Once you feel comfortable caring for domestic pets like cats and dogs, taking the leap to farm animals usually starts with poultry. And for good reason: they’re relatively easy to keep in suburban areas, and with a little flexibility,...
For exhibition purposes, large chicken breeds recognized by the American Poultry Association (APA) are organized into six classes. Most of the classes represent the geographic region where the breeds originated or were developed. Knowing a chicken’s APA class lets...
Chicken farmers are urging backyard poultry owners to adopt stringent biosecurity measures to prevent the spread of bird flu and protect the egg industry. This call to action comes in response to the nation’s largest outbreak of avian influenza,...
When we hear chicken keepers ask about the fact that their chickens are huddling, our first question to them is, “How old are they?” If chicks are huddling, it’s normally because they are too cold. If adult chickens are...
A mistake people often make when they buy or build their first chicken coop is making the coop too small. Nearly everyone says they wish they had a bigger coop. Here are nine reasons you may need a bigger...
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Thursday that public health officials are investigating multi-state outbreaks of salmonella infections linked to contact with backyard poultry.
The CDC reported that 109 individuals across 29 states have fallen...
Chicken diets are formulated to provide chickens with nutrients to live, grow, and produce eggs. Chickens need more than just vegetation and table scraps! In fact, certain table scraps don’t offer a lot of nutrients and can even interfere...
Researchers at NC State University compared poultry broiler farms of various sizes and found higher rates of Salmonella at large commercial operations than at small backyard farms; however, multidrug-resistant (MDR) Salmonella were found in samples from both types of farm, even...
What exactly are heritage chickens? For that matter, what is a heritage turkey, duck, or goose? By definition, heritage poultry breeds share these important characteristics:
They are standard breeds
They mate naturally
They can live a long time
They...
Brown egg-laying chickens are the most common egg layers in backyard flocks. From Buff Orpingtons to Golden Comets and every breed in between, this article will count down the top 12 best brown egg layers in egg production.
#12 Buff...