When your day old baby chick feathers in for the first time at 12 weeks old or so with her complete juvenile plumage, there’s almost nothing quite as beautiful. Each feather is shiny and new. And a perfectly-frocked, robin-sized bird that runs to you for affection is more exciting than most of us would care to admit (in public). Those perfect feathers don’t always stay perfect, though. Soon will come the ragged feathers of summer!

Ragged feathers? A few, but they’re not too ragged here. You can see feather loss in their beards, and just in front of rooster Francis’ tail.

There are a few common causes of missing or ragged feathers, many of which are more of an issue in the summer. If you’re seeing problems, take a few moments to review what may be happening to see if it needs to be addressed.

For instance, (1)mites, lice, and external parasites are often more active in warmer weather. Such parasites can cause feather loss or breakage from overpreening. You’ll need to deal with lice and mites if they are a problem in your flock.

(2) Internal parasites can be more active as well; nutritional deficiencies  caused by worms are more common in warm weather, too, and this can lead to ragged feather issues, or to feather loss. Deal with worms if your flock is infested.

(3) Having too many roosters in the flock (leading to too-frequent breeding and wear on back feathers) can be more of an issue in summer, too. Obviously, you’re not going to magically have twice as many roosters in osummer than you do at other times of year–it’s not that kind of seasonal issue! However, the breeding behavior of your roosters increases in spring… so by summer time, your hens’ back will have seen a good deal of wear and those ragged feathers could become a problem.

This Black Copper Marans hen has ragged feathers on her back

(4) In addition, if your hen’s diet has been too low in protein, it means your her feathers will not be able to take much wear to begin with. This is often a problem with those who want to spoil their hens with too much scratch, which is quite low in protein. It can also be a particular problem in summer if your hens have access to ripe, windfall fruit or berries from your yard, or if you offer your flock excess zucchini or corn from your garden. Treats are great in moderation, but hens need a high protein diet to maintain feather quality and to lay.

(5) This means also that your best layers will often have worn, broken or ragged feathers; they’re more prone to dedicate those resources to egg production than breeds that lay less well.

(6) Finally, the heat of summer can increase irritability and cause hens to be more prone to pecking one another and picking feathers… in addition, the long hours of bright light, just in itself, can encourage aggressive picking, particularly if your flock doesn’t have sufficient space to forage, or if the run they have is bare of grass.

(7) Of course, late in the summer or early in autumn, molting begins. Molting is when your bird sheds her old feathers to grow new ones, and is, of course, not a health or management issue! It’s a natural part of her cycle. But keep in mind: this period is the most important time to provide a good quality, high protein diet for your flock, as this is when they’ll be growing in their new plumage for the following year.

Want to do your best to avoid ragged feathers next year? Make sure their diet is high in protein and nutritionally balanced year round… but particularly during the annual molt.

In addition to visiting with family, grilling food, having a picnic and so on… don’t forget to enjoy some chicken watching this Labor Day. It’s good for the soul, and good for your chickens.

My little dog Reggie watches over the girls as they enjoy some watermelon on a hot day

We’ve talked about the benefits of chicken watching before. More than once. Some people refer to chicken watching simply as “chicken tv.” Some people even gear their coops and runs with closed circuit cameras, so they literally have chicken TV where they can enjoy chicken watching to their hearts content; others have chairs set up in the midst of the flock so they can enjoy tea and chicken antics surrounded by ranging chickens.

We say the more you engage in chicken watching, the better. And this Labor Day, while you honor hard work with a little relaxation, spare a moment to think about the chicken “workers” in factory farms. In contrast with battery chickens crowded into cages or warehouses, your chickens get to forage, preen, dust bathe, sun bathe, lay eggs in nests and so on. Enjoy watching them while you relax this weekend.

And remember: chicken watching not only provides benefits for you, but it also benefits your pet flock. After all, if you know your flock’s normal behavior, you’ll better be able to identify when they’re acting abnormally, and there might be a problem.

• Are they nervous? Are they hiding? They might sense a predator nearby: keep an eye out! Check the coop to see if there is something hiding inside, or a way in and out for nighttime predators.
• Are they listless or lethargic? They might be suffering from an illness, an infestation of parasites or some other issue.
• Are they squabbling? They might need more space–or you might doublecheck to make sure food or water containers haven’t been overturned.
• Are they panting, and holding their wings away from their bodies? They could be too hot–make sure they have shade, and plenty of cool water.

Please share what sort of things you’ve noticed when chicken watching. Has your vigilance paid off for your flock?

This will probably be my last Hildy story. If you haven’t read the stories about my blind hen Hildy, you may want to start at the beginning.

Read the other posts related to Hildy the blind hen:

1. Introducing Hildy the blind hen
2. Hildy the blind hen in the pecking order
3. Hildy the blind hen and free ranging
4. Hildy the blind hen learns to eat treats from a hand
5. Hildy the blind hen figures out foraging

This is how she died–and it’s not much of a tale, really; it’s more of a just a close to her story.

Hildy the blind hen

About 2 days before Hildy died, she settled on a nest, and fluffed up her feathers. These are really not signs to be alarmed about; they can indicate broodiness. But the same signs—lethargy, ruffled feathers—can sometimes indicate illness. So, I lifted her up and gave her the inspection. She had no injuries under the feathers. She was clear of external parasites, and her legs and feet looked fine. Her comb was a normal color; nares and eyes (well, eye) were clear. Her crop and abdomen felt fine–no obstrutions. Her droppings were normal. One thing Hildy never really did was go broody, but there is a first time for everything.

In most other ways, she was quite normal. Despite her blindness, she was one of our best, most reliable layers. (Interestingly, even blind hens respond to changes in daylight hours that trigger laying.) So despite the fact that her eyes’ ability (or her one eye’s ability) to perceive light was limited, at best, she still went through the regular seasonal changes. She’d molt in the fall, and slow down laying throughout the winter. She’d lay like crazy through spring and summer.

Speckled Sussex hens are occasionally broody, but not Hildy. All her sister-Sussex had gone broody at one time or another, but Hildy had not. However, things had always come slow for her—even learning to go outside. So really, I shouldn’t have been so worried—but I was. I felt ill at ease.

I did another test: I moved her from the nest to see where she’d settle down again, and she moved right back. Signs of broodiness. An ill hen doesn’t especially care where she stands. I did it twice more, moving her further each time, and got the same result. Broody. A broody hen wants to be on her nest specifically; an ill hen just wants to be alone. But despite the fact that she was not acting ill, it just didn’t sit right with me. So I called the vet, and made an appointment, just in case…

But we never made it to the appointment. By the next morning, Hildy had passed away on the nest. She looked peaceful, as if she had just gone in her sleep.

“How old was she?” asked the vet when I called to cancel.

“Seven,” I said. “Or maybe almost 8.”

The vet was sympathetic, and suggested—given the lack of other symptoms—that Hildy had just died of old age.

Yes, old age. Hens can live to the ripe old age of 20 or more… but it is more usually like 7 or 8. It was lovely to think that our little blind hen—a hen so vulnerable and that we worried so much about being picked off by a predator she couldn’t see—had lived her full, happy lifespan, and had then died peacefully in her sleep. But the loss was still devastating.

I would miss her affection and friendliness, and I would miss her beautiful feathers.

She couldn’t see how pretty she was!

As well as her loving personality.

No matter where you were in the yard, she wanted to hang out with you.

We buried her on top of our ridge.

A stone owl keeps watch

I tend to think about her this time of year, when the leaves turn.

Goodnight, Hildy

The post How Hildy the Blind Hen Died appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

One of the most important things you can do when choosing which breeds you want for your flock is to choose breeds appropriate to your climate. With cold winter weather in the way for most of the US, let’s have a look at cold hardy chicken breeds. Our website makes it easy to choose from a list of cold hardy chicken breeds, but if you live in the bitter, bitter north, you may need the MOST cold hardy chicken breeds.

Here are the top five most cold hardy chicken breeds:

1. Ameraucana – Ameraucanas have small pea combs making them resistant to frostbite on the comb–however after their first year, they don’t tend to lay especially well in cold winter areas. (They are the only breed on the list laying blue eggs, though! (Easter Eggers, while not a breed per se, also make the list for the same reason–and they can lay blue or green). True Ameraucanas can be difficult to get, though. The vast majority of hatcheries advertise Ameraucanas or Araucanas–but sell you Easter Eggers.

   Blue Ameraucana

2. Buckeye – The Buckeye also has a pea comb, and deals with cold very well. In addition it’s a good winter layer and a good forager.

   Buckeye baby chicks

3. Chantecler - The Chantecler is a breed developed for long, cold Canadian winters. It lays well in cold weather, too!

   Chantecler

4. Dominique – Dominiques have flat rose combs, and lay well in the winter. However, they don’t tend to be especially heat hardy.

   Dominique pullet

5. Wyandottes – Wyandottes are very good year round layers, and deal well with heat, too.

   Silver Laced Wyandotte

What features make cold hardy chicken breeds? There are a few. For one, a chicken needs a small or flat comb. Large combs or combs with points (like the stereotypical single comb of a leghorn) can be prone to frostbite. Secondly, larger chickens do better in the cold than small bantams. And thirdly, feather legged breeds can be problematic–at times. While the feathered legs provide additional insulation, in wet winter areas, mud or slush can get embedded in the leg feathers and then freeze–again, a risk of frostbite. In cold dry areas, feathered legs don’t present the same problem, so breeds like the Brahma will do well.

