The end of summer is the perfect time to think about fall chicken coop preparations. This isn't a huge job for most of us. The chickens most likely spent a lot of time outside the coop during the summer. Feathers are everywhere at this time, due to the fall molt, so it's a good time to clean up. Making sure that you are ready for the changeable fall weather, makes life much easier. Some years we have gone from beautiful fall weather to an over zealous cold front over night. Scrambling to get … [Read more...]

Using common kitchen products for the barn yard residents can not only save you money, it can also work better than the retail product you paid a lot more to obtain. Let's face it, we can spend a lot of money on retail products aimed at barnyard animal care. Some of these are dollars well spent. There are also many common kitchen products for the barn and coop that can do the job well. And many times using kitchen products for the barn is a more natural and healing path than the … [Read more...]

Clean chicken water tubs must be a priority as the heat rises. As the heat of summer continues, nothing is as important to our chickens and livestock as clean drinking water. I mention chickens, but this task is extremely important for all animals. Think about your own thirst. You go to take a drink but your glass of water was left in the sun since yesterday. You take a swig. Ewww! That isn't what I expected at all. So I only drink a small amount and put the glass down. This is what your animals … [Read more...]

Two days into a recent hatch and I had to revive a weak chick and then another! The hatch was sporadic. We had eight broody hens. There was no schedule to the hatch. The eggs were started sporadically and I was out of town. While I was away, new eggs were gathered! It was a bit out of control. One hen out of the eight allowed me to move her to the nursery. The other broody hens had a fit about being moved and so I put them back in the coop where they continued to brood. I continued to try to … [Read more...]

Why is your hen wearing a dress? This is a question I hear if I put the hen saddle on a chicken. The hen saddle protects the chickens back and feathers from the treading of a rooster. I have also heard these called hen aprons.  If you don't keep a rooster, you may not ever need the protection of a hen saddle. Making the hen saddle is an easy DIY project. First lets look at why the hen saddle might be necessary. Observing chickens mating can be disturbing if you haven't seen it … [Read more...]