A Guide to Raising Baby Chickens for Beginners

Nowadays many are taking back some control and raising their own food via a flock of backyard chickens. It’s not a bad idea! If you’ve never raised a flock before, or need a quick refresher, here's a quick guide to raising baby chickens for beginners.

Why do Roosters Crow? Plus Answers to Other Odd Chicken Questions!

Why do roosters crow? Have you really stopped to think about all that crowing? Why so much? If you feed your chickens meat will they turn into cannibals? What about your backyard swimming pool; is that a place your chickens might like to visit? So many questions! Here are five top chicken questions along with the answers.

How to Keep Chickens Cool in Summer

Keeping your chickens cool in summer is a must-do. There's nothing we can do to stop the heat, but we can help our chickens beat the heat.

With the mercury rising, it's important to remember that high temperatures can be harder on a flock than the cold temperatures of winter. The effects of heat are cumulative and can be enhanced by high humidity, so be sure to keep vigilant during heat spells. A temperature of 80 degrees with high humidity can bring on heat-related problems.

Top Ten Facts About Roosters

Some folks can't have a rooster in their flock, but if you can, these top 10 facts about roosters may just have you considering adding these beauties to your backyard flock.

Baby Chicks Get Outside Time

As spring gets warmer and baby chicks get older, people wonder when their baby chicks can get outside time for exercise and to scratch and peck. After all, the ultimate goal for your chickens is to live in the backyard. But when is that possible? Are there small steps you can take toward the ultimate goal?

How to Pick Chicken Breeds for Your Flock

A backyard flock of chickens can be a wise investment in homegrown eggs, meat and the peace of mind that comes with self-sufficiency. Getting started isn’t hard. But before buying your birds, some initial chicken breed research can ensure your flock’s productivity and climate hardiness and help you meet your goals.

What Can Chickens Eat? Can You Feed Chickens Table Scraps?

Feeding chickens scraps from the kitchen is a great way to give them healthy treats and make sure your leftovers don’t go to waste. Next time you clean out your refrigerator, scrape the dinner plates or bring home leftovers from dinner out, why not set some aside for your flock? They’ll love you for it!

Lots of folks wonder about what to feed chickens for treats. Generally, is if it’s good for you, it’s good for them, remembering to leave out anything that’s fried, sugary, salty, alcoholic or moldy.

How Do Chickens Drink?

We were watching our chickens at a bowl of water and my kids asked me “do chickens have saliva, how do chickens drink?” I thought about this for a moment, because I love to watch our chickens drink. It’s comical to watch them dip their beaks into the water and then tip their heads back. But as I really thought about this, I wondered if I actually knew the right answer to these questions. So, I decided to do some research. And what shocked me most was that a quick perusal of the internet showed that many other people don’t know the answer either.

Backyard Chicken Video Favorites

Enjoy these video favorites from the last few weeks. You'll see my flock jockeying for position as treats are served and eaten. You'll also see the hens free ranging in the woods. While my flock free ranges every day, they are in a very large fenced area. When I'm in the yard working or outside a lot, I'll open the gates and give them access to our wooded acreage. It's obvious they love it!

Over the Fence - A Week in Farm Photos

This week at Elm Ridge Farm (2/19 - 2/25) was full of good and bad. 

The good first. We had a week of temperatures over 60 degrees with a record-breaker on Friday at 78 degrees. It was fun to get outside without a jacket! We all met the goat below at our local feed shop. He was quite the character. In fact, he butted his way onto the straw bale he's standing on, just to meet us. Spring flowers started to bloom this week and the chickens loved being outside in the comfortable weather. Peepers, our Speckled Sussex, found some creative ways to get out of the backyard but stood still long enough to pose for the Fluffy Butt Friday photo below. 

The bad. We had to put our 15-year-old cat, Maggie to sleep on Thursday. She was diagnosed with lymphoma and within a week, she was so bad that we had to put her out of her misery. Her picture is below with Middie, the bunny. Middie died suddenly in September and was beloved. So, it's been a rough few months with losses here in our household. We all hope that Maggie and Middie find each other in heaven so they can play together again. 

Enjoy my week in farm photos!

Oops! Black Australorp on Wrong Perch

Hen Missing from the Chicken Coop is Found in Nearby Tree

Somehow during her nightly trip to the chicken coop, Rowena our Black Australorp, got waylaid. (Our chickens roam throughout the day, and put themselves into their coop at night.) When my husband went to shut the chickens in for the night, he only counted 14; we were missing one! He quickly called me for reinforcements in the form of flashlights. We determined it was Rowena missing; darn our luck, she's black and it was dark outside. Luckily though, a scan of the trees in our backyard found her happily perched in the Redbud tree next to our deck. Even luckier, she wasn't perched that high, After some creative maneuvering, my husband was able to reach up and get her. We gently returned her to the coop and she settled onto the roost for the night, no worse for the wear.