In addition, the Welsummer, Rhode Island Red, Sussex, Orpington and Cochin can also do quite well in very cold areas, even if they don’t do as well as those top five.  See a full list of cold hardy chicken breeds on our website.

Remember, of course, that your chickens will need proper care and shelter whether they are cold hardy or not. You can learn more about how to prepare your flock for the winter.

The post Top 5 most cold hardy chicken breeds appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

Let’s talk luxury. After all, there are chicken needs, and there is chicken indulgence. I’ll be the first to admit that most people view a second coop as an indulgence, not a need. But there are certain circumstances where the second coop can quite literally be a lifesaver for your flock.

Because you just don’t want anything to happen to your family’s pet chickens!

Top 3 reasons to have a second coop

1. Second coop as a broody coop: If you’re having your hens hatch and/or raise chicks of their own, having a safe place to house the little family away from the rest of the flock can save a lot of heartache. Mingling mother and chicks together with the rest of the flock? You may have no trouble. Mother hen will do her utmost to protect her babies. But occasionally another hen will regard the babies as unwelcome intruders–and will attack! Can you imagine the heartache of having your new baby chicks injured or killed by some other flock members? Giving them time and space in a a second coop–a broody coop–until the babies are a few weeks old and better able to withstand a peck or two or to run, if need be, can be a lifesaver.

You’ll want to keep the babies separate from the rest of the flock until they’re five weeks old or so.

2. Second coop as a hospital coop: If you have an injured bird, possessing a place to be able to keep her separated during recovery can mean all the difference. It’s instinctual for chickens to peck at things, particularly when those things are red in color. For that reason they’re often driven to peck at a bare spot or a wound on a flock mate. For obvious reasons, this is not good. Having a second coop–a hospital coop– to allow your wounded chicken to recover can also be a lifesaver. Additionally, having your injured chicken in a separate space will allow you to administer medication via drinking water, if need be.

Keeping an injured chicken in a separate, second coop allows her time to recover without harassment from her sisters.

3. Second coop as a quarantine coop: If you rescue or adopt adult birds, having a second coop–a quarantine coop—to keep your new birds away from the rest of the flock for four weeks is not only a lifesaver, it is a LIVES saver. We love to hear when people rescue battery hens and hens from other bad situations. But the concern is that if the rescues were kept in dirty, unsanitary conditions–and if you’re rescuing factory farm hens, they certainly were–then they could bring illnesses or infestations into your own beloved flock. The last thing you want is for your soft heart and kindness to lead to the death or suffering of the rest of your pet hens! Even if it’s just a matter of dealing with mites or lice, it’s much easier to treat one or a few rescue hens than to have to treat your entire flock.

This hair looks yummy, sis.

It’s getting to be that time of year. If you’re like me, you may already be thinking about next year’s flock, such as what breeds to add (More Speckled Sussex? More Marans?).  You may be thinking about what equipment you’re going to buy or replace (A heated waterer? A new incubator? ) You may also be thinking about improvements you’d like to make to the coop and run (Reinforcing fencing? Adding a chicken swing? Creating more roost space?)

Well, think also about adding a small second coop. The truth is, you’ll probably find a million ways a second coop will help your flock, and just knowing it’s there will ease your mind. If you want to be really sneaky and use some good Chicken Math, this is the time you can upgrade to a bigger coop so you can have a larger flock.

This is a perfect size for a second coop, to use as a quarantine, hospital or broody coop.

Use your small, starter coop as your second coop, and upgrade to a larger one as your main coop. With a larger coop, just think how many cool breeds you’ll be able to enjoy next year!

The post Top 3 reasons to have a second coop appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

I like to prepare the flock for winter, and I like to do it early. I’ve always found being an early bird and preparing well in advance for new seasons, or even batches of chicks,  is a good idea for a few reasons. Firstly, by the time some seasonal items are really necessary, they can be sold out. But if you purchase your supplies a month or more in advance, not ony will you be prepared, but in some cases it can also save you some money. Secondly if you’re not properly prepared, for example, with a heated waterer, if freezing temperatures hit before expected, you’ll really regret not thinking ahead. You may have to scramble at changing and defrosting waterers like mad, rather than sitting back and letting the equipment do the work! But lastly, if you don’t prepare the flock for winter prior to winter’s arrival, you’ll find yourself pushing a wheelbarrow full of partially frozen chicken poop through a foot of snow to wherever your compost pile is… only to find that it, too, is covered in a foot of snow. Then you could be forced to look at a poop covered snow pile until next spring—ugh.

Now that I’ve made your aware of all the very unpleasant situations you could be in if you don’t prepare the flock for winter, please read my Top Ten list and make sure you know what you need to get so your flock will be ready for what comes.

My chickens stick to the path in the snow!

10 Ways to prepare the flock for winter

1. Make sure you’re prepared with a plan to keep fresh, unfrozen water in your coop. For myself, I make sure have a working heated waterer base for my waterers. You could also choose to purchase a heated waterer with a built in heater. NOTE: the water heater bases are for metal waterers only! If you own a plastic waterer unfortunately you will not be able to use it with a heated waterer base. Heated waterers or waterer bases are not always required—some here at My Pet Chicken choose to change out the waterers once or twice a day—but here in Connecticut, our water heater gets a pretty good amount of use. Use your judgement, or advice from chicken keepers in your area, to make a good call about the best way for your family to keep your flock’s waterer from freezing.
2. Make sure you clean your coop early. Do it preferably long before it may start snowing, because it’s not very fun to do when there’s a lot of snow on the ground! If you follow a cleaning schedule other than the deep litter method, which we use for our large flock, then make  sure you’re prepared to do what’s necessary to following the proper cleaning schedule during the winter.
3. Make sure you have a shovel available close to the coop, if you live in an area with lots of snowfall. You’ll need it close by so you can shovel snow away from the door to collect eggs, shovel out the run so they can stretch their legs a few times throughout the winter, and—for smaller coops, especially those with flat roofs—so you can knock or shovel snow off the roof. You don’t want to risk your coop roof caving in on your feathered friends under a heavy load of snow!
4. For those who also have automatic chicken doors and plan to use them during the winter, please make sure that they have some type of overhang, so that ice will not freeze them open and give predators easy access to your feathered friends. You’ll also want to make sure the snow doesn’t pile up in front of the door, preventing it from opening or closing (use the shovel from #3 above!).

   Here you can see that to help prepare the flock for winter, we’ve fashioned a small overhang that covers the power box and hinges of our automatic door very nicely.

5. Have petroleum jelly readily available to help prevent your feathered friends with larger combs from getting frostbite. While this is not required, we like to do it to keep our feathered friends’ combs warm so they don’t get too cold during our cold Connecticut winters. Remember, this is not a treatment for frostbite; it simply helps prevent frostbite by keeping the skin from getting chapped and vulnerable.
6. Don’t use any ice melt or salts in areas your chickens have access to, or in areas where runoff could find its way to them. These products are very toxic to chickens. Use something with traction, like sand or dirt instead.
7. Stock up on chicken grit, since your chickens will not necessarily longer have access to the ground outside. They need grit to aid digestion.
8. Have cracked corn or another high calorie treat available. Whether you mix it in with their feed, or throw it in on top of the snow in their run. Treats and feed high in fat provide the extra calories that will help keep them warm.
9. Heater? In some cases, yes. We don’t recommend heating your coop long term. However, when the temperature drop precipitously, having a coop heater you can use on a temporary basis to help ease the transition is important, especially if your flock is not made up of a lot of cold hardy chicken breeds,  so they don’t get too cold. Additionally, if you have younger birds in your coop that are smaller or not fully feathered yet, then it wouldn’t hurt installing a transitional heat source. For transitional needs, I suggest the Sweeter Heater.  The sweeter heater is larger than most other heaters, but has little risk of being a fire hazard, unlike standard heat lamps that cause many coop fires every winter. Sweeter Heaters can easily be hung or mounted in most coops near your chickens’ roosts.  This is something that I do because I live in the north where we often have very bitter winter weather. Remember, a heater is certainly not required for your flock, and in most circumstances they do fine without one. But if you didn’t choose cold hardy breeds and you live in a cold weather area, it’s something you should consider adding so you will have it on those rare occasions you need it.
10. Last of all, be sure your coop is pest and predator proofed, because many rodents move into barns and coops during the winter, and it’s not something you want to be dealing with in the cold, or when it’s already t0o late!

I hope I’ve given you some ideas of ways you can prepare the flock for winter, or improve your prep this winter to keep your flock happy and healthy. Please keep in mind these practices are what I use for my flock, which is large and very diverse, and that some of these measures are not required for smaller flocks or people in different regions. You should also take a few moments to read over our advice on 8 things NOT to do in cold weather for your chickens. Whatever you do, don’t procrastinate—you’ll want to prepare the flock for winter soon.

Now, I’m off to make sure that my flock and family are all prepared for winter. Happy Prepping!

The post Top 10 ways to prepare the flock for winter appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

Feather foot chickens: there’s just something about the magnificent feathered legs of breeds like cochins or silkies. Fancy feathered chickens in general—including those with crests, beards, tufts and/or muffs—can be fun to keep as pets, simply because they’re so showy and spectacular. Many people have never seen feather footed chickens before. Sometimes even the chickens themselves seem surprised.

What in THE WORLD do I have on my feets?

