Wild turkeys, indigenous to the Americas, were kept by Native Americans for centuries before the arrival of Europeans. Early Spanish explorers are credited with transporting American turkeys to Europe. There the birds were selectively bred for a couple of centuries before being brought back to America by early settlers. From those birds sprang the domestic […]
Continue Reading
British farmer Glenn Haggart is the latest to discover that playing music for laying hens reduces anxiety and stress, creating a safer environment for the chickens. After four years of playing music for his layers, he’s become a strong advocate. But what kind of music do chickens like? Music and Chicks Let’s start with embryos […]
Continue Reading
Raising chickens for meat involves first deciding which to choose: Cornish broilers or a heritage breed. The fundamental difference is the amount of time needed to grow them from hatch to harvest. The quicker they grow to the target weight of about six pounds, the cheaper they are to raise and the more tender the […]
Continue Reading
Many rural folks keep guinea fowl primarily to patrol for ticks and any other pesky insects they might snack on. When allowed to roam freely, a flock of guineas will effectively patrol a lawn, pasture, or edge of a woodlot. Just start up your lawn mower and guineas will gather to feast on whatever the […]
Continue Reading
If a hen and her newly hatched chicks are left to wander around the poultry yard, the babies may fall prey to house cats, hawks, and other predators. And baby chicks can slip through most yard fences that are properly built to confine mature poultry. Chicks wandering around a yard can get chilled in damp […]
Continue Reading
Frizzle chickens are fun and funny, but are they a breed? The answer is yes and no. In Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and United Kingdom Frizzles are classified as a pure breed. In the United States they are considered to be a plumage variety in any breed. Frizzle Chickens Frizzling is a genetic condition […]
Continue Reading
Chicken keepers vary in levels of experience, from novice to expert. But no matter how knowledgeable we might be, and how carefully we manage our flocks, all chicken keepers face the same three challenges. Predators Everyone who keeps poultry sooner or later experiences that heart-stopping moment of realization that a predator has come to call. […]
Continue Reading
The scaly leg mite (Knemidocoptes mutans) is a tiny pale gray round creature, only about 1/100-inch in diameter. Despite its small size, in large numbers it can cause big problems by digging under the scales of a chicken leg and deforming the shank, feet, and toes. Unfortunately, dealing with scaly leg mites is a common […]
Continue Reading
A rooster’s wattles come in flexible pairs that dangle beneath the beak, while its comb is a single structure prominently affixed to the top of the head. Researchers have determined that hens base their choice of mates, in part, on characteristics of the comb. But when it comes to wattles, they scratch their scholarly heads […]
Continue Reading
Since the 1800s humans have believed chickens were domesticated from red jungle fowl of Southeast Asia. The main reasons for this assumption are that red jungle fowl (pictured above) look similar and can interbreed with modern chickens. However, we had no real proof of the origin of modern chickens until the advent of gene sequencing. […]
Continue Reading