You may have guessed, my kids had inspiration in naming Rowena from the Harry Potter movies. And I would be remiss to say that just like the members of Ravenclaw House are known for their wit and intelligence, our Rowena Ravenclaw definitely has those qualities. When she got out of her routine and found herself in the dark and without a coop, she had enough wit to find a safe perch and she was prepared to hang in until morning! (Luckily it didn't come to that.)


Rowena, the Black Australorp, perched in the Redbud tree by our deck.

Black Australorp Breed Qualities

Black Australorps are beautiful, docile chickens that make a great addition to any flock. They have all black glossy feathers that are especially pretty when the sun hits them just right and the feathers take on a green sheen. Black Australorps are great producers of brown eggs. In fact, a Black Australorp holds the egg laying record for laying 364 eggs in 365 days. Black Australorps endure heat and cold well and continue laying through the seasons. This is considered a dual-purpose bird that matures quickly and can be kept for both eggs and meat. Males weigh 8.5 lbs. and females weigh 6.5 lbs.

Class: English
Origin: Australia
Comb Type: Single
Egg Color: Brown
Egg Size: Large
Egg Production: Excellent
Broody: Yes
Hardiness: Heat and Cold Hardy
Temperament: Active yet Gentle
Environment: Confinement or Free Range
Characteristics: Productive and Fast Growing
Breed Status: Recovering
(Sources: Meyer Hatchery & The Livestock Conservancy)


Originally published July 2011.

Rooster Eating At The Bird Feeder

Hank our rooster, feasting at the feeder. He's definitely learned some bad tricks from our Brown Leghorns that love to fly!

Fridays With Backyard Chickens At The Bird Feeder

Brown Leghorns are the best flyers in my flock and they take advantage of that! They love to hang out on my deck happily eating the black oil sunflower seed set out for the wild birds. You'll notice from the pictures, this Leghorn knew she was caught and quickly flew to the ground. So that's where all my bird seed has been going!

Chickens Taking A Dust Bath

Hank the rooster and a few of his hens are enjoying dust baths before the polar vortex takes over this part of the country.

I have to say, I love watching Hank with the hens. He's quite the protector and the gentleman. He lets them get comfy in the dirt before he gets in there with him. 

But once they're all finished, it's his time to bathe!

A Chicken with a Hat!

My kids decided Little Muff needed some head protection after her pecking. She's such a good sport. Too cute!

Caring for a Pecked Chicken

A little over a week ago, I decided to take a mid-morning break and visit my flock. As I walked through the yard, I noticed everyone acting a little strange and one of my roosters was pacing back and forth in front of the open coop door. When I got to the coop, one of my Ameracauna hens, “Little Muff” was on top of the nest boxes and she practically jumped into my arms. The first thing I noticed was her head was covered in blood.

Since it was a cool day and she was severely injured, I knew that I first had to prevent her from going into shock. So, I took her into the house to examine her wound and get her warm. Then, I tried not to freak out because her wound was horrible.

From just behind her comb to the top of her head had been pecked away. There were no more feathers and her top layer of skin was completely gone. Luckily, her blood had already formed a scab because so much skin was gone that it really was just hanging there and the only thing holding it in place was the dried blood.

I situated Little Muff in the dog’s kennel (the dog was unhappy about this) since it could be easily cleaned and was pleased to see she had lost none of her spunk as she ate and drank immediately.

After that, I knew I had to tend to her wound. Now, a lot of people recommend thoroughly cleaning a bloody wound and then applying ointment. But, it’s important to note that chickens have a higher body temperature than we do. This allows their blood to clot faster, helps them avoid infection and heal quickly. With that in mind, I gently cleaned away the excess blood around her face and neck with a warm wet cotton ball. Then I applied Neosporin and hoped she’d heal.

I’m happy to announce that after a week, Little Muff is doing well. Her deepest wounds still have some exposed clots, but there has been no infection. Her skin color is great. Her wounded dead skin is starting to flake off and be replaced by new skin. She is actually starting to get back a few feathers around her eyes and comb. But, I don’t think she’ll ever get back feathers at the top of her head. In that spot, the wounds are so deep that I think the entire feather shaft is gone.

I’ve prepared a hospital, complete with a heat lamp, and have moved Little Muff to our garage to finish her recovery.

The Truth About Chicken Nest Boxes

With cold weather on our doorsteps, it’s the time of year that most chicken keepers take a hard look at their coop to make sure everything’s in order for winter. As I was looking at our coop, the nest boxes struck me as funny. I remember setting up our coop and diligently poring over books that gave advice on exactly what size and how many nest boxes a coop should have.