But before you consider keeping feather foot chickens, there are a few issues to consider. Just as you’d want to know about any special issues with a prospective pet dog or cat breed (Long hair that needs frequent grooming? Pushed-in snout? Heavy shedder? Hard to house train?), you want to be aware of the issues associated with feather foot chickens before you acquire any, so you can be prepared.

4 main concerns when keeping feather foot chickens:

1. Leg mites

Chickens with feathered legs are generally more vulnerable to scaly leg mites than chickens without the feather foot quality. The feathers emerge from beneath the leg scutes (scales), and make it easy for the mites to infest! While scaly leg mites are usually fairly easy to treat for at home, the feathered legs can make it more difficult, and significantly messier, to do so.

Check my legs, ma!

2.Picking

Fancy feathering in general can be a problem when it comes to picking. Picking basically means your bird can get picked on–actually, that’s literally what it means when it comes to chickens. If you keep 5 “regular” chickens—that is, having no fancy feathering—and one poor soul with a crest or feathered legs, for example, the other birds may try to pluck out her “weird” feathering. Picking is not usually caused by keeping birds with fancy feathering, but fancy feathering can exacerbate the problem sometimes. Particularly in the case of hens and even roosters who are also submissive, having the feather foot characteristic can lead to bloody legs and serious problems.

There are ways you can deal with picking issues… but picking can get to be a habit, so it’s best to avoid having it happen in the first place. Take common sense precautions like providing plenty of space and entertainment, lots of room on roosts and at feeders, and make sure you don’t just have one poor fancy-feathered bird as the odd hen out.

3. Muddy eggs

Those leg feathers look beautiful in breed pictures and illustrations. However, in the real world they don’t usually remain so perfectly coifed (or would that be plumed?). Unless you live in a dry or desert area, make sure you site your coop and run so that it doesn’t get muddy. It’s not just a matter of being unsightly on their feathers, and not just a matter of (ick) possibly having their legs covered with muddy droppings. If your hens have muddy, poopy leg feathers, they will carry that mud into the nests, and your eggs will be a mess, too. Do you want to wash them all? (Usually, the answer is no–and not just because it’s a lot of extra work, but because washing them can lead to problems!) If you want your hens to hatch the eggs, having them covered with dirty poopiness can make them vulnerable to bacterial infection.

I prefer to hatch clean eggs!

4.  Frostbite

You’d think the feathered legs would provide more warmth in a cold season, rather than be a cause for concern! Especially with bantam feathered leg breeds—since bantams can have more difficulty with cold—you’d think that leg feathers would help. And that’s partly true. They do offer some extra protective insulation. However the problem again is with wet weather. If your chickens have a wet or snowy run and get slush or mud embedded in their legs feathers, that can freeze hard and cause frostbite issues.

Protect my magnificent toes!

These issues are certainly not deal-breakers when it comes to feather foot chickens. It just requires a little extra vigilance to make sure leg mites don’t become a problem, and an effort to provide your flock with a dry area—one that’s large enough to avoid stressing the flock with overcrowding that could lead to picking.

What are your favorite feather foot chicken breeds?

The post Four Important Feather Foot Concerns appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

No, we’re not giving away fat chickens. We’re giving away samples of our own My Pet Chicken branded treats, in a Chunky Chicken Giveaway!

Look at those plump worms! Drive your chickens wild… or freak out your kids.

If you win the Chunky Chicken Giveaway, you’ll receive a sampler package that contains one each

• Chunky Chicken Crumbles (1 lb)
• Chunky Chicken Caviar (11 oz)
• Kelp and Bug Crunchy Trail Mix (2 lbs)
• Dried mealworms (20 oz.)
• … PLUS two half-ounce Chicken Salad Seed Mix packets.

This is a great mix to plant for your chickens.

Why should you be interested? First of all, the chickens love them–and it’s fun to give your girls treats, as you doubtless know.

Kelp and Bug Crunchy Trail Mix

But the best reason is that you’ll just love how these products will give your flocks a boost.

Chunky chicken crumbles! (Okay, this stuff really does just look appetizing to chickens.)

The boost is incredible. If you like to hatch your flock’s eggs, you’ll particularly want to try these out. When we offered them to some of our own rare breed flocks that had been struggling, we saw a 650% increase in fertility and 518% increase in laying! Read more details about that in Traci’s blog post.

If your birds don’t free range often, these “treats”–and really we would call them supplements, except that chickens like them so much–are sort of like concentrated free range. That’s right: we’ve packaged free range. They’re a phenomenal nutritional boost, no matter which of the four methods you use to manage your flock. And we use non-GMO ingredients! (For the detailed ingredient lists, click the links above.)

How to enter the Chunky Chicken GIVEAWAY

Comment on this post. We’d love to hear about your pet chickens in your comment… but if you’re in a hurry, you can just comment “enter me!” or something along those lines. (Inappropriate comments are ineligible, and will be removed–begone, foul trolls!)

Also, don’t be an employee of My Pet Chicken. (Durn–that means I’m out.) You must also be a resident of the 50 states–you have to live where we ship!

The winner will be chosen randomly on May 1, 2015, and will notified by email. (So the entry period ends April 30 at midnight, eastern.) Winner, you must respond within 7 days, or we’ll choose someone else!

The post Chunky Chicken Giveaway! appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

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 are walking and pecking around in poopy litter. Erg.

Gently handling chicks is important; just be aware that they have been walking around in litter and wash your hands when you’re done handling poultry or equipment.

While backyard pet chickens are not the “disgusting, dirty birds” commercial hens in battery cages are forced to be—battery hens live their lives in about the same space as a sheet of notebook paper, unable to ever stretch their wings—pet chickens carry germs just like pet cats and pet dogs do.

I will lick your face. This tongue was made for lickin’!

The CDC is blaming a recent salmonella outbreak on backyard poultry owners’ affection for their birds. We find some of their advice a little disingenuous, though. Of course kissing your birds is not the most sanitary thing you could do—we advise against literally kissing your flock. After all, if they do have any bad bacteria to give you, putting it directly on your lips with a big smooch is one of the quickest ways to get sick. But not handling your birds? Come on, now.

Handling chickens is one of the most powerful tools in your healthy chicken arsenal: when they are unafraid of you and used to being handled, you’ll be far more likely to notice if someone isn’t feeling well and needs veterinary care.

Now of course it’s true that if you never touch or handle chickens, it will be a lot more difficult for you to get sick from something they have on their skin or in their feathers. But it’s also true that you can get sick from what your dog or cat carries in. Heck, one unfortunate fellow caught the plague from his dog. As common as it is for dog lovers to permit, you really don’t want to let your dog lick your face. When your dog or cat sits on the couch, his ahem, anus is pressed there against the cushion, where you might lay your head or put your hand.

Guess what I’ve been eating?

In short, living with pets—whether they are cats, dogs or chickens—exposes us to a certain amount of bacteria and parasites. You can get ringworm, hookwarm, giardia, campylobacter, toxoplasmosis, and so on from dogs and cats—yet the CDC doesn’t advise against handling dogs and cats, even though more people have them as pets. More people get sick from bacteria picked up from these more common pets than they do from pet chickens.

Even looking at just rabies (primarily a disease of mammals, not birds), the CDC estimates that over 40,000 people per year are exposed to rabies, with “most people … exposed to rabies due to close contact with domestic animals, such as cats or dogs” rather than wild animals. By contrast, only about 60 salmonella related illnesses per year are related to live poultry. Heck in 2012, 49 salmonella illnesses were linked to ONE salmonella outbreak stemming from dry dog food. Even the CDC confirms that “Salmonella is usually transmitted to humans by eating foods contaminated with small amounts of animal feces,” rather than by contact with chickens. This is how you get the outbreaks from bagged salad, spinach or apples.

Every illness is concerning and important to address. But when keeping pets of any sort, the important thing is really keeping exposure at reasonable, manageable levels–and protecting those who have compromised immune systems. This doesn’t mean raising your kids in a bubble, though–in fact, evidence suggests that kids who’ve had limited exposure to “parasites, bacteria, and viruses… face a greater chance of having allergies, asthma, and other autoimmune diseases during adulthood.” Even just growing up on a farm means you’ll be less likely to suffer from allergies as an adult.

Of course we’re not suggesting throwing your kids into the coop or brooder and letting them eat the litter or lick chicken feet. Yuck. But we also don’t feel that you should give up keeping chickens, any more than you should give up dogs and cats.

The truth is that data shows small scale farming actually helps protect us and our food supply. We’d like to see statistics related to salmonella, but we do know that “When it comes to bird flu, diverse small-scale poultry farming is the solution, not the problem,” and that “the key to protecting backyard poultry and people from bird flu is to protect them from industrial poultry and poultry products.” (My emphasis added.) In other words, making sure that we have the right to small flocks of backyard chickens is a way to protect ourselves and our communities from the diseases that proliferate in large scale commercial operations where tens of thousands of birds are concentrated together in a very small space.

I am living in chicken paradise.

We don’t want to downplay the importance of responsible handling. But recommendations against handling at all? Even the FDA doesn’t recommend NOT touching your birds at all. This seems more than a little silly. At the least, your chickens need to be monitored for their health. They need to be checked over for mites and lice. If they are limping, they need to be checked for bumblefoot, and so on. To do that you need to, you know, touch them. This is responsible ownership, something sorely lacking in commercial operations where the birds are just too numerous for anyone to notice if someone is not acting like herself.

Families keeping small numbers of chickens as pets—because pets get good care and are closely monitored for health—is one of the best ways to safeguard our food supplies.

