If it walks like a duck…
Ducks! Colorful and varied, good producers, effective pest foragers, attractive. Some quack more than others – they call them Call ducks for a reason – but many owners enjoy that sociability. Husbandry is different from that for chickens, but once…
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,…
Crazy about Bantam Chickens
“As a hazel-nut is to a walnut, a Brussels sprout to a cabbage, an Austin to a Cadillac – so is a Bantam to a regular chicken,” writes Eva Le Gallienne in Flossie and Bossie,her 1949 novel about two bantam…
Poultry and Chicken research at the library and feed store
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…
Chicken Nutrition
No matter what kind of animal you are talking about, nutrition is both numbingly complex and startlingly simple. On the simple side, animals need food for fuel. On the complex side, there are questions about the best balance of nutrients,…
