My Pet Chicken Blog

I love my flock!  Watching their funny antics, getting mobbed when I show up with treats, and being adored by a few lap chickens is rewarding, but being able to supply my family with delicious, healthy eggs from happy hens is one of the main reasons I keep chickens. Hens with access to fresh greens […]

Now that fall has arrived, many of my hens are either molting or have just finished the process.  Some of my molting hens lose feathers very gradually and the only obvious sign that they are in a molt are lots of fallen feathers littering the run and yard.  Others lose many feathers all at once.  […]

Every so often, I give in to one of my persistent broodies and let her raise chicks for me. I wasn’t planning to raise any more chicks this year, but couldn’t resist when my cute broody bantam hen became broody again.  Typically, my broody hens raise their babies outdoors, but I’ve found that my chicks raised outdoors, with less human interaction, tend to […]

My first attempt at hatching eggs did not go so well, but I had quite a surprising experience on day 21!  This unique experience made up for all the sadness and worry I had been going through with this batch of fertile hatching eggs. Three and a half years ago, when I was still fairly new to chicken raising, I did not own an incubator, […]

I hate to admit it, but I am terrified of large, ugly insects.   I love furry and feathered animals;  I can handle pet mice, pet rats, reptiles, and even slimy amphibians… but most critters with more than four legs are extremely creepy to me.  Thanks to lizards, geckos, toads—and of course our wonderful bug […]

It gets hot where I live – very hot (summer temps easily reach 115 degrees)!  Since I live in the desert and have an open (3-sided) coop, the flock’s feeder is always visible to the local birds.  To my dismay, my chicken coop has been plagued with sneaky sparrows early on in my chicken raising venture.  We’ve […]

Yes, I know chickens can be hazardous to a garden.  They scratch near the roots, they dust bathe, and they might even eat the fresh veggies or fruits you were planning to pick and serve for dinner.   Even though I am aware that chickens and gardens do not typically mix unless chickens are controlled within […]

Crossed Beak / Scissor Beak, can be severe, but many times, this beak malformation is not hazardous to your chicken’s health.   This condition can afflict any breed, but seems to be more prevalent in Easter Eggers or Ameraucanas. My only experience with cross beak / scissor beak occurred with one of my Blue Wheaten Ameraucana pullets that I had so […]

  I am fond of all my chickens, but Pecker and Little Blue have a special place in my heart because they enjoy hopping up into my lap to sit and be loved on. Little Blue is such a sweetheart.  She’s one of my newest chickens, a 9 month old blue Easter Egger Bantam, and loves […]

It was time for my hens’ first official chicken photography session.  My good friend, Laurel, who does not own chickens, stopped by to photograph my lovely flock of adult hens and my newest arrival of baby chicks. My hens were very happy to see her that morning, not because they were getting their pictures taken by […]