Butchering A Chicken For Christmas Dinner

“With the holidays coming, we were considering butchering a chicken for our Christmas meal. We’ve never done this before but I think you have to butcher before a certain age. Could you clarify this for me? Thank you for your informative newsletter” ~ Pat Rowland Hi Pat, this is a timely question that I would…

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The Color Of Chicken Eggs

“We are new at the Chicken raising and I find your newsletter very helpful every week. In June we received 3 hens and they started laying for us in September. We were getting approx 1 egg every other day, maybe 2 between the 3 hens, and then as your newsletter explained to me the days…

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Keeping Chickens In The Colder Months…

“Hi Duncan and Wendy. I have a question that I’m hoping you can answer. It’s getting very cold at night and I want to make sure my little flock of hens stay warm enough. What is the best way to do so? BTW, this is my first winter keeping chickens so any information would be…

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Chicken Submission Behavior

“Hi, John here from South Africa. We have a mixed flock of about 180 free-range hens, and I have noticed recently what to me, is very odd behavior. The group is made up of three different breeds and each is approximately six weeks apart in age. (Amberlinks, Potcheftroom Koekoeks, and Rhode Island Reds). I’ve noticed…

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Cleaning A Chicken Egg Before Incubation…

“I have always heard not to incubate eggs that still have manure on them. What is the best way to clean an egg before incubating it? Can you clean them with water or is there something on the market that will wash the egg but not remove the protective barrier? Please help. Thanks,” ~ Angela…

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Using Artificial Light To Stimulate Egg Production…

We are absolutely flooded with questions about using artificial light to stimulate egg production in the winter. For those of you in the Northern Hemisphere, this is a hot topic right now. For those of you in the Southern Hemisphere, you’ll be prepared for next year ;-0 I’ve written about this before but there seems…

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Egg Shape As Indication Of The Sex Of A Chick

Last week we addressed a question from Royce about whether egg shape is an indication of the sex of the chick. Thanks to all of you who responded. Below are a few of the responses that indicate the overall experience you all have had in regards to this… “I have allowed hens to hatch out…

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Moving a Broody Hen…

“My neighbors Barred Rock hen has taken up to laying her eggs in my barn. My neighbor has given me the hen and this week she has started sitting on her clutch of twelve eggs. My questions is should I move her and the eggs to my coupe or just let her be for now…

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