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Breed Spotlight: Aseel Chicken

An Aseel Chicken

The Aseel chicken is an ancient game fowl from India. The name of this indigenous breed means trueborn or purebred. Aseels have an upright stance, square shanks, and short legs set wide apart. Their ears are red, and they have a pea comb and minimal wattles. These slow-growing chickens have well developed muscles, although their […]

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How Many Chicken Nest Boxes Do You Need?

a row of chicken nest boxes

How many chicken nest boxes you need in your coop depends in part on the number of hens in your flock. A second factor is whether or not your hens one of the top laying breeds. Here are some guidelines for determining the best number of nests for your specific flock. How Many Nests The […]

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6 Reasons to Hatch Poultry Eggs in an Incubator

Chicks Hatching

Before eggs can develop into chicks or other poultry, they must experience a specific amount of heat and humidity for a specific length of time. Most hens instinctively know what to do. Here are 6 reasons you may instead prefer to hatch poultry eggs in an incubator. Reliability Hens of your chosen breed may not […]

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How to Mix Different Chicken Breeds in One Flock

a mixed flock of chickens outside

Like a lot of chicken keepers, you might want to include a variety of breeds in your backyard flock. Maybe you look forward to gathering baskets full of colorful eggs. Or, rather than all one breed of the same color and type, you prefer a more interesting variety of colors, sizes, and personalities. Or maybe […]

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8 All-Climate Chicken Breeds

barred plymouth rock chicken outside

Some chicken breeds are more heat tolerant that others. They typically are lightweight breeds with large combs and wattles, sparse feathering, and clean legs. Other breeds are more cold hardy. They generally are the heavier breeds with tight combs, small wattles, and dense feathering. Some breeds, however, are able to handle both warm and cold […]

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What Color Are Duck Eggs?

mallard eggs

The natural color of wild duck eggs is greenish or bluish. That’s because eggs with tinted shells are easier to hide from predators. Many consumers, however, prefer eggs with white shells, presumably because white represents purity. Eggs with Blue-Green Shells Wild mallards lay eggs with blue-green shells. Domestic Mallards usually lay eggs with blue-green shells, […]

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Blackhead in Turkeys Is a Serious Disease

white turkeys outside

Blackhead is a serious disease of turkeys. Histomonas meleagridis protozoa cause the disease, leading to its technical name: histomoniasis. Histomonad protozoa occur in nearly all poultry environments, except where the soil is dry, loose, and sandy. A turkey gets blackhead when histomonads lodge in the bird’s ceca, or blind intestinal pouches. From there they migrate […]

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