Yesterday, I posted an article that appeared in the New York Times. It was about the terrible conditions of many commercial chicken factories. Both Robin and Kari commented on the article and I want to include their comments here. I also want to post a few pictures I took when we were driving home from Southern California. We were stopped at one of the rest stops along the I5 highway and the … [Read more...]
Put Your Chickens to Work for You!
Did you know that bored chickens are unhealthy chickens? Bored chickens fight with one another, pull feathers out and pick pick pick at each other. Usually the answer to this is to just let them out of the coop and they will run around chasing and eating bugs. There other ways to keep your chickens from boredom and that is to put your chickens to work for you! Here's how we … [Read more...]
How To Get Started on the Path to Providing for Your Family
Have you been used to buying your groceries at the supermarkets? Never raised animals or had a garden? Are you trying to figure out how to get started on the path to providing for your family? Have you thought about starting a homestead? It can certainly feel overwhelming just to get started. So think about getting started, but doing it on a small … [Read more...]
What to Do When Your Chicks Arrive
Do you know what to do when your chicks arrive? Be ready for them! Be as sure as you can that you have everything you need. Everything MUST be in place when your chicks arrive at their new home! We keep our chicks in the basement for the first 2 weeks. This is because in our climate, it is usually still too cold down at the barn for day old chicks. We can do a better job … [Read more...]
Roosters Versus Hens
If you are going to raise some meat birds, you will have a choice of ordering unsexed chicks, all rooster chicks or all pullets (hens). Should you order roosters or hens? We always order unsexed (or straight run as they are called) chicks. They are cheaper than ordering all roosters or all hens. We like a variety of sizes of chickens in our freezer, another good reason for ordering them … [Read more...]