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Butchering a Year’s Worth of Chickens (Video)

A few days ago we shared a video of some new homesteader’s first time butchering chickens, well, this is the opposite extreme! Seasoned homesteader and YouTuber Justin Rhodes shares his experience of butchering a whole year’s worth of chickens in one day. Videos like this are really inspiring and motivating to me, and stand as a reminder that while it takes lots of hard work, self-reliance is not entirely outside of the realm of possibility. Watch as this family butchers enough Cornish game hens to eat at least one a week for a year! They raised them all themselves and […]

Maggot Dispenser=FREE Chicken Feed (Video)

Wait! Don’t get grossed out. This is the “circle of life” at it’s very finest, trust me! I really love this YouTube channel, because not only is this family really rocking the homestead life, they’re doing it with all their kids, and posting it on YouTube for all of us to see. And this idea they came up with to feed maggots to chickens is brilliant. I think we’ve been programmed to think that chickens only want grains, but in reality, they’re carnivores who love bugs. Maggots are like juicy steaks to them! Check out this super cool video of […]

5 Ways for Your Chickens to Earn Their Keep

Chickens are more than just egg producers, if you utilize them correctly, they can be a vital part of a smoothly running homestead! They are excellent additions to any gardening effort, and can even be useful with raising larger poultry as well! Here are some ideas for how to get the most out of your chickens, and as all these ideas utilize what chickens are born to do, your hens are guaranteed to be more happy as well! And happy hens means more eggs. It’s a win-win for everyone! 1. Prep garden beds You will probably want to keep your chickens […]

Herbs for Hens

There are so many great medicinal herbs out there, and humans don’t have to be the only ones who benefit. Your hens can greatly benefit from herbs as well! One of the big reasons commercial eggs are so unappealing these days is that the chickens that produce them are usually pumped full of antibiotics, as they typically live in close quarters, to protect them from illness and disease. This of course means there are antibiotics in the eggs, and it’s far from healthy to consume antibiotics you don’t actually need. It messes with your immune system and gut flora, which is […]

The Life Cycle of a Chicken (Infographic)

So I guess it’s a bit of an urban legend that chickens need roosters to lay eggs. Which makes sense, of course, given we humans need a male and a female to “lay” a baby! However, this understandable misconception is due to the fact that eggs are not the exact equivalent of a human baby bump. Chicken eggs are just that, eggs. They need to be fertilized to develop into baby chicks, but they’re perfectly good eggs for food, in fact they’ll be wasted if we don’t eat them! This is why the relationship between humans and chickens is such […]

How to Make Fermented Chicken Feed

Us humans love fermented food. It’s not just kombucha and sauerkraut for hippies, most of us eat fermented food in the form of beer, wine, cheese, yogurt, vinegar, pickles and sourdough and levain-style artisan breads, which are all fermented when traditionally made. I’m a big fan of fermentation because not only are most fermented foods delicious, they’re also packed with beneficial bacteria that can heal your gut and improve overall health tremendously. So when I first heard about fermented chicken feed, I was instantly intrigued. If you’re rolling your eyes, I understand, it definitely sounds like a pretty hippie thing […]

Winterizing the Chicken Coop (Video)

We love our feathered friends, so it’s important that we make sure they have the best care through the winter! This clever Chicago couple kept getting questions as to how they cared for their backyard chickens through the notoriously brutal Chicago winters, so they made a video to show what they did. Their chicken coop looks nice and cozy! Check it out: If you liked this, you might also enjoy… Ancient Healing Secrets You Can Learn at Home… Yoga and Weight Loss: What You Need to Know… How to Become a Master Woodworker..

Ways to Keep Chickens Happy

I’m not sure that there is any data that quantifies how many more eggs you can get out of a happy chicken, but most people that raise animals could tell you that keeping your animals happy will help you get what you want out of them. Stress can cause chickens to fight with each other, molt, and can have an effect on any animals immune system. Keeping your chickens happy will reduce costs on keeping them healthy and will provide you with more eggs and better meat. Here are some ways to please your chickens. Greens Chickens that are […]

Chickens Do More than Just Produce Eggs

If you are new to homesteading, you will find that many who practice this way of living will tell you that you should get some chickens. What is it about chickens that make them so great? Well, in addition to producing eggs, not to mention meat, they have some other benefits as well, and they could be just what your homestead needs. Chicken waste is full of nitrogen, which is very good for the soil. In fact, chickens can help to produce some of the best manure you can find for your garden. All you need to do is keep […]

