok, so I’m a bit OCD, but it's been fun and informative to look back on them). I place online ads or answer them; find things at the side of the road or in the free pile at a garage sale; get fruits and veggies from...

At the end of August I was given a structure that was essentially a 4’ x 4’ x 8’ box with 2 doors on each side - on the narrow sides one door opened upwards and one downwards and on the long sides both doors opened out. It was left on a property by the previous owner and I think it was going to...