Chickens are on their feet all day. Even when they roost, perch or relax, they are still on their feet! Consequently, foot and toes injuries can occur no matter how many preventatives you implement. Bumblefoot is one such ailment that is caused when an infection develops in the foot pad...

I know you have probably heard me say this over and over in my articles, or at least something like this: your flock’s diet is their life blood. It’s what gives them energy and keeps them healthy. And it must change and adapt based on the seasons. What your flock...

A chicken’s diet is essential for keeping it healthy and productive. Sudden diet changes can be hard for your homestead flock to adjust to, and feed switches can even cause health problems if they are not done properly. While complete diet changes should be avoided as much as possible, there...

Any kind of poultry parasite is annoying, but I have found that northern fowl mites are terribly persistent little buggers that require patience and time to treat. While they may seem like any other external poultry parasite, northern fowl mites are one of the hardest mites to treat since they...

The crop is the gateway to a chicken’s stomach. Ensuring that the crop is functioning properly is essential for keeping your flock healthy and productive! There are two common ailments that affect the crop: sour crop and impacted crop. Learning to tell the difference between sour crop vs impacted crop...

Why is my chicken losing feathers? A chicken’s feathers are what protect its skin and helps keep the chicken warm. There are two main reasons why a chicken would lose its feathers. Usually feather loss is caused by molting or the feathers being pulled out by other flock members. Feather...

Biosecurity is extremely important for homestead chicken keepers. Biosecurity is the measures you take to prevent disease, parasites, and pathogens from affecting your flock. Understanding how biosecurity works and all that it entails will help you keep your flock healthy and free from disease and parasites. I use these 8...

Are you poultry first aid certified? Me neither, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t know how to treat basic injuries and ailments that appear in your homestead flock. Chickens are notorious for getting suddenly injured or mysteriously becoming ill. Knowing a few poultry first aid tips will help you deal...

What can I feed my sick chicken? Ailing chickens are often picky and can loose their appetite quickly. Once a chicken stops eating, things go down hill quickly, once they stop drinking, you know you have little time left to do anything to help them recover. That’s why it is...

Internal parasites, specifically worms, are one of those ever present but rarely seen menaces that can wreak havoc if not managed properly. If one or more of your flock members starts ailing, you may want to ask, does my chicken have worms? Worms are a fairly common internal parasite that...

Protein is needed for a chicken to survive. It is required for nearly all the body functions to work properly. Balancing protein in a flock’s diet is important because many factors play a role in the protein needs of individual chickens. The standard protein content in commercial chicken feeds may...

Food is the fuel source for your flock. What they eat will determine their health and productivity. When it comes to feeding your homestead flock, learning how to feed chickens naturally is essential for ensuring they get the nutrition they need on a daily basis. Surprisingly, there are several different...

Supposably the annual fall molt should go smoothly and without issue, but if you have raised chickens for any length of time, you will know that they love to keep life interesting! Knowing when to step in and administer emergency care to molting chickens is essential for when your flock...

Protein is an important part of a chicken’s diet because it provides the building blocks for skin, muscles, and bones plus it helps the body fight off diseases. As homestead chicken raisers, we should be aware of the different protein sources we have available to offer our flocks. Each source...

Chickens are very sensitive to high temperatures, much more so than cooler temperatures. While winter chicken keeping does pose its challenges, summer chicken keeping also presents a whole new set of issues. Chickens have a normal body temperature around 105-107 degrees F, so keeping them cool in hot weather is...

We all want to keep our homestead flock healthy and cool during the summer months! Monitoring your flock’s diet during the summer is essential to helping them handle the heat. It will also help them stay healthy during the summer months. These 5 bad summer foods for chickens are ones...

Chickens can handle cool weather way better than warm weather. High temperatures can cause a drop in laying or cause the hens to lay soft eggs. Chickens can also suffer from heat exhaustion and heat stroke very rapidly in hot weather. There are several ways you can help your flock beat...

A chicken’s dietary needs change from the time it is a cute little fluffy chick to the time it is fully mature and reaches reproduction age. Knowing what to feed growing chickens is important for the overall health of the homestead flock! Protein needs change, digestive systems become stronger, and...

Caring for a sick chicken is difficult and challenging, there’s no way around it. Chickens are prey animals, so they try to act tough under all circumstances to prevent showing their weaknesses. Being able to recognize a sick chicken as soon as possible and learning how to diagnose poultry ailments...

Cold stress is often an overlooked aspect of winter chicken keeping due to the fact that chickens generally handle cold weather better than warm weather. However, cold stress is almost always present in the flock during the winter, it’s just a matter of determining when that stress becomes detrimental to...