Also… fresh eggs are SO delicious.

Read more about commonsense biosecurity on our website (HINT: you should do things like wash your hands, use clean equipment, buy from reputable hatcheries or breeders and so on—just like you would with other animals). You can also read about how salmonella is more of a danger with factory farmed birds—and even watch the FDA’s videos about how to responsibly handle your backyard birds.

Maybe the CDC and FDA should get together and agree upon handling recommendations. What do you think?

The post Salmonella, the CDC, and Handling Pet Chickens appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

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 it back out, maybe with a scrub brush or an old washcloth. But even when thoroughly cleaned of gunk, unless you sanitize your equipment, there will be some bacteria, viruses and spores still living on the surface of the equipment. This is why you’ll need to take another step for biosecurity.

Another step? Are my feet dirty?

Think about it: imagine, for example, that you thoroughly clean the dried up food off your dishes… with your toilet brush. Or maybe your mop. You can make your dishes shiny and pretty, and stick them in the cabinet. When you take them out, do you want to eat on them? No? Absolutely ugh, right? You need to do more than just clean off the surface gunk to achieve good biosecurity.

SANITIZING by contrast actually kills those viruses, bacteria, and spores that can be on a clean-looking surface. But you can’t just sanitize; you still have to clean, too.

Because I will cover this in lots of gunk, I promise.

Think about it: imagine, for example, that you hate washing the dishes. Instead, you decide to just soak your food-caked-on plates in a bleach solution to kill all the germs. You soak them long enough to really penetrate every bit of crusty, stuck-on egg yolk or sausage gravy… then take them out, shake them off and let them dry, with those streaks of yolk and flecks of meat still stuck on. That dirt has been sanitized, right? You put them in your cabinet and take them out later… do you want to eat on them? No? Yeah, you don’t.

You can’t just clean. You can’t just sanitize, either. You really need to be doing both cleaning and sanitizing.

The big reason is that it’s a lot easier, and more effective, to sanitize a thoroughly clean surface. And even were you to have dishes (or equipment) covered with gunk that has been effectively sanitized, it’s probably not going to stay that way very long. That gunk can provide a good place for germs, spores and whatnot to begin growing again, or places for it to hide.

No, not places for YOU to hide, chickie-poo. Places for ick to hide.

Plus, when we’re talking about some sorts of food poisoning, it’s not actually the live bacteria that causes the problem. Botulism, for example, is caused by a bacteria, but really it is the toxins given off by the bacteria that make you sick, not the direct action of the bacteria itself. Some fungi work the same way: while some can cause illness because they infect lungs or other tissues (thrush, for example), others produce mycotoxins… more or less poisons produced by fungi. Think ergot.

So we’ve determined that you need to clean and sanitize, both. But what do you need to be cleaning and sanitizing? Well… everything. Okay, not everything exactly, but if your chickens are using it or coming into contact with it, clean and sanitize it.

You’ll want to remember your egg collecting basket, too.

Feeders, waterers, dishes used for oyster shell or grit. Occasionally, clean and sanitize things like roosts and nests (nests, particularly if you’ve had an egg break).

Durnit, what a waste!

And yourself: wash your hands after handling your birds or equipment, just like you would when changing the cat litter or when your dog demonstrates his slobbery doggy love all over your fingers.

Also? Your shoes. Keep a pair of boots, shoes, or overshoes for working in your coop area, and use a brush and a sanitizing bath to keep them clean.

Biosecurity means coop boots

Additionally, consider your tires. We said it! Now, we’re not suggesting you need to make sure your tires are clean and shiny all the time… but when driving to a feed store (or to the home of a friend who also keeps chickens), consider spraying them with a sanitizer before and after–and clean/sanitize your shoes before and after. You do this before, so you don’t bring anything in, and after in case someone else does.

But here’s some good news for biosecurity: there is a bird flu vaccine that the USDA finds is 100% effective on chickens. Awesome, right? They’re now testing it on turkeys, too.

Even so, biosecurity for birds is generally about avoiding bringing illnesses into your flock, or taking them out… and it’s also about making sure you don’t transfer germs from droppings into your mouth and so on. It’s not just about avian influenza alone. So, AI vaccine or not, always make sure to practice good biosecurity.

The post Biosecurity: Difference between cleaning and sanitizing appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

Now that the heat of summer has passed, and the fall nights are cooler, you may have noticed your coop is a little messier than normal. Perhaps much, much messier. This time of year, whenever I collect eggs I can’t help but wonder: is it Molting Season or do I have Exploding Chickens?

Molting season or exploding chickens? I can’t decide!

With autumn comes molting season.  A chicken can molt any time of year, but most chickens will molt in the late summer or autumn. This gives the flock time to regrow their feathers before the cold of winter sets in.

My birds tend to hard molt—they lose all their feathers at once, rather than a few at a time over the course of a few months.  It’s a terrible thing to behold: my poor ladies spend much of October and November hideously unattractive. For me, molting season is a time of rosy-skinned naked hens, and non-stop coop cleaning. What do you do with fallen feathers?

We won’t even discuss the turkeys.

Let’s not talk about it.

Henny didn’t want her picture taken, and knocked over the feeders trying to get away!

Because my hens hard molt, I don’t get very many eggs this time of year.  This is normal: production will go down during molting season because the hens’ bodies are stressed, and they are using most of nutrients from the feed to regrow their feathers.  You can help ease the process by supplementing with a higher-protein feed.  I like turkey grower or meat bird grower; it makes the feathers grow in glossy, and helps the hens put on a little weight before it gets cold.  As soon as I start to see eggs again, switch back to layer feed.

Until then, it is a never-ending battle keeping up with the mess, but it doesn’t last forever.  Soon the hens will have their feathers in, and look fabulous!

Buffy looking great after finishing a soft molt.

While the constant clean-up can be annoying, I do like to bag up the excess coop debris in empty feed bags.  Local gardeners go nuts for the feathers/hay/poo mix, and are happy to haul it off for their winter compost.

On a side note: most chickens will only replace the majority of their feathers after a molt, so if your hen has feather loss due to injury, she may wait to regrow any missing feathers. Increasing her protein may help, but don’t be surprised if she remains naked until fall!

The post Molting Season or Exploding Chickens? appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

You may be new to chicken keeping or an old pro but beginners and experts alike all end up having a question at some point. Hi there, my name is Shannon, and I’m a professional chicken consultant. *Waves* Yup, chicken consultant. That would be me.

How-dee-doo, chicken consultant

You may be wondering how much my services cost. The answer is: ZERO. I and my colleagues will answer your chicken questions for free. My job is to pick up the phone 50 times a day to help chicken people from all walks of life, and that are at all levels of ability when it comes to keeping their beloved poultry. I am a chicken consultant just chicken consultant -ing around. It’s a dream job, right?

When I say “How can I help you?” the questions come pouring in. I’ve been talking “pet chicken” with people across this country for nearly five years now, and I still hear some never-before-asked questions that can stump me. However, there are also the top questions that, as a chicken consultant, I hear daily.

Many are beginner questions, but they are GOOD questions—that’s why they get asked so often! They are things you should know if you keep chickens, so I’m happy to hear people ask them.  That means, don’t call me and say “I know this sounds stupid, but…” because it’s NOT stupid. It’s something you want to know, and we agree you should know it! This is why you called the professional chicken consultant, right?

Here are the top ten most frequently asked questions I receive regularly as a professional chicken consultant, and the answers I hope you’ll find enlightening!

Top 10 FAQs for a Chicken Consultant

1. Can you sex a chick while its still in the egg?

The short answer is no. There are a lot of old wives’ tales out there about telling the sex of a chick in the egg, but none have been proved true. As a hatchery, we sure wish we could!

2. My pet chicken has been acting ill and won’t get off her nest. Could she be broody?

Depending on her breed, it’s possible–even likely. Broodiness is common for many different breeds. If she’s broody, it won’t hurt your bird, though she may be acting odd and possessive of her nest. Other times it may seem like she’s in a trance. Nature has made their bodies to handle this period of broodiness with great success. If you’re worried that she’s sick rather than broody, I can also share a list of signs to look out for.

3. Do I need a rooster for eggs?

Nope. Quite simply, your hens will produce eggs just fine without a male in their lives.

Illustration by Ray Yang for My Pet Chicken

They will lay eggs just the same as if there was a rooster around, although the eggs they lay will not be fertile.

4. Are fertilized eggs okay to eat?

This is one we My Pet Chicken consultants  get quite frequently. And the answer is that of course fertile eggs are good to eat! Some people even believe they are healthier for you, although we’ve never seen any data showing that. The actual difference between a freshly laid fertile egg and a freshly laid infertile egg is miniscule.

Illustration by Ray Yang for My Pet Chicken

It’s true that your backyard eggs are far healthier than store eggs in general, although that doesn’t have anything to do with whether they are fertile or not. It has to do with how your chickens are raised, and whether they have access to pasture/yard, because they put all that extra nutrition into their eggs.

Organic store-bought egg on the left; organic, pasture-raised pet chicken egg on the right.

If  you collect your eggs daily, you will never find an embryo in a fertilized egg. NEVER. It takes 21 days for a chick to hatch, and at least three before you can really see anything developing. After three days it is slightly larger than a pin-head. PLUS, an embryo only develops if it is incubated at 99.5 degrees or so–not if it’s just sitting in a nest, and not at any other temperature. No worries, really. Just gather your eggs regularly every day!