The Benefits of Having a Rooster

Roosters have a bad reputation. Many people who want to raise hens for eggs choose not to have a rooster in the flock. Some have heard that roosters are aggressive, or they don’t want to noise, or they just so the reason to have one. But the reality is that hens can be just as aggressive; if there is no rooster around the dominant hen will take on the role of rooster. If noise is keeping you from having a rooster around then you shouldn’t have chickens at all because hens make plenty of noise. There are benefits to having a […]

3 Easy Ways to Keep Your Chickens Healthy

Chickens are some of the most common animals to see on a homestead or farm. One reason is that they are some of the easiest animals to care for. But even chickens can develop health issues like tape worms, mites, and various intestinal infections. As with everything else, taking care to prevent these issues will be easier than treating them retroactively and will ensure that you have a healthy supply of eggs and meat without interruption. These are 3 easy ways to help your chickens stay healthy. Pasture Just like you, chickens are healthiest when they are eating well. […]

Tips to Keep Your Chickens Safe from Predators

Most homesteaders have chickens. The chickens are essential for providing eggs, so you don’t want anything to happen to them. Of course, we all know chickens are delicious. And quite a few predators know the same exact thing. Therefore, you need to take steps to keep your chickens safe from all manner of predators. Here are some tips to make it easier on you. What Predators Are in Your Area? The first thing you need to do is take some time to research what types of predators are in your area that are likely to prey on chickens. You may […]

3 Reasons Why Ducks Are Better Than Chickens

When most people think of animals for their back yard they quickly think of chickens. And while there is good reason so many people think to raise chickens, there are also reasons why ducks may be the preferable livestock for your backyard farm. Ducks don’t crow Not everyone starting their homestead has 15 acres in the country. Some may have less than an acre with neighbors right next to them that don’t share their passion for raising animals and growing food. Keeping this in mind, it is not hard to think of how a rooster could degrade the relationship one […]

How to Safely Let Chickens in the Garden

One of the most serious drawbacks to having truly free-range chickens is that they can go anywhere they want to and they tend to want to go to your garden. This makes sense since, hopefully, your garden is a healthfully functional natural environment filled with potential prey (many of which you would be happy to see eaten) for your chickens. Keeping Chickens Out The downside of chickens in the garden when your chickens do what chickens do, and start kicking and scratching until they have unearthed the roots of your plants or even kicked your plants clean of the garden. One […]

How to Breed More Self-Reliant Chickens

Any parent can tell you that taking care of a baby is a full-time job in and of itself. And anyone experienced in animal husbandry will know that raising baby animals can be nearly as difficult. So with everything you have to do in your daily life, taking care of twelve baby chicks, for example, can seem like quite a chore. The Problem Unfortunately, since chickens have been highly domesticated for specialized purposes like egg laying or meat production, they have lost the genetic drive to raise their own young. This means that people who choose to raise these birds are […]

Chickens vs. Rabbits

When most people think of small scale backyard animal husbandry, they tend to think exclusively of chickens. And while chickens are not without their own advantages, they are certainly not the only small animal that even a new backyard farmer can raise, one such animal is the rabbit. There are many benefits to having either chicken or rabbit. Both animals produce sustenance, and can provide the backyard farmer with plenty of nutrient rich manure for the garden, as well as have their feeding needs reduced by keeping them in a mobile pen. Not every backyard farmer has the same resources available to them and what might work […]

The Ultimate Guide to Chicken Coops (Infograph)

Raising chickens is awesome, but you definitely need to have everything they will need to thrive. In most cases, this will include a properly constructed and well-equipped chicken coop. Even free-range chickens will need somewhere to roost at night. There are many options out there for homemade chicken coops, and this will probably be the best option for most people as you can customize it to your flock size, climate, and budget needs. There are a few crucial components to a chicken coop, which this great infograph from Gardenaholic.com put together. They also have a great article on how to […]

Caring for Your Chickens in Hot Weather

Did you know that chickens have a higher body temperature than humans? As a result, they will almost always feel increases in heat faster than we do, which means that they can really suffer on hot summer days. So how can you ensure that your chickens stay healthy and cool all summer long? Follow a few simple tips. Provide Cool Water and Shade Chickens will naturally gravitate toward shady areas to stay cool on hot days. Provide yours with plenty of shade, and put their water in the shade, as well. Basically, if the water is out in the sun […]

The Suburban Chicken Blueprint [eBook]

Click the image below to download your complimentary copy of The Suburban Chicken Blueprint. Inside You’ll Learn: Why raising chickens can be the best and easiest way to reduce your grocery bill and eat healthy How to raise chickens in almost ANY environment How to keep your chickens happy and healthy Countless timesaving tips and tricks And much, much, more… Download The Suburban Chicken Blueprint If you want all the hard stuff done for you, click here Having problems downloading or printing? First make sure you have adobe .pdf reader. You can download that free here: get.adobe.com/reader/ Try “Right-Click, Save […]