Chickens are very sensitive to high temperatures, much more so than cooler temperatures. While winter chicken keeping does pose its challenges, summer chicken keeping also presents a whole new set of issues. Chickens have a normal body temperature around 105-107 degrees F, so keeping them cool in hot weather is...

Whether you are starting off with your first homestead flock or you have been raising chickens on the homestead for years, we all find ourselves asking, what is my chicken doing? Chickens are entertaining to watch, but knowing what their different behaviors, sounds, and body language means makes watching them...

Chickens form a dynamic flock that is run by their own set of rules and codes. Each bird has a place in the flock and knows its limits. When a flock’s dynamics are interrupted, havoc can break out! Knowing how to properly introduce new birds into your flock can prevent...

Chickens can handle cool weather way better than warm weather. High temperatures can cause a drop in laying or cause the hens to lay soft eggs. Chickens can also suffer from heat exhaustion and heat stroke very rapidly in hot weather. There are several ways you can help your flock beat...

If you’ve ever aspired to raise your homestead flock naturally, then I am sure you have contemplated all the variety of useful ways you can use herbs on the homestead for your flock. However, there are several different types of herbs for the homestead flock. Each type of herb has...

It’s the dilemma that every homesteader will face at some point in their chicken raising experience… how to tell if a chick is a pullet or a cockerel? Knowing how to sex chicks and chickens is a helpful skill to have on the homestead. Being able to tell male chicks...

You may have a good start on knowing how to raise baby chicks, and you probably already have a plan for when those chicks are mature, but what about while they are growing? Learning how to manage growing chickens is important for the health and well being of your future...

One of the biggest challenges with homesteading is finding someone to care for your animals when you have to be gone for a few days (or a few weeks). Some homesteaders are perfectly content with not traveling a whole lot, however, other homesteaders have the traveling bug, or at least...

I have incubated hatching eggs using both an incubator and a broody hen. Starting off using an incubator to hatch eggs made me realized just how much easier it is to let a mother hen hatch eggs! Honestly, I thought caring for a broody hen while she is incubating eggs...

A chicken’s dietary needs change from the time it is a cute little fluffy chick to the time it is fully mature and reaches reproduction age. Knowing what to feed growing chickens is important for the overall health of the homestead flock! Protein needs change, digestive systems become stronger, and...

Herbs have long been valued for their medicinal and culinary uses for people, but did you know that they are great for your chickens too? I love growing herbs for my chickens, and despite my green thumb not being the best, I still manage to maintain a little herb garden...

Ever wonder exactly what it takes to raise chickens? Or maybe you’re wondering what tools and supplies are available to help you raise a backyard flock? The Complete Guide to Supplies for Raising Chickens lists all of the materials you may need to begin and continue your backyard chicken raising...

A peaceful, well socialized, and coherent flock makes for happy, calm, and stress free flock members who are productive and healthy! When there is strife or division within the flock, it causes stress. Stress leads to a decrease in production, an opportunity for disease, and even death for some members...