Reviews by Susan Dye

Very informative. I had been buying Fresh Pet for my dogs but they were having stomach issues. My vet discouraged the use of commercial raw/refrigerated foods b/c they are known to have sanitary issues and are often not kept at proper temps. Went back to dry kibble and cooked boneless skinless chicken breast. Not cheap by any means, but one dog had to have a high carb low fat diet. Was having difficulty getting good reliable info on making my own. Thanks for including recommended proportions of each food group.

Great article, fun to read about a subject I didn't think I was all that interested in.

Great article. Nice to see egg production included and that rare breeds were included.

Excellent article. Great pictures.

Excellent article! Very thorough. Got some very good ideas for my newest flock of chicks. Finally got to put the dog pen to good use, since the dogs made a joke of it. Even used the dog gates for a cover. The chicks are certainly enjoying "flying" from one end to the other. Appreciate all the thought and thoughtfulness you put into this article.

Thanks so much for sharing your experiment with us. I'm going to put my brother to work building my tower(s) next week. I hope Mine will probably have to be no more than 4' high, so I might have to have 2 towers. I'm barely over 5' tall myself, so I think 4' towers might be ideal for me. One question though. Does the barley need light while germinating? I don't use direct light for my own salad sprouts, but they might be more delicate.

Thanks so much for such a thoughtful and thorough article on such an unpleasant subject.

Very informative and thorough. Everything you ever wanted to know about egg laying.

Really enjoyed reading about the building of your lovely coop. The pictures were very helpful in helping to understand how everything went together. The whole thing is very professional looking. Even the overall rustic look is professional looking.

Well written article. The links to more detailed articles were very useful. I often have a hard time finding additional articles on a particular subject. This article makes it easy to keep track of those additional resources. Thanks for the time and effort put into writing this article.

Great instructions and photos! Love the finished product. I'm a big fan of Craigslist free stuff and you proved just how effectively those freebies can be put to use. Congrats on a job well done

I LOVE your coop. It is so creative, blends in so well with the environment, and looks like something the chickens would have designed themselves if they only knew how to draw up blueprints. You did an excellent job of showing the process you used in your step by step photos.

Clearly charted comparison of a number of common feeders. Appreciate the video with instructions for DIY feeder. Very clear instructions. Thanks!

Really good article. Had never considered putting the victim in time out. Very interesting. If the situation comes up again in my flock, I'll certainly give it a try! Thanks so much for sharing this with us.

Great feeder! Precise instructions with clear photos. Seriously, this could not be less expensive or less complicated. Can be used anywhere. Even an old lady like myself can make these.

Excellent article for experienced and inexperienced backyard chicken people. Very informative, well written and relatable.

Found the basics and reasoning for taming flighty birds very helpful. Makes good basic common sense. Am a bit confused about the feeding tips. If you put out only what each bird needs, do you still place the total amount in a feeder? How can you be sure each bird gets what he/she needs? For instance, I have one golden sex link and she eats a lot more food than the other hens because she produces more eggs. So, if I am compensating for that, how can I be sure that she still isn't going to eat more than her fair share? And, isn't that still the same as free feeding? Also, the older hens make the younger ones eat last, so they only get leftovers. Granted I am raising hens as pets as well as a source of eggs, and even though I free feed, there is always food in the feeder and they still come running every time they see me in the hopes of getting something special, and they often leave food to peck at later. Even though they act like they are always starving, they will leave treats to chase after whatever bug they spy flying around, or because they're just bored with whatever I've brought them. Since I always bring them something from the kitchen in the mornings, and my sex link is always the first one to lay, they even leave treats for her while she is laying. I guess if I was trying to be cost effective, I would be buying eggs from the many local small farmers in my area instead of raising chickens myself So. I guess just like the writer of this article breaks all the rules when it comes to taming roosters, some of us are just as happy to break all the rules when it comes to feeding our flocks.

It's a nice looking coop. Work in progress? What is the ladder for? Roosting or for entering/exiting the coop? Would really like to know the name of the paint color and the brand. What about ventilation?

Really nice looking coop and set up with the run, garden, greenhouse. Like the use of recycled windows and ladders. Definitely high end that should hold up well for years to come. A little hard to follow how the runs are set up. But maybe that's just me. Great pics of the coop!

Really interesting. Learned some new information about roosters that I hadn't given much thought to until recently. I knew you don't need a roo to have eggs, that they can be friendly, that they protect the flock, and they'll crow whenever they feel like it. But, that was all I knew and thought that was all there was to know! Now that I am exploring different breeds, I'm learning all kinds of new things. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.