No, it’s not a day to go out and buy as much crap as you can from American Eagle; it’s a day to celebrate our majestic national bird and its incredible beauty. Established in 2007, American Eagle Day was created to honor the recovery and restoration of the American bald eagle through many different conservation programs. It also celebrates the ideals for which the bird stands, such as freedom.

Read more >

It is an unfortunate truth that chickens, just like every other form of livestock, need to be wormed.  There are a lot of reasons to do this, and different methods available.  

Why worm?
Chickens, because they forage off the ground, can easily pick up a worm infestation.  In fact, it's almost inevitable.  The most common source of infestation is ascarid worms, also known as large roundworms.  Threadworms, tapeworms, and gapeworms are all also frequently present.  


Read more >

I just had my first hen go "broody."  I have to tell you, I can see how it would be pretty annoying, but I thought it was awfully funny.  The first thing I noticed was that she was behaving oddly for several days.  She would do what I called a "turkey impression."  

If you have ever seen a tom turkey puff himself up to impress the ladies, that's pretty much what Ethel did.  She fluffed out all of her feathers, cocked her tail up and fanned out her tail feathers, and wandered around mumbling "tuk tuk tuk" under her breath.


Read more >

It's mid-Spring now in most parts of the country, and last year's chicks are really getting into the swing of laying eggs!  (This year's chicks are still being raised, and will start laying around July or August.)  A common question I hear this time of year is, why are my chicken's eggs so small?


Read more >

I never knew eggs could be so noisy!This week Chow.com's "Table Manners" column tackles the thorny issues of "urban homesteading" vis a vis your neighbor's complaints, rights, and expectations.  I'm going to skip the bit about bunny slaughter because A) gross, and B) bunnies aren't my thing.  Instead, let's home in on a point the article makes, in oddly veiled terms:

"[Chickens] sing an egg song when they lay an egg. It can be just a couple clucks or a real 'ca-caw' that is audible over several yards."


Read more >

I knew that eventually I would want to dust my chickens for mites.  My hens live in a chicken tractor, which is like a mobile chicken pen and coop.  As I move it around the yard, it encounters areas which have been in contact with wild birds.  The robins, for example, are running all over the yard this time of year.

If your chickens live in an enclosed pen, then you may never have to dust for mites.  And yet, somehow the mites often seem to creep in!  Watch your chickens for increased itchiness.  Check the undersides of their perches for little black specs - bird mites love to lurk under the perch all day, then creep out at night to suck the blood of your sleeping birds.  And although bird mites don't colonize people, a lot of chicken owners discover that their chickens have mites after their arms get covered in bites while cleaning out the coop.  Gross!

Read more >

Bird Breath!You know, I like to think I have a pretty good grasp on science, and biology, and how the world works.  And then some little fact trots along and knocks me right on my butt, thereby pointing out that the world is far more strange and complicated than we sometimes give it credit for.

This is one such fact, which I stumbled over last week: birds breathe in only one direction.  Most animals, such as ourselves, have "bidirectional respiration."  We inhale, fresh air comes into our lungs, it gets exchanged for all the carbon dioxide and other waste products, and then the old air is exhaled.  Fresh air in; stale air out.  This is also called "tidal respiration," because it's similar to the way the tides move in and out.


Read more >

Sharp-shinned hawkToday I heard a mad squadawk-ing from the direction of the chickens.  I looked outside and saw a Sharp-shinned hawk swoop past the mobile chicken pen (also called a chicken tractor or chicken ark) and perch nearby.  My chicken tractor is completely raptor-proof, and for good reason!  But although I knew he couldn't get in to slaughter my chickens, the hens had no such confidence in my building design.


Read more >

Bird GritOne of the most common questions asked by new chicken owners is, what's the difference between grit and shell?  Do I need to feed my baby chicks grit?  Do baby chicks need supplemental oyster shell?

The difference between grit and shell is that grit is just fine gravel.  This has been milled such that it's the right size for your chickens to use in their gizzards.  Chickens don't have teeth to chew their food - it all goes into a pouch called the gizzard.  Chickens swallow small pebbles and bits of rock, which stay in the gizzard.  These help grind up the food inside the gizzard, so that it can be digested farther along the road.


Read more >

rather early youd think