Clipping Chicken Wings: Why, When & How
“At what age do you clip chicken wings? Thanks!” ~ Stephanie Francis Great question Stephanie. Before we address the “when” and the “how to”, let’s look at the “why”. If you haven’t discovered it yet, chickens can fly ;-0 It’s true they won’t soar through the air gracefully floating on the breeze but they can…
Baby Chicken Health Concerns
This week in our basics series we’re going to address a few chick health concerns. If you order your chicks from a hatchery, often times, but not always, your chicks will receive vaccinations before they are shipped. Check with your hatchery to find out if they will be administering vaccinations and what they are for.…
Chicken Pecking Order; Dealing With Aggressive Hens
We get a lot of questions about birds pecking at each other and what to do about it; when to intervene, when to let them work it out themselves. This week I thought I’d share a personal experience that might give you some ideas with your own flock. In our part of the world, the majority…
Chicken Grit; Grit for Baby & Adult Chickens
This week in our basics series, we’ll be discussing chicken grit, a necessary supplement for your chicks as well as your mature chickens. The need for grit varies depending on your chicken’s diet. To understand when it is necessary, we must first understand the way a chicken digests its food; Chickens do not have teeth…
Super Sized Eggs – Double or Triple Yolks
This week, I’d like to discuss a very unusual occurrence shared by reader, Sandy Elgert… “Dear Duncan and Wendy, I went to gather the last Thursday, and this giant egg was there. My chickens are Rhode Island Reds and Australorp. The egg had 3 yolks in it. It was super-sized, for sure! Is this normal…
Baby Chickens; Chick Care After Natural Hatchings
In the last few weeks we’ve been discussing the transition from incubator to brooding area for your newly hatched chicks. This week in our “Basics Series”, we’ll talk about the first few days of a chick’s life if its mother hatched the eggs. Although it’s true that when mama hen hatches her eggs, there isn’t…
Free Ranging Chickens – Definition
How is “free range” defined? ~ David Helms. When I think of free range chickens, I get a very specific picture in my mind. Let me describe it to you. I see a flock of chickens roaming around green pastures. They happily scratch for bugs and worms. Their days are filled with the wonder of…
Baby Chickens; Feed & Litter Material
Last week we covered your newly hatched chick’s need for water. This week we’ll move on to their feed and litter material. A chick will instinctively peck at and eat anything that is on the same level as their feet so before we address feed, let’s discuss their litter material. Remember last week we talked…
