Fat chickens

Chai ran through the yard to greet me, her limping seemed heavier. I picked her up and checked if something was stuck under her feet, but I didn’t see anything. She has been slight...

food storage container

When you buy a 50-pound bag of chicken feed, you don’t use it all right away and need to find a place to store it. Although sturdy, the bag will not protect its content from the el...

Gearing up checklist

So, you decided to bring chickens into your family. You have weighed the pros and cons of sharing your life with chickens, read everything you could put your hands on about chicken...

torpedo feeding

Torpedo feeding is an alternative to tube feeding a sick chicken or a chicken who cannot eat on their own.In this video, my friend Kim Kunst is showing how to prepare torpedoes and...

Egg shells as calcium supplement

Egg shells as calcium supplementDon't throw egg shells away. Give them back to your chickens as calcium supplement in 4 simple steps: rinse, dry, crush, offer.

Gardens for chickens

It’s springtime! Time to take your trowel and spade out of the shed, and plant your garden! While selecting new ornamental and edible plants to add to your backyard, think about yo...

ice cube treats

Chickens don't do well in hot weather and can actually die of heat stress. One way to keep them cool during hot summer days is by offering them frozen treats. Watch the short vide...

Waterers

Chickens drink more than they eat (see did-you-know card on drinking water), so it’s very important that they always have access to fresh water. Let’s see the different ways to que...

Feeders

We talked about what to feed chickens a few months ago (see newsletters “What to feed chickens?” part 1 and part 2). Today we are going to discuss how to feed them. There is a gre...

treadle feeder

Using a treadle feeder needs some learning. Watch our foster girls figuring out how to use it.

Ice cube treats

Ice Cube TreatsOn hot summer days, keep your chickens cool by offering them frozen treats.

poisonous food

Avocado, citrus, and uncooked beans are poisonous to chickens. Chickens rarely eat toxic plants. When they do eat something poisonous, it's usually because someone fed it to them...

What to feed chickens? - part 2

The complete feeds we discussed in part 1 make up the bulk of your chickens’ diet. However it is good to add these other foodstuffs. Calcium Laying hens require lots of calcium t...

moldy food

Molds produce mycotoxins which can be harmful or even deadly to chickens. So make sure the grain is carefully stored and mold free when feeding it to your chickens. The image bel...

What to feed chickens? - part 1

The variety of choices found in feed stores can be overwhelming: pellets or grains, conventional or organic, soy or not... And it becomes even more difficult when you start researc...

pumpkins

Chickens love pumpkins! Pumpkins are super nutritious, they are full of fibers, minerals, and vitamins. And now is the season to get cheap or even free pumpkins! People will happ...

eating food

A bantam eats an average of 0.5lb of feed during a week, a light breed eats 2lb, and a heavy breed 4lb. Of course, it depends on the quality of the food, its energy and protein co...

drinking water

Under normal condition (70°F), chickens drink twice as much as they eat by weight. This is typically 1 to 2 cups water per day. This ratio of water to feed goes up dramatically wi...