Here is the thing nobody warns new keepers about: cold almost never kills a healthy chicken, but heat does — quickly, and usually on the first truly hot afternoon of the year. A hen wears a feather coat she cannot…
Here is the thing nobody selling winter coop gear wants to say out loud: cold is not what kills chickens. A healthy hen in good feather handles serious cold far better than a hot August night — she is wearing…
Let me save you some money and some disappointment in one go: under the $300 line, there is no such thing as a six hen coop. By the standard rule of 4 square feet of coop floor per hen, six…
Best Nesting Boxes for Chickens: Rollout, Wood and Plastic Picks The best nesting boxes for chickens are the ones your hens will actually use: about 12 inches square inside, with a front lip that holds deep bedding, enough cover to…
Ten hens is where coop shopping stops being a purchase and becomes a building project, and the listings have not caught up with that fact. By the standard rule of 4 square feet of coop floor per hen, ten hens…
Almost every beginner regret I hear about starts the same way: the coop was bought or built in the wrong order. The boxes went in before anyone measured the floor. The hens arrived before the latches did. This chicken coop…
Short answer first: yes, you can keep chickens in a small backyard — if three gates all swing open. Gate one: your local rules allow hens. Gate two: you can honestly give each hen her minimum of 4 square feet…
Short answer first: most hens lay well for 2 to 3 years, taper through years 4 and 5, and many keep laying the occasional egg for 6 to 8 years of a life that often runs 8 to 10. Read…
Short answer first: the deep litter method means you stop cleaning your coop out and start composting in it. You lay down 4 to 6 inches of dry, carbon-rich bedding, then instead of stripping it weekly you keep adding fresh…
Here is the thing about baby chicks: they arrive on a date you chose weeks ago, they come out of the box hungry, thirsty and cold, and they grow at a speed that will genuinely surprise you. There is no…