5. Why can you ship chicks when they’re 1 day old, but not when they’re 2 weeks old?

As a professional chickens consultant, I think this is an especially astute question. It doesn’t make sense, at first, does it? So let me explain why My Pet Chicken, and other hatcheries, can only safely ship chicks when they are one day old.

Day old chicks have just accomplished a lot on the first day of life. They’ve just escaped their confinement and have absorbed the remainder of the yolk. That yolk actually sustains them for three days without having to eat or drink. Why? Well, it’s not because Mother Nature decided to give hatcheries a shipping window. However it IS something we can take advantage of to get them safely to you.

The reason we have the three day window is because when a chicken hatches her eggs naturally, mother hen will stay on the nest until all her eggs are hatched out–all that are going to, anyway. So if there are early hatchers and late hatchers, the early peepers need to be able to wait under momma until everyone is safely out. Mother Hen can’t get up and take the chicks away from the unhatched egg at the last critical moments, or those eggs wouldn’t hatch. The first three days is a perfect time for baby chicks to rest with full bellies. So when day old baby chicks are on the way to you, they won’t need to eat or drink before they get to you. It’s just nature.

6. Should I heat my coop in the winter?

The short and long of it is no, it’s almost always a bad idea to heat your coop. Heating your coop can be a fire danger, and it can also keep your chickens from acclimating to the cold. Chickens acclimate to the weather gradually, and a heater can just throw them off. There are a lot of things NOT to do when preparing your chickens for cold weather. DO make sure your coop is draft free since drafts and moisture can be the most likely issues to cause your chickens problems in the winter, and DO have a coop that is not so large that your flock’s body heat won’t keep the chill out.  A radiant heat system such as a sweeter heater would be your safest bet for a microflock or for a far northern climate, if you insist on a heating option.  It can also be a good idea to offer some fatty or high in protein treats to give them the extra calories and body fat to get them through the winter.

7. My pullets are now 6 months old and they’re not laying. Is something wrong, or can I do something to make them lay?

You’ve been told that your chickens should start laying at five or six months, and they’re not–so what gives? Well, five to six months old is only a general estimate of when it’s common for chickens to begin laying. It’s like knowing that children usually speak their first words around six months. If it’s been six months and two days or two weeks, it’s not that they’re making you wait on purpose! Six months is just not a hard deadline your children (or chickens) will understand.

I do what I want!

Many chicken breeds mature over a wider average window—some sooner, some later. Time of year affects maturity as much as physical age does, too. As a chicken consultant, there are a few things I ask clients to keep in mind: what season they are going through currently? How’s the weather been? Have they been stressed recently? Have you changed their diet? Could they be laying somewhere other than the nest box? And so on.

Don’t worry too much, a hen will lay when her body is ready. There is nothing you can do for her other than making sure she is healthy.

8. Why can’t I just have one chicken?

Flock animals, such as chickens are, have a distinct social network. It’s not unlike Facebook, where we want to make connections and be social 75% of the day (admit it!). But people don’t NEED Facebook or Twitter the way chickens need a flock.

Chickens must have a source of constant connection, like-mindedness, and structure! Who wants to be alone when you can have a friend who speaks the same language? Human friends don’t fill the void for them; chickens need another chicken by their side–preferably at least two.

Why? Chickens complicate their social network by having a hierarchy, or “pecking order,” which is linear. This means only one chicken can be in the top rank, followed in line by another, all the way down to the bottom of the order. The first chicken in the pecking order is first in line for everything, and the last is last for everything. This order can change when news birds are added or lost over time. It sounds awful to humans; you’re never really upwardly mobile as a chicken! But that natural flock structure, that pecking order, makes chickns comfortable and happy. Just so long as you provide plenty of food, water, and shelter for everyone, they really don’t mind waiting in line, if they have to. What they do mind? Being the ONLY chicken.

9. If I get new birds can I put them in with my flock right away?

No. Actually, even if you have just one chicken through some tragic turn, you can’t just plop new chickens into the coop and run and expect everyone to be friends. Introducing new chickens to an existing flock requires a lot of careful thought and planning, and is one of the most difficult tasks you’ll have as a chicken keeper. My number one concern will always be BIO-SECURITY. It’s a very serious issue, and knowing about it can save you a world of hurt!

Bringing new birds in will happen.  Some time in your chicken keeping, you will learn more birds MUST join your flock. Sometimes accidentally or fortuitously. Sometimes accidentally on purpose.(We call it chicken math.) But as a professional chicken consultant, I must insist you keep any new birds segregated from your current flock for a minimum of 30 days to ensure everyone is healthy and you’re not bringing in an new illness or parasite.

Please go over our wonderful list of suggestions for biosecurity. You want some chicken consultant technique? I personally keep a quarantine pen for hurt birds, new birds coming in, broody hens, or to use as a grow out for new chicks. That small extra pen for emergencies has been an absolute blessing! For new baby chicks, they will be in their separate brooder for that length of time. But for older birds, if you don’t have a hospital or quarantine coop, I’d suggest something simple, and inexpensive like the Clubhouse Coop.

10. What does “Straight Run” mean?

Simply put, getting “straight run chicks” means you are choosing your chicks to “come as they are.” They will not be sexed by our staff. Chicks hatch, and then get packed directly off to you. You’ll have no idea if you’ll be receiving males or females, or both, or in what quantities—and neither will we! If you order 20 birds, you could get a 50/50 mix, or 20/80… or anything really. It’s a flip of the coin. Are you a gambler? Do you have good plans for what to do if you lose your bet?

You’ll have to wait some time before you can sex your chickens yourself. (Believe it or not, how to tell male from female baby chicks is a highly specialized skill that takes many years to learn properly.) As a professional chicken consultant, I personally think it’s worth the small extra cost to get my chicks sexed at hatch! The percentage of possible mistakes is small enough to offset my costs. Though there are still suggestions to “feather sex” your chicks at hatch, be aware that you can’t do this at home, either. You can read about this on my previous post about “Why feather sexing doesn’t work“.

That is my Top Ten list of the MOST frequently asked questions I get as a professional chicken consultant. You may have already known the answers, or you might have been thinking of these questions yourself!

These are important things to have answered for anyone keeping chickens, and I’m so glad I have the opportunity to help people with these issues every day.

Do you have an important question I missed?

The post Chicken Consultant: Top 10 FAQs appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

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.)

Your beautiful eggs could get you into trouble!

If you’re like most chicken keepers, you’re an unabashed show-off. You’ll pull anyone who shows the slightest interest into your kitchen to wow them with your insanely vibrant eggs; you’ll show them your fairy eggs, or eggs with odd bumps or color striations; you’ll gab about how orange your yolks are, how fresh eggs hold their shape better in the frying pan; how delicious they are… It never gets old watching people react to your fresh eggs–or experiencing their delight as you gift them with a dozen.

And you love showing guests your gorgeous flock of prized birds, strutting around your yard in a rainbow of colors. You show them how friendly your flock is, how your favorite birds will hop up into your lap, and you let your guest pet or hold your birds to see for themselves.

Kids love to handle chickens! That could get you in trouble, too.

Whether you’re keeping your chickens for profit or pleasure, there’s zero chance you’re keeping them and their beautiful eggs all to yourself. Unfortunately, this puts you at risk.

Think your friends wouldn’t sue you?
Well, you could be right… but their health insurance company might, to recover their expenses. This happens all the time, and it’s called subrogation.

Here are two scenarios where it could happen:

Scenario 1: Food poisoning from eggs
No matter how careful you are, there’s always the chance that someone could get Salmonella from not properly cooking the eggs you’ve given them, and end up with a hefty hospital bill. I’m sure we’ve all heard of the nationwide recalls and class action lawsuits against big-time egg producers for Salmonella infection, but small-time producers get sued, too. Here are a few examples:

Maryland apple cider case (2010)
Michigan bakery case (2002)
Missouri raw milk case (2008)
California raw milk case (2006)

Scenario 2: Your chicken petting zoo
If you’re like us, you introduce your chickens to as many people as possible, knowing they’ll be delighted to learn how friendly and sociable they are. But if folks don’t wash their hands after handling your birds, and then contract E. coli or Salmonella, they could end up with a huge hospital bill (or worse). This is even easier to trace than food-borne illness, and examples of these types of lawsuits abound, too. Here are a few:

Florida Petting Zoo case (2005)
California Petting Zoo case (2005)
North Carolina Petting Zoo case (2004)

Regardless of whether you sold eggs or gave them away for free—or  whether you reminded your friend to cook their eggs all the way through or to wash their hands—indeed, whether or not your eggs or chickens were in fact the source of the infection, if there’s even a suspicion they were, you could be sued. And no matter what, you’d incur significant legal expenses defending yourself. But if you lost? You’d have to find a way to pay those medical expenses PLUS the legal fees.

So you have to ask yourself: could you pay tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or more, without affecting your lifestyle? If the answer is no…

…Farm insurance to the rescue!
Farm insurance—both general farm liability and “farm products” insurance, which specifically cover chickens and eggs—covers legal expenses in case of a lawsuit, and will pay for damages up to a certain, set amount, however much you’re insured for.

4 good reasons to get farm insurance

#1 – Liability

Liability is the first and most important reason to get farm insurance. If you don’t have it—specifically, “farm products” insurance which explicitly covers eggs, poultry, and poultry products—you’re not covered in case of an accident or someone becoming ill. And remember, you don’t even have to be guilty to be at risk if someone’s insurance company decides to sue you!

