Vanessa

Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder but there are some chicken breeds that will stand out in any flock. Pretty chickens are not a passing fad. Many breeds exist today because breeders more than a century ago were trying to create birds that would be great for exhibition. The spectrum of pretty … Read more

Choosing the best chicken bedding or litter remains a highly debated topic in poultry keeping. Most chicken farmers stand firmly behind their top choices. And while there are various chicken bedding options, you must get the facts before settling for a specific material. Besides comfort, good chicken bedding should also control odor, reduce moisture, and … Read more

Are you in the market for a worthwhile blue egg layer for your next big breeding project? Or do you wish to add a unique breed to your flock? It’s no secret that blue eggs stand out from our usual traditional brown and white eggs. They have a distinct visual appeal that adds beauty to … Read more

Don’t you just love it when your hens give your fresh, nutritious eggs? Whether you are raising chickens for home or commercial egg production, it’s crucial to select the best egg-laying chicken breeds to enjoy incredible rewards. But this can seem impossible if you don’t know where to start. Because there are many egg-laying chicken … Read more

Chickens are undoubtedly sweet farm animals for any backyard. They’re widely kept for meat and egg production, although some breeds are raised primarily for showing purposes. But can they make good pet animals? Well, if that’s the question bothering you, you’re not alone. In fact, whether chickens can be good pets is one of the … Read more

There may be 34.4 billion chickens on earth today but only a fraction of these are heritage breeds. In fact, some heritage chicken breeds are so rare their numbers are in the hundreds. The numbers of many chicken breeds suffered a steep decline following the rise of hybrid broilers and layers and the industrialization of … Read more

Black is a popular color for backyard chickens. In the past, it was common for breeders to start with a black chicken for new breeds before developing other color variants. Today, there are breeds that are only composed of black chickens while others have one variant with solid black or mostly black plumage. A few … Read more

Did you know hens can lay eggs without roosters? It’s true! Hens don’t need male chickens to give you that flavourful eggs you enjoy. However, this only applies if you raise chickens for the sole purpose of egg production. But if you wish to increase your chicken population, you need to understand egg fertilization in … Read more

It can be unsettling to enter your coop to find one of your chicks or chickens with its neck twisted oddly and its head stuck at an unnatural angle. This is what the condition known as wry neck or torticollis does to chickens. Depending on the cause, wry neck in chickens may look more serious … Read more

Corn, or in Latin, Zea mays, also known as maize around the globe, is an icon of American culture that was already known to the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas. It is thought to have originated in Mexico or Central America, and evidence of corn cooking dates back more than 9,000 years. The Indians used it … Read more