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An eggshell defines an egg - if there was no shell an egg would be…well, disgusting and useless. Add the shell and an egg becomes both beautiful and functional. What are eggshells made of? And how does a hen do that?
A 2019 study showed that most of the diseases that cause our backyard birds to die are infectious diseases. Many of those diseases are preventable.
What are the main causes of death of our backyard chickens? The six top killers, determined by a scientific study on chickens in eight different states, may surprise you.
If you’re looking for a book to enjoy and learn from, here’s one— a life well lived contained in a well written book. What more could you want? Oh…chickens? You want to read about chickens? Well, bingo.
The Hipster Hens Shelter in Place - COVID-19 and Black Soldier Fly Larvae - COVID-19 and Fine Chicken Art - COVID-19, Chicken Hoarding and Salmonella
Toby the Lab Digs Sticks - The Hipster Hens Dig to China - Chicken Love in the Time of Covid - Chicken Death in the Time of Covid
If Marek’s Disease strikes your flock there’s very little you can do except suffer as your sick chickens suffer, and end their suffering when it becomes severe. There is no cure. Thus, your best strategy is to prevent Marek’s from harming your flock in the first place. You can fight infection with biosecurity and prevent symptoms with vaccination.
Chicken Hoarding - Resources for Chicken Keeping - My Favorite Chicken Bloggers - Thoughts on Fishers
Some of the main recommended practices for keeping our flocks safe can, with a few modifications, be good guidelines for protecting ourselves from the marauding coronavirus.
Back in 2016 I sat down and started writing this blog. Four years and 176 posts later, I managed to get this cake…
Paul the rooster slowly realizes that he’s the man.
Michel Perry’s “Montaigne in Barn Boots.”
And Randy’s Chicken Blog celebrates its 4th birthday!
Moreno Monti and Matteo Tranchellini, creators of the lush book of chicken photographs, “Chick!en,” have a new book! “Chicken in Love” is every bit as beautiful as the earlier book, and it’s all about love!
Do you think of chickens as your feathered friends? Or do you consider them to be beady-eyed, sharp-beaked minions of evil? If the second sentence describes you, perhaps you have alektorophobia.
Black Soldier Fly grubs can reduce the emission of climate-changing greenhouse gases, help protect our overfished oceans, get rid of mountains of unwanted organic waste—and our chickens find them to be incredibly delicious!
-A sad farewell to Emile the rooster
-Black soldier fly larvae—making the world a better place
-A fun new chicken book—“A Diamond in the Brush”
-A good-news update on Marissa the hen, suffering from water belly and cancer
I like chickens. I also like books a lot. Unsurprisingly, I think chicken books are pretty great—the perfect marriage of two of my favorite things. Here are some thumbnail reviews of a few of my favorite chicken books. Full reviews of many of these books can be found elsewhere on my blog.
Some gift ideas for your chickens or your friends and family members who love chickens. For the holidays or anytime!
Something was wrong with Marissa! Her belly was blown up like an over-inflated basketball, she had lost interest in all the usual chicken activities and she spent all of her time standing in a quiet corner looking sad. Did she have ascites? How could I tell for sure? And how could I make this sweet little hen feel better?
Not only are South American chickens very strange birds, but they’ve been in South America way too long. When the Spanish first arrived in South America they noted the fact that there were already chickens there! People were keeping domestic chickens! Chickens, like cows, pigs, and sheep, are supposedly Old-World animals. So what were they doing in South America before the Old-World explorers/conquerors got there? How did they get there? Flying saucers, anybody?
