Getting Started

You step into the yard, your coffee still warm in your hand, and your hen suddenly bursts into a full wing display with no obvious reason. Is she okay? Is she angry? Is something wrong? Here is the short answer: wing flapping in chickens is almost always completely normal. In fact, it is one of the richest … Read more

You just walked out to the coop, reached under your favorite hen, and pulled out a warm, freshly laid egg. Now you are standing in your kitchen wondering: should this go in the fridge, or is the counter perfectly fine? It is one of the most common questions backyard chicken owners ask. And honestly, the … Read more

If you are choosing chickens specifically for egg production, the breed you pick matters more than almost any other decision you will make. The difference between a top-producing breed and an average one can be 100 or more eggs per year per hen. Over a flock of six birds, that gap adds up to hundreds of … Read more

If you have ever cracked open a carton of farm-fresh eggs and spotted a beautiful green egg nestled among the browns and whites, you probably wondered which chicken laid it. Green eggs are not dyed, painted, or a gimmick. They are a natural result of specific genetics that only a handful of chicken breeds carry. I keep … Read more

If you keep chickens in the garden, you already have one of the most effective, affordable, and chemical-free tools for building healthier soil, controlling pests, and reducing waste. Chickens scratch, dig, eat bugs and grubs, turn compost, and deposit some of the richest natural fertilizer available, all while doing what they love to do naturally. I … Read more

The average American household throws away roughly 30 to 40 percent of its food supply every year. That is hundreds of pounds of fruit peels, vegetable scraps, stale bread, leftover rice, and wilted greens going straight into the trash or down the garbage disposal. It costs the typical family between $1,500 and $2,000 annually in wasted groceries, … Read more

A chicken laying on the floor is one of the most common problems backyard keepers encounter, and it means completely different things depending on whether your chicken is laying eggs on the floor, sleeping on the floor at night, or lying down flat on the ground during the day. Each situation has its own set of … Read more

If your chicken is screaming, it is trying to tell you something specific. Chickens do not scream randomly. According to research published in the journal Animal Behaviour, chickens produce over 30 distinct vocalizations, each serving a specific communication purpose. A sudden, loud, high-pitched scream almost always falls into one of nine categories: the egg song, a predator alarm call, pain or … Read more

Moving chicks from brooder to coop is one of the most nerve-wracking milestones for any chicken keeper, but here is the honest truth: if your chicks are fully feathered and outdoor overnight temperatures are consistently above 50°F, they are ready. That typically happens at 6 to 8 weeks of age for most breeds. The actual feathering matters more than any number … Read more

The ISA Brown chicken is the most prolific brown egg layer on the planet. Developed in France in 1978 by the Institut de Sélection Animale (that is what ISA stands for), this hybrid hen produces 300 to 350 large brown eggs per year in her first laying cycle, starts laying as early as 16 to 20 weeks of age, and has a … Read more