Articles on Raising Chickens

We've raised chickens for more than 20 years and have learned many things that work well and other things that don't. We find raising chickens to be a very rewarding experience and an excellent way to put food on the table, both eggs and meat. Though we may not always be able to afford to buy the best food with which to feed our families, we can afford to grow it or raise it ourselves. The articles below share our experience with you.

2017 Homestead Heritage Fair Introduction to Sustainable Poultry – Part 3

In Part 2 we talked about flock size and the water needs of chicks, now we finish looking at meeting the nutritional needs of the chickens. Now let's look at the other nutritional requirements. First. Chickens are omnivores, they like a variety of feed. When they are foraging, they are happy. When they are full, they stop. [...]

2017 Homestead Heritage Fair Introduction to Sustainable Poultry – Part 2

In Part 1 we talked about the importance of the soil, now we dig deeper into using the birds to improve the soil and meeting the nutritional needs of the chickens. After the animal impact we no longer have a sterile hard pan field, we are able to grow a very diverse cover crop to [...]

2017 Homestead Heritage Fair Introduction to Sustainable Poultry – Part 1

2017 Homestead Heritage Fair Introduction to Sustainable Poultry At one of my Sustainable Poultry talks at the Homestead Heritage Fair, the pictures were not showing. Here is the talk with the pictures in place. Once you've begun to raise poultry, another important question is how to raise them more sustainably. This brings up questions like: [...]

A Drop in Egg Production?

You may also have noticed a lot of loose feathers in the coop and seen chickens either with fewer feathers than normal or with lots of pin feathers. This is normal and is part of their annual molt. Molting is triggered by the changes in lighting that take place this time of year, as the […]

Keep Your Chickens Cool this Summer

Keeping your chickens cool in our hot, central Texas summers can be a challenge. This year, long-term forecasts predict a hotter- and dryer-than-normal summer, despite our wetter- and cooler-than-normal spring. Hot weather can stress your chickens and reduce egg production. A friend of mine recently moved his chickens from low-roofed shelters in a sunny part […]