Backyard Chickens
How to Get a First-Year Flock Through Their First Winter
Your first winter for new chickens does not need heat. Here is my pre-freeze checklist for pullet age, drafts, water, bedding, and frostbite, step by step.
Backyard Chickens
My Winter Chicken Chore Routine: Ten Minutes, Morning and Night
Winter chicken chores made simple: the ten-minute morning and evening routine I run through a Tennessee winter, plus the few tools that make it stick.
Backyard Chickens
Nipple Waterer vs. Galvanized Fount: Which for Winter?
Nipple waterer vs. galvanized fount for a winter flock — an honest comparison of what keeps working when it's cold, and which one I actually run…
Backyard Chickens
How to Use Hemp Bedding for a Warmer Winter Coop
Hemp bedding outperforms pine shavings for winter insulation and ammonia control. Here's how I use it in my coop, how deep, and what it actually costs…
Backyard Chickens
Best Gifts for a Backyard Chicken Keeper This Christmas
Shopping for a backyard chicken keeper this Christmas? Here are the gifts for a chicken keeper I'd actually want myself, from waterers to my own book.
Backyard Chickens
How to Tell If a Chicken Is Sick: The Signs I Watch
How to tell if a chicken is sick before it's an emergency — the early signs I watch for in my flock, the OTC support I…
Backyard Chickens
Chicken Boredom Busters for a Long Winter in the Coop
Chicken boredom busters for winter — how a Tennessee keeper keeps a cooped-up flock busy, foraging, and out of trouble on the short, cold days.
Backyard Chickens
How to Keep a Chicken Run from Turning to Mud
A muddy chicken run is a water problem, not a weather problem. Here's how I keep my run dry through a wet Tennessee spring — the…
Backyard Chickens
The Best Chicken Breeds for Small Backyards
The best chicken breeds for a small backyard, from a keeper who's raised them on a tight lot — quiet, calm, space-smart birds, with honest pros…
Backyard Chickens
When Do Chickens Start Laying? A Beginner’s Timeline
When do chickens start laying? A beginner's timeline by breed, the signs a pullet is about to lay, and why that first egg shows up later…