Now, I’m not advocating deviation from those standards. But, over the years, it has become increasingly obvious that my chickens had nothing to do with writing those standards. And, for the novice chicken keeper, it’s important to understand that chickens have a mind of their own when it comes to egg laying.

We’ve currently got 14 laying hens which have six equally sized clean boxes to use. And, for the most part, this works out fine. But there are exceptions to the rule.

For instance, there’s always one box that every chicken covets and wants to use at the exact same time. There are days I’ll go in the coop and find chickens doubled up in the coveted box with a line of traffic taxiing the runway waiting for their turn for takeoff.

Then, there are those chickens that are free spirits and some days they just have to strike out on their own. Take Big Muff our Easter Egger hen; over the hot summer she chose to sneak out and lay a clutch of eggs just off our concrete parking area by our front door; an even hotter locale than the coop. Or take Hope one of our red sex link hens; she’s obsessed with sneaking out and laying eggs right by our mudroom door. She’s singlehandedly destroyed a planter and made it her own nest box.

There’s also, Henrie, another of our red sex links, she really likes the area right under our nest boxes and actively works to maintain that territory.

Or, there are our brown leghorn hens who like to share a nest box for no other reason than it’s great to have company when you’re laying an egg.

To be fair, on most days, our nest boxes are just fine for everyone, but when the exceptions occur, it makes me laugh and I’m sure you won’t find that written in any chicken keeping guide.

Ameraucana Makes Her Own Nest

Big Muff is one of our beautiful and reliable Ameraucanas. She's also our wanderer. Almost no height of fence will stop her. Sturdy top or not, she'll hang on and get herself to the other side. Even clipping her wings doesn't make a difference.

During our recent heat wave, Big Muff was undaunted. it didn't matter how many times we caught her, she could always be found right back on the concrete pad outside our garage. We really worried about her, because the temperature on the concrete was stifling. She'd sit there and pant and we'd try to catch her without causing her stress.

Then, as I was mulching our beds, I found out why Big Muff was so insistent. She had been making her own clutch of eggs right next to our front door under the arborvitae. I couldn't believe it! There were twelve beautiful green eggs that the raccoons, who are around every night, had not touched.

So, I kept an eye out, and sure enough, Big Muff eventually made her way to her nest and went right in.

I decided to pick her up and put her back in her coop. Then I promptly cleaned out the eggs. This seems to have broken whatever cycle she had going. Now, she's laying in the nest where she's supposed to lay her eggs.

I'll never know if it was the unbearable heat, although she picked a hotter spot than her coop, or having a rooster around, that made her decide to build a nest. But, it was really cool to see.

Nest Box Bandit: Did You Want That Nest?

I was lucky this morning; I actually got a picture of the most hilarious nest box behavior.


This brown leghorn is trying to occupy the nest box with a barred rock.

For some reason, my brown leghorns love to be in the same nest box that another hen is occupying. It's not that they don't have enough next boxes; they do. It's not a location issue, because it happens in any of the boxes.

I've watched this quite a few times and I don't think it's aggressive behavior. I actually think the brown leghorns like the company. Because if they both need to lay eggs at the same time, I'll find both brown leghorns happily occupying the same nest. But my other hens are not appreciative of this behavior. Usually a squabble takes place with the leghorn getting her way. The only hen that doesn't allow the leghorns to win is Hoppy, our partridge cochin. She loudly defends her turf. And, sometimes I actually have to remove everyone from the coop and let them start over.

For the meantime, our nest box bandits will keep up their stealth operations and enjoy their new found laying companions.

Wind, Rain and a Missing Chicken

The most heart-warming thing happened to me last night. Actually, it started yesterday afternoon. It was a rainy day that was predicted to turn into  snow by evening. I had the chickens out roaming the yard, but was keeping an eye on them to make sure the weather didn't get too bad. Wouldn't you know it, right before I had to leave to pick the kids up from school, the wind and rain really started in force. I could see most of the chickens huddled under the slide on our backyard play gym. (I don't know why the were huddled there. There are many more sheltered places they could have chosen.) Anyway, I went outside in my knee-high boots to herd the chickens into their coop/run, desperately trying not to get dirty since I had no time to change before I left. I was successful getting them in, but in the wind and rain I was sure I missed someone.

As soon as I got home again, I went out to count the chickens. It was proving a difficult task since some of them were happily scratching and pecking in their run and others were inside. They kept wandering in and out so my count was never the same twice. Then, just as I was about to give up, I turned around. And at my feet was one of my brown leghorns. She was the one I had missed. She had taken shelter under the coop and decided since "mom" was home, she wanted to be put in with the flock. She was a little wet and she "bent down" as my chickens do when they want to be picked up. She turned her head up to me with her big comb flopping to one side, and I was touched.

I know we're not supposed to transfer human feelings to our animals. But, still, there's no doubt she knew I was her human and I'd take care of her. And, I was happy to do so!