Hen or rooster?

Ah, the preverbal question faced when hatching your own eggs or buying straight run chicks—or think they bought SR chicks. Hearing a rooster crow when you bought sexed chicks? You’re not alone. I wrote a 7-step guide making it easy and fast to tell the sex of juvenile and adult chickens without turning their genitalia inside out‚ because yikes. Seriously, don’t do that.

Preparing for winter

The further north you live the more prep you have ahead in the fall season. Now is the time to pair down that big flock—which can mean making some hard choices. Once you have made your final choices you may want to band them for your breeding records—or just so you can remember who-is-who by a quick glance.

Getting more eggs in winter

Everyone slacks a little in winter. Chickens are no exception. Are you seeing less eggs as the evening draws ever shorter this fall? There are ways to up your production—but remember they ease back on laying for a reason, so ensure you are taking their biology into account.