Chickens don’t need much. But a place to roost or perch is a necessity! The goal of this post is to give you an overview of why chicken roosting bars are important and show you two simple chicken roost designs that you can build quickly and easily with leftover materials. Why our chickens weren’t very…
Chicken prolapsed vent can pop up out of nowhere and is usually traumatic – both for the chicken and keeper. We learned a lot while treating our chicken with a prolapsed vent and will share what we tried to heal her naturally and how it went. Our Chicken Prolapsed Vent Story We got home late…
You have backyard chickens or are thinking about getting them but there’s one BIG question—How to care for chickens in the winter? Don’t fret! It’s much more simple than you may think. We’ll share our top tips for keeping your chickens safe and healthy during those frosty, snowy months. From Our Suburban Backyard to Our…
Already have an existing barn or pole barn on your property? Then you may just have the perfect spot to build your chicken coop! So don’t overthink it. We’ll break down what you need to know about building a chicken coop inside a barn along with the advantages and disadvantages. Why We Built A Chicken…
We just finished raising another round of meat chickens on our homestead and we often get asked, “Is it worth it?” What’s the cost of raising chickens for meat on a homestead scale? Here’s a breakdown of our annual costs, our one-time costs, and what we would earn per chicken. Our Starting Point – What…
There are many great resources out there on how to process a chicken at home. But what about all the other details of processing day? Supplies, setup, storage, help? After a few rounds of processing chickens at home on our homestead, our formerly suburban family shares everything we’ve learned to get you fully ready for…
Whether you’ve already built a whole fleet of Suscovich chicken tractors, or are building your first one, this step-by-step tutorial will show you how to add a metal roof to these beloved chicken tractor plans. Why A Metal Roof? I love the Suscovich chicken tractor plans but, in my mind, it has one flaw –…
Our first year keeping baby chicks didn’t go so well. Here’s the top 5 lessons we learned on how to care for baby chicks and what we are doing differently now. But we stuck with it, made adjustments, and have seen SO much better results. How to Care For Baby Chicks the WRONG Way Our…
Raising chicks on your farm, homestead, or in your backyard is so much fun. So don’t overthink building your own outdoor chicken brooder! Here’s the inspiration and basics you need to get going today! What is a Chicken Brooder? When a hen gets broody, that means her motherly instincts kick in and she sits on…
When raising meat chickens on your homestead there are a number of factors – taste, health, time, cost butchering. But there are typically only two options – Cornish Cross vs. Freedom Ranger Chickens. Here’s our experience and recommendation after raising both. Our first year raising meat chickens on our homestead The winter of 2021, we…