#2 – Insurance for your coops

You can include any livestock buildings you choose in your coverage. Do you have several coops? They can all be included. If you keep other types of livestock—horses, for example, or goats—you can cover the barn or the pen.

#3 – Protect your chicken supplies

In case of a fire, flood or other disaster, you are covered. Many homeowner’s policies wouldn’t cover, say, lightning damage to your expensive heated waterers, or all the feed that got ruined by a leaky roof. With farm insurance, farm products, supplies, and tools can all be covered—including feed and equipment!

#4 – Tractors and other farm equipment are covered, too!

Normal homeowner insurance excludes farm equipment.  But with farm insurance, you can protect the tractor use use to drag your mobile coop, for example. And if there is some incident and you lose your Bobcat or other equipment used for farm animals, farm insurance covers replacement of those items

Those are the four good reasons for getting farm insurance.

The most amazing thing? For my family, it turned out that we actually saved money by switching to farm insurance. We were even able to increase our “umbrella” coverage by a significant amount. Farm insurance replaced our homeowner’s insurance, and we have the same types of coverage, same deductibles, same everything, except we get the added bonus of farm coverage, an added million in umbrella coverage—and we are saving $200 per year.

Go figure.

I don’t include this as one of the reasons, because maybe we were paying too much for our homeowner’s insurance to begin with; maybe your farm insurance quote will come in higher than your current homeowner’s insurance. I don’t know. I can only tell you that our experience was that we saved money–so maybe you will, too.

Who I chose for farm insurance
If you’re like me, the prospect of liability risk alone is enough to make you want to switch to farm insurance, so I wanted to have ready for you a long list of farm insurers from which to choose. I researched and made many, many phone calls, only to have folks either not get back to me, or to find out that poultry and poultry products are specifically excluded from most insurers’ farm policies. So I can only offer you contact information from my insurance agency. (And I promise you, I’m not making a dime off of this referral!)

Farm Family/American National
Find an agent near you
Main phone: (518) 431-5000
My agent in CT: Ron Hocutt, 860-875-3333

(We can’t say enough about Ron. He has taken very good care of us personally and My Pet Chicken over the years.)

The post Farm insurance: 4 good reasons to get it appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

They deserve the best, right?

There are two main points of confusion:

When they have range, they sort of formulate their own supplements in addition to their base feed

Chicken Feed Supplements, Changes in Diet, and NE

The post Chicken feed supplements and your flock appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

I’m a customer service rep here at My Pet Chicken, which means I’ve held the hands of countless beginners. I’ve laughed at your stories. I’ve helped you troubleshoot. I’ve placed hundreds of chick orders for you. I’ve assured you your breed selection is a good one. (You can hardly go wrong, after all!) And I’ve mourned with you at the occasional passing of a chick.

You might think that because I work here, all things chicken-ey have lost their sheen, or that getting a new batch of baby chicks isn’t as exciting as it used to be. You might think that losing a chick of my own might feel more like a dull ache than a sharp pain—but you’d be wrong!

When I get the call from the postmaster saying “Your chicks have arrived. Can you pick them up?” my internal monologue goes something like: “Can I pick them up? YOU BET I CAN PICK THEM UP! OH. BOY. OH. BOY. OH. BOY!” … and my bewildered husband is left to stare in awe at the streak of flames I leave stretching out across the house as I run to my car and head to the post office.

Greetings Mr. Postman! That is my peeping box and I am definitely ready to take it home!

My My Pet Chicken Chicks

(Say that three times fast!)

This last shipment, the post office was speedy and delivered my chicks arrived a day earlier than normal, so I wasn’t expecting them.

Thank goodness I had my brooder set up already! Whatever you do, just make sure you have that and any other chick supplies 2 to 3 weeks before your chicks are due to arrive, so you’ll have everything ready for them in advance, and won’t have to scramble.

OOH, LOOKIE WHAT IS IN MY BOX–hello, babies!  I couldn’t be more delighted!

Before I did my usual streak-out-of-the-house to the post office, though, I did take the time for my last important preparation. It’s an old trick my best-chicken-friend taught me: dissolve a teaspoon of molasses into a cup of water for the chicks, and dip their beaks into it first thing when they’re home. The official advice from My Pet Chicken is to just offer clean, cool water unless the chicks are stressed, but I find the added boost of the one-time sip of molasses water is helpful.

So the first thing I do for my new babies is dip their beaks into the molasses water solution.

Just make sure there’s not too much molasses in the water, as too much sugar can cause loose poo.

As I give them the solution and move them to the brooder one by one, I count how many babies are in the box, note what they look like, and make sure that my order has been fulfilled correctly.  And if I lose a chick, I still may cry a little. While I know that some chicks don’t survive whether hatched at home or shipped, it still hurts my heart.

If I do have a loss, I make notes about her appearance so I can report her loss accurately. And then I do the only thing I can: make sure all the other My Pet Chicken chicks are comfortable in their brooder, eating and drinking, and off to a healthy start.

Just like you all do, I check in on my new brood several times a day, and after the kids have settled in, I sneak in one last peek before I head off to bed. They sure are cute, and it fills my heart to see them all running around, eating, drinking, and happy. I can’t wait to see how my My Pet Chicken chicks transform into a flock of “my pet chickens” as they grow and learn to trust me.

It’s an emotional roller coaster, but I love it. I love raising chickens for myself, and I love helping you do the same!

The post My Pet Chickens from My Pet Chicken appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

While most of the eggs your hens will lay are going to be very normal, to start off October on a Halloween-ey note, I thought we’d take a moment to discuss the grossest egg you’ll ever see from your flock… if you enter the Twilight Zone!

BWA-HAHAHAHA! (That was my evil laugh.) But the tale I’m going to tell you is true.

Hens will lay some strange-looking eggs from time to time in the darkness of their nests. Here’s how it happens: Within their secluded and private nesting chambers, your feathered fiends enter their egg trance. Their eggs are laid after some labor and effort, after which they emit that mad, bloodcurdling egg cackle!  Okay… it’s not exactly blood-curdling, but work with me here.

Your feathered friends may lay eggs with ridges on the shell, or calcium “pimples.” Sometimes eggs can be misshapen. Sometimes they may be tiny “witch eggs,” or gigantic eggs with blood on the shell (poor girls!). You might find blood spots on the inside. You might see a soft egg–all membrane and no shell! Or you might get an egg within an egg.

Icky! How’m I doing? I just want you to be in the Halloween mood.

The grossest egg

The grossest egg your hens will ever lay, however, is the infamous LASH EGG. Although this post is clearly tongue in cheek over-dramatic, I promise you calling it “the grossest” is really not an exaggeration.

Behold, child of Franken-hen!

(Photo courtesy of Kate W from CT.)

“Lash” egg is probably the creepiest names anyone could come up with, evoking thoughts of whips and punishment. Where did that name come from? I have not been able to find any etymology, except that these have been referred to as “lash eggs” since at least 1830.

In fact, the production of a lash egg could mean your hen is ill with salpingitis… because what she has laid is not an egg at all. This fleshy mass takes on the shape of an egg, because it passes through her reproductive system. It consists of parts of the lining of her reproductive tract, plus pus and other disgusting materials that can be the consistency of cheese or cooked yolks. Cut open, it can unfurl like fleshy ribbons, with layers like some accursed onion-of-the-damned, or a tell-tale artichoke heart.

I make light, because this is an Octobery, Halloween-ey post, but in truth salpingitis is a serious matter, essentially the Pelvic Inflammatory Disease of poultry. It’s a potentially fatal infection caused by a viral or a bacterial infection in the oviduct. You may think you need to call in a priest for an exorcism, but you should really consult a vet if your hen lays a lash egg–and do it as soon as possible.

It does happen sometimes that a lash egg is a one-time occurrence, a relatively minor infection from which your hen may recover, but it is more likely to be serious and need treatment. If your vet diagnoses your hen with a bacterial infection, she could respond to antibiotics if you’ve caught it early enough. So, your Hen Horror story could have a happy ending.

The bottom line is: if you get a lash egg, don’t freak out.

I take that back… feel free to freak out a little. But remember your hen may be saved with help from your veterinarian, and in the future this whole nightmare could just make for a good scary ghost story to share among your chicken friends.

Please tell us about your lash eggs (or scariest eggs) below in the comments. If you have a good photo of a lash egg, we’ll be happy to post it here. Just email your photo to info@mypetchicken.com, and we’ll credit you.

The post The grossest egg your hens will ever lay appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

If you keep chickens and haven’t yet heard about the FDA’s recent rules and standards changes please take a moment to read them. In this post, we’ll provide some small flock guidelines and reminders to help you understand what this means for your pet chickens.

New rules set in place for increased food safety and security have changed the accessibility  of many medications for your backyard chickens. Previously, you might go to your local farm and feed store to pick up antibiotics, but now, a licensed veterinarian is required to diagnose your chicken/s and prescribe antibiotics for your flock.

My small flock

The changes and rules that make it easier for factory farms, now present challenges to small farms as well as people who keep pet chickens in microflocks. Veterinarians who see poultry are not easy to find in many locations.  Many small flock owners are now realizing they may not have a vet service to go to in case of flock illness. So what to do if your flock becomes sick?

Before we get to the small flock guidelines, keep in mind your flock may never have a need for a vet visit. And there are lots of great ways to be proactive in keeping your flock healthy. My Pet Chicken provides wonderful information—for free—to help keep a healthy flock going strong.

