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Is Permethrin a Safe Treatment for Poultry Lice and Mites?

Is Permethrin a Safe Treatment for Poultry Lice and Mites?

All insecticides are toxic to some extent, or they wouldn’t work. Permethrin is a synthetic version of pyrethrins — natural insecticides that are extracted from daisy-like flowers. Compared to natural pyrethrins, synthetic versions persist longer in the environment and therefore need to be applied less often.   Permethrin comes in the form of a dust […]

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What is Feather Sexing? Separating Fact from Myth

What is Feather Sexing? Separating Fact from Myth

Feather sexing is the ability to determine the gender of a newly hatched chick based on the rate of growth of its wing feathers. The trait is sex linked and works only if the chick’s father is of a breed that grows feathers rapidly and its mother is of a breed that grows feathers slowly. […]

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20 Terrific Reasons to Keep a Flock of Chickens

Chicken keepers have many different reasons for having a backyard flock of chickens. Here are 20 of the best reasons put forth by people with a passion for poultry:

Chicken keepers have many different reasons for having a backyard flock of chickens. Here are 20 of the best reasons put forth by people with a passion for poultry:     Chickens lay eggs. Keeping your own flock of hens ensures a ready supply of freshly-laid eggs right outside your back door. Chickens eat insects. […]

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How Do Chickens Get Lice?

How Do Chickens Get Lice?

The most common ways chickens acquire lice are from wild birds and other chickens. Once a chicken is infested, lice spread by crawling from one bird to another. Contact with infested feathers, especially during a molt, also helps spread lice. Lousiness is usually worse in fall and winter. Suspect lice if your chickens are restless, […]

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How to Handle Baby Chicks, Ducklings, and Goslings

How to Handle Baby Chicks, Ducklings, and Goslings

When those fuzzy little chicks, ducklings, or goslings arrive in the mail, the first thing you want to do is pick them up and cuddle them. Young children, especially, can’t resist snuggling those cute little fluff balls. The more time you spend with your baby poultry, the friendlier they will become. However, among the important […]

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Best Chicken Breeds for Free Range

Best Chicken Breeds for Free Range

When chickens are allowed to free range, certain breeds fare far better than others, especially in terms of avoiding predators. Ideal characteristics for free ranging chickens include wariness, inconspicuous plumage, acute vision, and foraging ability.     Predator Wariness Chicken breeds that are best able to evade predators are the wary, high strung, excitable, so-called […]

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Keeping Ducks Together with Chickens

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Ducks have been called the New Chickens, in honor of their increasing popularity. But the first time-duck owner who attempts to manage ducks like chickens can be in for an unpleasant surprise. The two main issues are that ducks like it wet while chickens like it dry, and ducks don’t have the same sensible sleeping […]

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How to Care for Baby Chickens Delivered by Mail

How to Care for Baby Chickens Delivered by Mail

Chicks shipped by mail require a little extra TLC compared to chicks you might hatch at home. Think about how you feel after a long journey — dehydrated, exhausted, probably a bit cranky. What you look forward to most is a long drink and a warm bed. Baby chicks are no different. They suffer the […]

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Why Does a Rooster Have a Comb?

Why Does a Rooster Have a Comb?

One of the most outstanding features of a rooster is his comb — that fleshy crownlike protrusion on top of a chicken’s head. So why do roosters have such ornate combs? At about 3 to 8 weeks of age, depending on the breed, baby chicks start developing reddened combs. A cockerel’s comb will gradually become […]

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Why Baby Chickens Get Pasty Butt and What to Do About It

Why Baby Chickens Get Pasty Butt and What to Do About It

Pasty Butt — also known as pasting, paste up, or sticky bottom — is a common condition in newly hatched chicks. It occurs when soft droppings stick to a chick’s vent, then harden and seal the vent shut. If the condition is not corrected, the affected chick may die. Although pasting may be caused by […]

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