The Classroom

If you are thinking about buying your first chicks, then you are getting ready to embark on a wonderful adventure filled with lots of learning and many fresh eggs! We are going to assume that you are starting from scratch. Here are a few of the basics that you will need to own before your…

A straight run of chicks will be approximately 50% male (cockerels) and 50% female (pullets). If you had the ability to test a chick’s chromosomes you would be able to know the gender for sure. Since that’s not the case, you will likely have to rely on a little “art” and a little “science” to…

The little known fact among newbies is that you do not need a rooster in order for hens to lay eggs. It’s worth repeating… hens lay eggs just fine without having a rooster! We often get questions about roosters. The common fear for first-timers seems to be waking up to the lovely sound of a…

The primary reason our customers purchase organic chicken feed is because they look forward to having their hens produce organic eggs for their families. Hens that eat organic feed produce organic eggs. And, organic eggs are believed to be healthier because they are free of chemicals, pesticides and other non-natural goodies. Think about the following…

You may have heard the term “chicken scratch” well before you considered raising your own chickens. The term goes way back, as they say, and it’s for this reason that is has made it into our common vernacular. The reason it is called scratch is that chickens love it so much they frantically scratch the…

Baby chicks, like human babies, need special feeders designed for their small bodies. It is important to use specially designed baby chick feeders to ensure proper nutrition and sanitation. DIY Chicken Coops offers several types of chick feeders, but all are designed to: Reduce contamination from fecal matter Allow easy cleaning and sanitation Limit spills…

Cockerels and Pullets that are raised for butchering require specific food for meat birds to keep them healthy and ensure they grow quickly. Their diet is different from chickens raised for laying eggs, and their diet changes as they transition from a chick into a pullet or cockerel. Feeding Meat BirdsIf you are raising meat…

Perhaps it goes without saying that you will need to food for chicks, but what may not be immediately obvious is that you will not be able to use the same feeders or feed as you do for mature chickens. Just like human babies, baby chickens need specially formulated food and feeders designed for their…

Hens that are responsible for laying eggs require a specific diet to keep them healthy. Food for egg layers is different from chickens raised for meat, and their diet changes as they get older. Feed Type by Weeks of AgeIf you are raising hens to lay eggs, you will want to feed them: 0 to…

Baby chicks, like human babies, need special feeders designed for their small bodies. It is important to use specially designed baby chick feeders to ensure proper nutrition and sanitation. DIY Chicken Coops offers several types of chick feeders, but all are designed to: Reduce contamination from fecal matter Allow easy cleaning and sanitation Limit spills…

Another brooding solution that works well for large numbers of chicks is an area brooder. Area brooders combine a pen to contain chicks with a hanging heat source to keep them warm. The larger the pen and heat source, the more chicks your area brooder can take care of. Area brooders have the following features:…

Box brooders are a commercial version of home brooders. The primary benefit of a box brooder is that it can be re-used many times whereas a home brooder needs to be constructed from scratch with each new arrival of chicks. When stacked, box brooders are called battery brooders and have capacity to brood many chicks…

If you are not interested in having large eggs, and you are not interested in butchering for commercial meat, and you are primarily looking for a pet, a Bantam breed may be your best bet. Bantam breeds are miniature chickens, and they are a lot of fun to raise as pets. They typically don’t get…

Many people are interested in having fresh eggs in the morning, and are perfectly fine visiting their local grocery store or butcher when they need chicken for dinner. If you fall into this camp, then one or more of the egg layer breeds may be what you are looking for. If you are looking for…

If you are interested in keeping birds to exhibit at shows or simply to add a little flare to your backyard, you probably want an ornamental breed. Keep in mind though, that ornamental birds produce few eggs and most are inefficient meat producers, so it really is all about their looks. Ornamental breeds are commonly…

If you plan to freeze or eat your chicken whole, then you can skip this step. In this step, we cover quartering a chicken and other various ways to cut up your chicken into common pieces of meat. Think about the ways you plan to eat your chicken before starting to cut it up. Also,…

After the chickens are cooled, you will want to take the proper steps in aging chicken meat properly before proceeding. Make sure to age your chickens before cooking them, before quartering them and before freezing them. The reason for aging, just like in beef, is to allow the muscle tissue to relax and tenderize before…

Cockerels and Pullets that are raised for butchering require specific food for meat birds to keep them healthy and ensure they grow quickly. Their diet is different from chickens raised for laying eggs, and their diet changes as they transition from a chick into a pullet or cockerel. Feeding Meat BirdsIf you are raising meat…

It’s called the knotty pine chicken coop and we’ve spent a good amount of time designing a chicken coop that holds just a few chickens and is an easy addition to your back yard. The knotty pine coop is made in the USA. It is a flat-pack design and will come to your door via…

If you are thinking about building your own coop, there are a few things you will need to buy. Obviously every coop project is different from the next, but there are some basics that you should think about as you do your planning and budgeting. Since this is a DIY venture, there are tools that…

A home brooder is the least expensive way to take care of a few chicks. To build a home brooder: Take a cardboard box and cut off the top so that it has four sides and a bottom Line the box with chick litter, or even paper towels Put a chick feeder inside the box…

Mareks Disease is a viral, highly contagious disease that can occur in poultry. There is no treatment for infected chickens and they, unfortunately, must be destroyed. At risk: Primarily affects chicks Mareks Disease Symptoms: External and/or internal tumors Paralysis Iris (in eye) turns a grey color and stops reacting to light Cause: Inhalation of skin…

Before we touch on helping sick chickens, it seems appropriate to cover the best ways for you prevent illness to keep your flock from getting sick in the first place. Backyard flocks are typically healthier and less prone to disease than commercial operations. To keep your flock as healthy as possible, follow these basic guidelines:…

Bronchitis is an airborne coronavirus caught from proximity or contact with other infected animals which can be contracted by chickens of any age. At risk: Chickens of any age Symptoms: Sneezing Coughing Watery discharge from nose Slow down or stop in laying Cause: Airborne virus caught from proximity or contact with other infected animals Treatment:…