There are also medications available you can get without a licensed vet—be sure to read the directive at the link above. But there are also things you can do to increase biosecurity and improve the healthfulness of your flock’s environment.

Small Flock Guidelines for the new FDA Rules

1. Boost Immune Health:

The first of our small flock guidelines involves providing immune supplements. Do your research, and choose your favorite. I’m a multipurpose girl myself; I don’t like to bog down my flocks’ diet with so many different supplements. My personal favorite supplement for immune health is the RoPa Poultry Oregano Oil Complete. This product goes into your chickens’ waterer on a daily basis. It builds gut flora health and helps reduce the need for antibiotics, among other things.

2. Practice Good Biosecurity:

Simple biosecurity procedures can make a world of difference for you and your flock. We suggest you read our detailed biosecurity guidelines.  But generally speaking, you should try to be aware of the risks of cross contamination. Don’t share equipment and don’t take used equipment from other people. It’s best to buy new items and deep clean them as often as possible. And reduce risks as much as possible. Keep wildlife out of your birds’ area, and don’t let your dear friends with chickens wander through your coop/run area. Bacteria, fungal spores, viruses can all hitch a ride on their clothes or shoes.

At MPC we practice what we preach: I personally have a pair of shoes I use specifically to wear out with the chickens when we’re feeding and cleaning. I don’t wear the chicken shoes to my friends’ homes. And I use an aviary netting around my chicken fencing to keep out wild birds. Since we do a lot to keep the large predators away, it makes sense to do our best to keep the disease and pathogen carriers out of the coop and run areas as well.

3. Create a List of Emergency Contacts NOW:

It’s a good time to identify the nearest vet that will see chickens—before you need one. Get that phone number on file.

If your search for a vet has turned up empty, we suggest reaching out to your local county extension office to ask their advice. They have many good contacts in their system to share with you. They may even have classes, or provide local warnings and advisories as to agricultural concerns in your area. You can also consider reaching out to any agricultural or veterinary school in your area to see if they have resources available.

Of course it doesn’t hurt to have a good reference book or two for your library. The My Pet Chicken Handbook is great to have on hand because in addition to care, tips, recipes and so on, it has a section explaining how to make the determination if something you’re seeing warrants a vet visit. For information about symptoms and overviews of specific illnesses, you can visit the Health category of the Help Topics section of our website.  The Chicken Health Handbook is also a valuable reference on this subject.

My Pet Chicken wishes you and your flock the best health possible and a happy 2017!

The post Small flock guidelines for FDA’s new rules appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

It’s the Chicken Consultant again! You know me…chicken chatting is my profession. That in itself is difficult enough to explain to people when they run into me at the store, at a party or simply out and about in town.  It does for sure cause a hold up on my errand days though. My store trip can go from a 5 minute “run in and run out” to a 30 minute discussion about a down-and-out hen for a lucky shopper who ran into me.

Some situations with your bird can be outside the norm. This Chicken Consultant sure doesn’t have all the answers! This means I’ve been stumped more than once by some poultry mysteries. So, though I’m here to help, I may not have the answers you need. I sure do help as best I can, even if  I can only get you on the right path to finding answers.

These top 3 difficult questions are often best answered by thoughtful consideration, visiting veterinary experts, and/or process of elimination.

Top 3 most difficult questions for a Chicken Consultant

1. My chicken is acting sick! What can I do to get her better?
   
   This is especially difficult for a Chicken Consultant to answer, because there are many  illnesses  a chicken can get, just like there are many illnesses humans can get. If you have a cough, is it bronchitis? The flu? Pneumonia? Whopping cough? Allergies? You may have to go to the doctor to figure out what you’re dealing with. Likewise, your chicken may have to visit the vet to get a firm diagnosis.Just like us, chickens can show many different signs of illness, and those signs can indicate multiple possibilities. If your chicken is ill, she may have picked up a bacterial infection, a virus, or a parasite. And I’m just not going to know which—not over the phone, not in person with you, and maybe not even if I could see and handle your bird. Remember, I’m a chicken consultant not a trained veterinarian! Another thing to consider is that since chickens are prey animals—many predators likes a chicken dinner—your pet’s instinct is to hide signs of illness if s/he can, so s/he won’t be picked out by a predator.

   I’m feeling fine–leave me alone!

   So, be thorough checking your chickens for signs of illness. Do it regularly, even if they seem to be acting healthy! Check under their feathers, be aware of cuts, or scrapes. Keep an eye out for creepy crawly bugs under their feathers. Check for bruising or discoloration of skin. Be aware of comb color, as a pale comb is an indication of illness though sometimes my birds combs go pale after a molt because they’re just not going to be laying for awhile.

   And if a chicken passes away from an illness the only way to know for sure is a necropsy done as soon as possible. This will answer your concerns about not only why your bird passed, but whether your remaining flock could be threatened by the same problem.

2. What breed is this white/black/brown/etc. chicken I got in my order/yard/road/etc.?
   In North America alone, there are hundreds of breeds or chickens. Within those breeds, they come in different sizes (large fowl, bantam) as well as different colors. Sometimes chick color barely even helps narrow the field of possibilities.  Some completely different breeds of the same color are extremely hard to distinguish from one another. IDing chicks is often all in the details. You can send us a photo and we Chicken Consultants can try to help as well. Just be aware there are lots of barnyard mixes out there, essentially crosses of several breeds. I also suggest searching My Pet Chicken’s chicken breed page. It has lots of wonderful images and explanations of the breeds. Even if you end up with a mixed breed, it may be a run of the mill mutt to chicken breeders, but we hope you found yourself a new friend for life whatever she/he is!
   
   
3. Why didn’t my hatching eggs all hatch?
   This is a toughy. Whether you gave a broody hen the responsibility of hatching her own young, or collected eggs and placed them in your own incubator, hatching is a difficult task. What went wrong, and what went right can be difficult to determine.Remember, fertile eggs won’t develop into chicks just because they’re fertile. Chickens can leave nests early. There could be bacterial contamination at play. Temps and humidity can be off in an incubator, whether it’s homemade, high end, new, old, or somewhere in between. As a Chicken Consultant, I don’t really have any good way of knowing what happened in your incubator or under your broody.I can say that when I’m hatching at home, I play it safe and buy a thermometer to add to my incubator, because I’ve learned that my digital reading says 103 degrees but in reality its 99 degrees. Going by the digital reading originally, I didn’t have very good hatches as you can imagine!Here’s what you can do to increase your hatch rate. First, if you’ve had a bad hatch, check out our incubation troubleshooting guide to see if you can help narrow down the cause.I also always suggest running an incubator for a few days with your thermometer in place and just watch. Make sure the humidity doesn’t drop and the temps stay stable with no drops or spikes.  Keep the incubator away from drafty windows, out of the sun, don’t unplug it or move it. Hatching can be touchy, and even developing chicks can stop developing and pass inside the egg. Most importantly, I suggest reading the My Pet Chicken Incubation guide through before starting, and refer to it if you have any issues during the incubation.

As you can see sometimes a chicken question just doesn’t have a straightforward answer. The answer won’t be the same for everyone who calls the Chicken Consultant. However, there is a way for you to get the answers you are looking for, if you’re looking in the right place.

Do you have a tough question you just couldn’t find the answer to?

The post Chicken Consultant: Top 3 Most Difficult Questions appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

Chicken Activist Sally Bird—or as she is affectionately known, “One-Eyed Sal”—is a Barred Plymouth Rock and an activist for change within chicken-kind, an outspoken critic of the pecking order as it now stands, and an influential member of her flock.  She granted us an exclusive interview from her coop and run on a lovely spring day in North Carolina.

Here is a transcript of our conversation:

Thanks so much for your time today, Sally.  Do you mind if I call you that?

No problem.  That’s my “given” name anyway, right?  “One-Eyed Sal” is a nickname.  You can call me either.

Thanks.  So before we get started, do you mind telling us the story of how you came to be known as “One-Eyed Sal”?

Sure.  Everybody seems to want to know that story!  The short answer is, when I was a young chick I had a neurological problem that caused me to lose sight in one of my eyes, but fortunately, I was able to overcome that.

One-Eyed Sal, Chicken Activist

We’re so glad you did!  Does that history play a part in your activism today?

Of course—yes—it does.  I think I wouldn’t be as sensitive to the needs of members of the flock that are disabled if I, too, didn’t have my own struggles I deal with every day.  Also, and this is important, if it weren’t for my early chickhood experiences, I wouldn’t be such an advocate for better healthcare for chickens everywhere.

Here’s the thing: when I was struggling as a chick, my flock caregivers didn’t know exactly what to do.  They weren’t trained vets and couldn’t find one to treat me, so they did what they thought was right: they set me away from the rest of the flock.  Isolating a chicken with a communicable disease is usually the best course, but sometimes chickens don’t recover, especially without veterinary treatment. I’m lucky that I survived.

Thankfully, my caregivers were checking on me regularly—they really did want to help if they could—and when they saw that I somehow recovered, only losing my vision in one eye in the process, they put me back in with the rest of my flock. As they say, the rest is history!

So based on your experience, what changes would you like to see in the healthcare system?

Because of my experience and the suffering I’ve seen in my flock, I’ve realized that we need chicken healthcare reform.  First, there just isn’t enough access to good, qualified vet services.  There are vets on every corner for dogs and cats, but in places you can go miles and miles and never find a vet that specializes in Avian Medicine.  This needs to change.

