Waterfowl: Ducks, Geese and Swans
Waterfowl are different from their land-based relatives, the chickens and other gallinaceous birds such as quail and pheasants. Their plumage is oiled to resist water and their meat is all dark. They carry a layer of fat under their skin,…
Chicken breeds for broody hens
Natural incubation keeps a backyard flock going. The hen gets broody, the rooster does his job, she lays her eggs and sets on them, and 21 days later, she emerges with chirping chicks. A hen is broody when she insists…
Buy baby chicks or hatching eggs?
Buy baby chicks or hatching eggs? After living in Madison, Wisconsin for four years, I returned to California’s Central Coast in 2007. I hatched some eggs two years ago for baby chicks for my own backyard flock. I wanted traditional…
The Deep Litter Method
To help keep my chickens warm during the winter, I practice the deep litter method in my coops. I typically clean out my chicken coop twice a year, once in the fall and once in the spring. The litter from…
Thinking Beyond the Chicken
Most backyard flock keepers are introduced to the world of domesticated poultry by the chicken. There is plenty of easily accessible information about chickens, chickens lay the eggs that Americans are most familiar with eating, and chickens make great pets….
