My Pet Chicken Blog

Like many of us with backyard flocks, I’ve been anxiously tracking the forecast. In Texas we don’t get much snow, but our temperatures can drop low! I had been hearing all week that the snow and ice would miss us, so I wasn’t expecting much outside of freezing temperatures. Little did I know there would soon […]

Natural disasters are among most flock owners’ worst fears. Actually, they’re among our worst fears, whether we have a flock or not. They are sneaky, they surprise us with their intensity and power, and no matter how hard we try to prepare,  at some point anyone could be a victim of a natural disaster. Recently Hurricane Matthew […]

If you sell or give away your eggs, or have friends and neighbors over to visit your chickens — and you don’t have farm insurance — you could find yourself in hot water. (Hint: if you don’t know whether you have farm insurance, you don’t have it.) If you’re like most chicken keepers, you’re an unabashed […]

We spent the first three years in our new house looking out our kitchen window at an abandoned old coop, which must have been sitting empty for at least a decade before we were here. Structurally solid, but inching its way down the hill with each freeze and thaw of winter. Covered in cracked rolled […]

Chickens are so easy to raise that they fit almost anywhere. Many are in small suburban backyards where predator loads are smaller, and flocks are a little easier to protect. However, some of us live on larger, wilder land and have to deal with an additional variety of predators that would love a good chicken […]

Has your chicken math exceeded your run space? Have you decided to add a run to an existing coop for added predator protection? Whatever point you are at in your flock care you will eventually hit the point where you need to add some protected space for your birds. To inspire some ideas about designing your own custom […]

I’m embarrassed by my chickens–yup! I won’t show you any pictures of them right now because I’m too mortified by the way they look.  It’s a shame, too, because there would otherwise be some cool photo opportunities. For instance, I have a mama hen and a bunch of baby chicks that we are raising outside a […]

Biosecurity for your flock means both cleaning AND sanitizing. But a lot of people don’t necessarily realize there’s a difference, or why you should be doing both. So let’s talk the basics of biosecurity. CLEANING is simply removing the gunk. When your chickens kick up dirt, bedding or other detritus into their waterers or feeders,  you clean […]

We have always advised practicing good biosecurity with your birds. When you handle them, make sure to wash your hands—make especially sure your children wash their hands. Baby chicks look like adorable, kissable little fluff balls. But of course they’re walking and pecking around in poopy litter. Erg. That’s a salmonella danger. While backyard pet […]

“Free Range Eggs!” Before having chickens of my own I though this was the gold standard of eggs and what I should look for.  You don’t want eggs from chickens that are confined, right? Well, when looking into the horror that is factory egg production I realized that a “Free Range” stamp was not all […]