When you purchase chicks, you usually receive a cardboard box full of tiny fluffy chicks – without any mother hen to keep them warm. As a result, farmers have to find a way to mimic that heat. Especially during the night and in the winter season, heat is essential for young chicks. Heat lamps are…
It seems like hens would naturally protect their eggs and their young, and that eating their own eggs would be the last thing they’d want to do. While, depending on breed, many chickens are quite protective of their chicks and the eggs they’re trying to hatch, hens will sometimes eat their own eggs. Egg-eating is…
Your chickens have to eat – but sometimes mealtime in the coop can be a struggle. Even the best open feeder designs tend to waste a lot of feed as chickens seem to believe that food is for playing with as well as eating. And, if you’re anything like most small farm owners and homesteaders,…
If you own chickens, you’re going to see a lot of feathers, whether they’re in the coop, in the nest boxes, in the feed, or floating through the air. It’s normal for chickens to lose feathers, especially in the fall. That’s when they go through the molting process in which they lose old feathers so…
While it’s true that ducks look gorgeous when in flight, sometimes that’s just not practical for a family farm, homestead, or backyard flock. Stick to simply admiring wild ducks flying by during migration season – because it’s a real pain when your flock decides it’s time to join them. Not all ducks can fly, and…
You could have any number of reasons for raising ducks. For some people, they’re happy, low-maintenance outdoor pets. Others raise them for meat or eggs. I’ve also taken advantage of their ability to control insect populations. In the past, we’ve enclosed a flock of ducks in the orchard, and they did such a good job…
I’ve owned roosters who were more or less punctual about crowing on time. Like many other birds, roosters typically sing at sunrise with a familiar cock-a-doodle-doo sound. But sometimes you’ll get one that crows randomly at night. That should sound a little wrong, even to those who don’t own a rooster. Whether or not you’re…
The first time I hatched a clutch of eggs indoors, the heat lamp I picked up at the store decided to fail. Given that it was early February and the roads were more ice than anything else, I needed to improvise to keep these fragile baby ducks alive. At the time, I experimented with several…
Whether you’re watching your domesticated backyard flock or a few wild ducks at the park, it’s clear that water is one of the greatest pleasures of a duck’s existence. Ducks just look so much happier when they’re splashing around in a duck pond, puddle, or waterer. Dedicated duck owners should consider installing a duck pond,…
Keeping a mixed flock maximizes space, and it’s a great idea for small backyards. Poultry, including ducks and chickens, tend to live a tranquil life and aren’t prone to fights – but that doesn’t mean that fights can’t or won’t break out among your flock. It’s disconcerting to watch usually peaceful and friendly birds become…