Also, even if my caregivers had found a good vet, they couldn’t have afforded the prices to get me good care.  It’s unfortunate that access to a doctor does not mean true access to healthcare; too many chickens are excluded from good, basic veterinary care because our system drives costs up and drives accessibility down.  I’ve been working hard so that average chickens can get the care they need at an affordable price.

Those are huge, difficult reforms.  Have you seen any progress?

Yes. These reforms are very difficult, and it can be exhausting trying to fix “the system” day after day, but if I help just one chicken, it’s worth it!

And progress HAS been made.  One of the best examples is the accessibility to information for common chicken caregivers.  There is SO MUCH helpful information out there!  For example, your site, MyPetChicken.com, has a “Chicken Help” section with more than 300 articles to help caregivers provide the best care for their chickens.  Of course, the best option for a sick bird is always to go to a veterinarian for professional assistance, but when that isn’t available, resources like these are invaluable!

In fact, and I’m not ashamed to say this, since it happens to many of us hens sometimes, when I was egg bound, my caregivers were able to find helpful advice to care for me, and it worked.  I’ll be forever grateful to them for that!

You have been through a lot!  Yet you’ve remained hopeful.  Other than access to quality, affordable healthcare, what projects are you passionate about now?

Yes, I’ve been through even more than the partial loss of vision.  Maybe later I’ll tell you those stories!

Right now I’m primarily interested in pecking order reform.  I see this as a crucial issue for chicken-kind.  Here’s the thing: because of my disability, I’ve always been near the bottom of the pecking order.  Many of my flockmates see me as a liability to the flock instead of an asset.  Even though I’m smart, resourceful, and kind, they still fear me because I’m “different.”  Thankfully, since I am smart, I’ve been able to dodge trouble most of the time, but I can still feel like an outsider because one of my eyes doesn’t function properly.

Being “plucky” is a characteristic of your breed, the Barred Plymouth Rock,  after all, isn’t it?

“Plucky.”  That’s a funny word.  When someone told me that described me I had to look it up!  It was a new one for me.  It means, “having or showing determined courage in the face of difficulties.”  I like that!  And yes, I guess it does describe me.  But I don’t primarily see myself as a “Barred Plymouth Rock;” I see myself as a member of the overall chicken family.  I want chickens everywhere to know that they don’t have to be defined by their breed, their size, or what others say about them.  Anyone, anywhere, can be “plucky.”  We all face hardships, and we can all show courage and determination in the face of difficulty.  It’s not just for Barred Plymouth Rocks; it’s for everyone!

As you can see, I’m concerned that we separate ourselves by appearance.  Should bantams be picked on just because they are smaller?  They were born that way, and I think we larger breeds shouldn’t discriminate against them for it.  The same is true across all the breeds.  I love to see Barred Rocks getting along with Speckled Sussex, and Silkies enjoying the company of Polish breeds.  All the different colors, all the different feather patterns: I’m not advocating breed “blindness” (something I know about!),  but celebration of all this diversity!  It breaks my heart to see chickens separating themselves by breeds, kinship, looks, when they could be learning from one another!

Vive la difference, I say!

What’s worse is when chickens from different flocks see one another as enemies and want to fight one another.  It’s heartbreaking!

We have to be able to learn to get along with one another.  I know that, genetically speaking, we are “wired” to see those outside our flock as a threat, but though that may have worked to keep us safe in the past when we were so separated, now that we have such access to information through transportation and internet technology, it’s my dream that we can move past our genetic “wiring” to see that all of chicken-dom is one big family, that we are interdependent and need one another, and because of that understanding, have peace among ourselves.

That’s a BIG dream.  How do you think chickens can go about realizing that dream?

Thanks for asking!  There are some basic, fairly simple steps that can be taken to help new flocks integrate with existing flocks.  You have an article on your website that talks about it, I think.   First, as you know, training begins when we are young chicks, and that’s an important age to teach inclusion and acceptance.  The main thing is we have to get to know one another—and that may be a slow process with starts and stops. And some personalities just clash, you know?  But that doesn’t mean we can’t find common ground and work together for the good for our flock.

It’s when we separate ourselves from one another, retreating into our own safe coops and runs and nesting boxes, and refuse to come out and see what another hen’s point of view may be… that’s when we have trouble.  I’m not denying that there are real tensions in our flock, even real bullies, but we have to lower the stress levels, sit beside each other on the roosting polls, eat with one another at the feeders, and drink together at the waterers.  When we do, we find that, though we may be different on the outside, on the inside we all have the same dreams, hopes, and goals.

So are you saying that there should be no pecking order at all?

No, if by “pecking order” you mean “social structure.”  All social societies like flocks of chickens need structure and order.  What I would like to see is “order” without the “pecking”!  Imagine a flock in which leadership is not based on who’s the biggest or the strongest, or – even worse – the biggest bully, but a flock in which leadership is based on who brings the chickens together for common solutions best, who helps all members of the flock have their voices heard, who shares their treats instead of hoarding them.  Leadership should not be based on which bird is the most threatening, but on which one exemplifies concern and care for the flock.

Too often the chicken with the biggest squawk drowns out the voice of the others, and fails to take the next generation of chicks into account when they make decisions.  If our decisions will affect future generations of chickens to come, why don’t we take them into account when we deciding what to do?

Some say you are too idealistic, that you’ll never see these reforms.  What do you say to them?

Yes.  I get that a lot.  Here’s the thing: I’m AM idealistic, but I’m also realistic.  Chickens have been doing things the way they do for thousands of years, and change takes time and patience.  I’m willing to put in the time, to do the hard work, and I’m hoping to inspire future generations of everyday chickens to join in the struggle for peace and flock-mindedness.  I know it won’t happen completely in my lifetime, but I can do my part, and so can you!

Our interview went on to address many other issues including environmental reform, change requests for human caregivers, and her other “survival” stories.  We hope to post the remainder of our interview in an upcoming blog.

The post Chicken Activist One-Eyed Sal: Exclusive Interview appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

If you keep chickens and haven’t yet heard about the FDA’s recent rules and standards changes please take a moment to read them. In this post, we’ll provide some small flock guidelines and reminders to help you understand what this means for your pet chickens.

New rules set in place for increased food safety and security have changed the accessibility  of many medications for your backyard chickens. Previously, you might go to your local farm and feed store to pick up antibiotics, but now, a licensed veterinarian is required to diagnose your chicken/s and prescribe antibiotics for your flock.

My small flock

The changes and rules that make it easier for factory farms, now present challenges to small farms as well as people who keep pet chickens in microflocks. Veterinarians who see poultry are not easy to find in many locations.  Many small flock owners are now realizing they may not have a vet service to go to in case of flock illness. So what to do if your flock becomes sick?

Before we get to the small flock guidelines, keep in mind your flock may never have a need for a vet visit. And there are lots of great ways to be proactive in keeping your flock healthy. My Pet Chicken provides wonderful information—for free—to help keep a healthy flock going strong.

There are also medications available you can get without a licensed vet—be sure to read the directive at the link above. But there are also things you can do to increase biosecurity and improve the healthfulness of your flock’s environment.

Small Flock Guidelines for the new FDA Rules

1. Boost Immune Health:

The first of our small flock guidelines involves providing immune supplements. Do your research, and choose your favorite. I’m a multipurpose girl myself; I don’t like to bog down my flocks’ diet with so many different supplements. My personal favorite supplement for immune health is the RoPa Poultry Oregano Oil Complete. This product goes into your chickens’ waterer on a daily basis. It builds gut flora health and helps reduce the need for antibiotics, among other things.

2. Practice Good Biosecurity:

Simple biosecurity procedures can make a world of difference for you and your flock. We suggest you read our detailed biosecurity guidelines.  But generally speaking, you should try to be aware of the risks of cross contamination. Don’t share equipment and don’t take used equipment from other people. It’s best to buy new items and deep clean them as often as possible. And reduce risks as much as possible. Keep wildlife out of your birds’ area, and don’t let your dear friends with chickens wander through your coop/run area. Bacteria, fungal spores, viruses can all hitch a ride on their clothes or shoes.

At MPC we practice what we preach: I personally have a pair of shoes I use specifically to wear out with the chickens when we’re feeding and cleaning. I don’t wear the chicken shoes to my friends’ homes. And I use an aviary netting around my chicken fencing to keep out wild birds. Since we do a lot to keep the large predators away, it makes sense to do our best to keep the disease and pathogen carriers out of the coop and run areas as well.

3. Create a List of Emergency Contacts NOW:

It’s a good time to identify the nearest vet that will see chickens—before you need one. Get that phone number on file.

If your search for a vet has turned up empty, we suggest reaching out to your local county extension office to ask their advice. They have many good contacts in their system to share with you. They may even have classes, or provide local warnings and advisories as to agricultural concerns in your area. You can also consider reaching out to any agricultural or veterinary school in your area to see if they have resources available.

Of course it doesn’t hurt to have a good reference book or two for your library. The My Pet Chicken Handbook is great to have on hand because in addition to care, tips, recipes and so on, it has a section explaining how to make the determination if something you’re seeing warrants a vet visit. For information about symptoms and overviews of specific illnesses, you can visit the Health category of the Help Topics section of our website.  The Chicken Health Handbook is also a valuable reference on this subject.

My Pet Chicken wishes you and your flock the best health possible and a happy 2017!

The post Small flock guidelines for FDA’s new rules appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.