Humans have been using herbs for culinary & health benefits for as long as history has been recorded. Just like humans, wild birds have been observed gathering herbs for their nest or sampling them straight from your garden. So it should come as no surprise that herbs can also have a beneficial effect on …
Chickens
Summer time may be exciting for humans, but for your chickens it could be deadly. Chickens can withstand the cold much easier than they can handle extreme heat. Heat Stress and Heat Stroke When temperatures get into the 80s, you should keep an eye on your flock and begin to use the tips below …
Farm journals can be an invaluable resource for large-scale and backyard farmers alike – but I admit I had never kept one. I have been thinking about doing it for YEARS but I can just never seem to find the motivation to get it going. I have lots of scrap paper as I love drawing out new …
This is one of those questions that long time chicken keepers all have strong opinions on. Should you worm your chickens regularly or should you rely on dietary supplements to keep them healthy? In the end, it’s a question that every flock owner needs to answer for themselves based on their on their own personal …
Farming is an incredibly challenging career. Managing hundreds of acres of crops or hundreds of animals, keeping it all running smoothly, battling the elements, unexpected early frosts, drought, disease….it is certainly not something to undertake casually. Backyard farming in the suburbs might not have challenges on the scale of commercial farming, but it comes with …
Most people get into chicken keeping lured in by the promise of fresh eggs (then they discover there is more to love than just eggs)! Egg quality largely depends on the diet of the chicken, so it makes sense that backyard hens would have superior eggs. With their access to bugs, grass, and a variety …
Unfortunately, when you keep animals outdoors, you don’t have as much control as you do with your indoor pets. Wild birds roost in your trees or swoop down to forage in your grass with the flock, rodents or squirrels visit the coop while your birds are out free ranging. It’s just a part of keeping …
It’s that time of year again. Winter is nearly upon us. It’s time to start getting ready for the storms that are bound to be on the way. If you live in an area likely to get snow several times, it’s a good idea to make these preparations in early winter. Get ready in advance …
Fall on the homestead is a transition season. For the most part the garden has been put to bed, the harvest canned and stored. Just like your garden harvest, you will notice your egg harvest vastly decreases as we come to the end of “egg season”. In our modern world with 24 hour grocery stores we …
Chickens are fascinating creatures! They have complex little social lives which is part of what makes them so fun to watch, but they also have some fascinating physical characteristics too. Check out some of these interesting chicken eye facts! There are five eye colors that are commonly found in chickens: gold, red, brown, black, …