Dominique chickens are considered the first truly American chicken breed. The first USDA publication in 1862 recognized the Dominique as the sole uniquely American breed at that time. Their French-sounding name is misleading. Historically, the name may have come from the…
What is a chicken breed, anyway? A breed means the birds all resemble each other enough to be readily recognized by traits that can be described. Breeds breed true – their offspring resemble their parents in predictable ways. A chicken…
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? 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…
Madison, Wisconsin was the best place for me to live while I was writing How to Raise Chickens! The University of Wisconsin’s Steenbock Memorial Library , has a world-class collection in agriculture and life sciences. Their research librarians are the…
