Reviews by Perris

This is a comprehensive article that actually covers a lot more topics than the title suggests. It seems to be pitched at younger readers, simplifying and summarizing the key issues that are likely to arise into a couple of optimistic sentences, with lots of links to further reading for those who want to dig deeper.

This list of distractions for those times when we're challenged by having to wait, notably during the last 3 days of incubation with hatching eggs, probably includes something for everybody to try, at least once!

This is a short but sweet article on simple and cheap ways to keep your flock warm in winter. Simply by orienting the coop to face south (assuming you are in the northern hemisphere; north if you're in the southern hemisphere) and having lots of glass, the coop will be warmed by the low winter sun streaming in. (And it won't overheat in summer because then the sun will be high in the sky and not shine so far into the coop.) The single photo illustrates the points made perfectly.
It would be improved by having the text in a bigger point size; this is too small for some to read without adjusting their settings.

This ranks among the best articles I have read on BYC. It is very well researched, thorough, comprehensive, clear, supported with links to the sources of information for those who want to dig deeper or just check that that work is being accurately reported, and a pleasure to read. I wish I'd found it sooner. Maybe retitling it '6 lessons in chicken-keeping from chicken history' would catch more people's attention, and be picked up in more searches, than the current one.

This is an exploratory piece on a common but little discussed infection that can have a devastating effect on chickens (and other species, including humans). As written, it gives the unfortunate impression that the author has only a shaky grasp of what they are writing or repeating, and mixes observations on how easy or difficult they imagine some potential treatments might be to obtain, and from where, with the excellent point that "Clostridium however is a serious illness that should be treated by a qualified doctor or veterinarian. It isn’t something that will resolve itself or can be treated at home." Some further research and consideration would lead to a better revised version.

This is a list of links to articles on BYC and elsewhere that the author has found interesting and enjoyable, and indeed, regards them as 'must reads'. He is very knowledgeable about chickens, so my expectations for them were high, and I have not been disappointed. I already knew and liked a few of the linked articles, and now I have sampled a few of those I didn't know before, I too find them interesting, informative and enjoyable, so I am grateful for being alerted to their existence. I look forward to working my way through the rest of the items listed.

This is well written article on a topic that is likely unfamiliar to many, and was to me. It concerns a kind of mite whose presence becomes a real problem only when there is a sitting hen; ordinarily it seems chickens can deal successfully with it. But for a sitting hen, it sounds very aggravating, and it is very useful to be enlightened here on the signs and symptoms to look out for.

This is a well written and nicely illustrated article on dealing with a first and unplanned rooster in the flock, which happens to many people when they start out by buying hatching eggs or young chicks. It describes the sort of problems they might face, and emphasizes that once a roo is trained to be a good, well behaved rooster, he will then train any more young roos that are raised within the flock. It advises eating any that cannot or will not learn to behave. It chimes with my experience of raising and keeping roosters. And it deserves much better reviewers than the anonymous twit who gave it a one-line review and a 1.

This is a useful resource, as an index of well-regarded articles on BYC dealing with roosters, with an indication of how and how many other BYC members have rated them. Easily overlooked, that list is preceded by some recommended reading, which are other articles about roosters on BYC. It is not clear why they are not assimilated with or at least repeated in the 'Methods' list.

This is not really very informative. What is cream of wheat? How do you make it?

This is a well written and well illustrated article on converting a redundant resin shed into a spacious and easy to clean chicken coop. It has some great ideas when it goes into detail, such as "We also cut down one of the plastic shelves that was in the shed to use as a ramp into the coop. It was slippery so I painted the ramp with primer and dumped sand on it then painted it with outdoor paint to seal the sand so it's now textured to prevent the chickens from sliding down it." More details would have been useful. An update on how it worked out as a coop would have been useful, as we are updated on the run and allowing the hens to free range in the garden.

This is not really fit for purpose, as an article or a coop. The author disappeared soon after posting it, so presumably has little confidence in it either.

Informative and generally well written and illustrated article on common poultry infections. I would like to have seen an entry on mycoplasmosis, as apparently that is very common and yet a lot of keepers do not realize their flock is infected. The links to further information on each infection is very useful too.

This is a simple recipe for lightly spiced porridge, with a description of the benefits of adding the various spices named.

Informative review of the book.

Clearly and explicitly directed towards the apparently significant and growing community of BYC readers in India, this article contains a lot of information for anyone else anywhere who wants to avoid commercial feed because, we're told, it doesn't exist in India for domestic keepers, so they have to feed what's available. This involves a mix of eggs, bread (which exists in huge variety of course), rice and millet, for example, a number of common herbs, and some prepared tonics.

This is a well written, well structured article on its topic. It contains much sound advice, especially the points that "It's probably fine if a chicken sneezes but then continues with what it was doing afterward", and "You could make the situation worse by choosing the wrong treatment". It might make clearer that chickens can, entirely on their own, recover and gain partial or total immunity through exposure to some of these bugs; and that antibiotics will kill off the good bacteria as well as the bad bacteria in any bird so treated, so antibiotics should be a treatment of last resort, not first.

this is essentially an index to what were pre-existing articles on the conditions listed, some good, some not so good. It's a great idea, but some of the pages it links to no longer exist, some of the authors haven't been seen for years so won't respond to any questions or comments, and almost everything is 10 years old or more. An updated version that keeps the best of what's here (the article on AI is very good for example), and replaces poor or lost ones with articles since published on the same injury or disease, could be a real asset.

This is a well written article with a great idea, which was well realized. If I don't have suet I might use lard in its place, and less of it relative to the fruits, grains, insects and nuts when I try it.
Did you use a silicone mould? If you use a metal mould, do you need to dust it with flour or suchlike to ensure easy removal?

There are several detailed yet concise, very well structured pages hidden behind the front page of this article. I look forward to seeing it expand to cover more conditions in due course. Hopefully photos will be forthcoming too in time.