Raising Icelandic chickens. When the burly Vikings settled in Iceland more than a-thousand years ago, one of their prized possessions was a chicken with reliable mothering skills and capable of feeding itself.
Icelandic chickens nearly became extinct by the 1950s. Those that exist today are descended from a very small group of fowl saved in the 1970s. David Grote raises Icelandic chickens in Wisconsin. He says they’re the perfect poultry for a backyard flock because they’ll do well in a variety of management styles. Chooks.
More Great News About Free-Range Eggs - Natural Health. The results are coming in from MOTHER EARTH NEWS' latest round of pastured egg nutrient tests.
Once again, pastured egg producers are kicking the commercial industry’s butt — yippee, go free range eggs! Our previous tests found that eggs from hens raised on pasture — as compared to the official USDA data for factory-farm eggs — contain: 1/3 less cholesterol 1/4 less saturated fat 2/3 more vitamin A Two times more omega-3 fatty acids Three times more vitamin E Seven times more beta carotene Now we’re looking at vitamin D, of which many people don’t get enough. New research is showing that this common vitamin deficiency may be related to much more than just weak bones — from diabetes and cancer to heart disease and multiple sclerosis.
Our bodies can get vitamin D in two ways: when sunlight strikes our skin, or from our diet. You can keep track of our ongoing pastured egg research at our Chicken and Egg Page. Winter with Chickens: To Heat or Not Heat the Coop. Chicken owners that live in cold climates often have to make some decisions when it comes to colder fall and winter weather.
One such dilemma is whether or not to heat your coop. We live on Cape Cod, where we have windy winters and temperatures that occasionally dip below zero. The Cape is a man-made island surrounded entirely by the ocean. The ocean greatly affects our weather and causes us to experience small temperature fluctuations between day and night.
The method by which the egg obtains its color is nothing short of amazing.
They are literally spray-painted during the last segment of the hen's oviduct by a spongypigment secreting gland. The length of time that the egg takes to make this passage is one part of what determines the depth and quantity of this pigment. I know of no other chicken with this ability. It was often theorized that this feature was naturally selected because of the environment present during their development. Marans is located in a very wet and marshy area of France.
The BCMs are a real challenge through and through. Being naturally romantic people, French gourmands have maintained that the Marans' egg is the very best. Another unusual trait of the Maran's egg is its ovate shape. Study of Chicken Psychology. Poultry Research, Commercial & Scientific Poultry Information. Study of Chicken Psychology. Chickens Loosing Feathers? Managing Your Flock's Molt.
Chickens Loosing Feathers?
Managing Your Flock's Molt Picture by key west chick. Do You See What I See? 12 Fascinating Facts about Chicken Eyesight. Breeder Directory - Pacific Northwest Poultry Association. Oregon Poultry Swap: Other Oregon and Pacific Northwest Events. Henderson's Chicken Breed Chart. Poultry and Chick Breeds Eggs for Sale Hatchery. How to Care For Your Chickens Through the Winter.
IDEAL POULTRY - Chickens, Ducks, Geese, Guineas, Bantams, Chicks, Turkeys, Poultry, Birds, Fowl. Peafowl for Sale, Pea Chicks for Sale, Peacocks for Sale. Murray McMurray Hatchery. Poultry and Chick Breeds Eggs for Sale Hatchery. Default. The Poultry Page. An on-line zoological garden of domestic poultry, including photos, video and information about various breeds of fowl, such as chickens, ducks, geese, guinea fowl, peafowl, pigeons, and turkeys.
Various wildfowl are also included. And by my counter, you're visitor number since January 31, 1999! There were 108,350 visitors between 31 Jan. 1998 and 31 Jan. 1999 and 92,850 visitors in the two previous years (from 31 Jan. 1996 to 31 Jan. 1998). The Poultry Pages were last updated on 18 November 2013 The Poultry Page is brought to you, in large part, by me, with the generous support of Table of Contents below! If you know what you're looking for, you can search for it here. Table of Contents below Meet the Breeds An oddly annotated tour of poultry varieties follows. The Poultry Page. An on-line zoological garden of domestic poultry, including photos, video and information about various breeds of fowl, such as chickens, ducks, geese, guinea fowl, peafowl, pigeons, and turkeys.
Various wildfowl are also included. And by my counter, you're visitor number since January 31, 1999! There were 108,350 visitors between 31 Jan. 1998 and 31 Jan. 1999 and 92,850 visitors in the two previous years (from 31 Jan. 1996 to 31 Jan. 1998). The Poultry Pages were last updated on 18 November 2013. Chicken Scratch Poultry - Stop in and check out the Blog. September 11 - September 18 you can get your name in for the free Nite Guard Solar giveaway. It's flock protection, your chickens will thank you. You can find the blog button at the top of each. Henderson's Chicken Breed Chart. Keeping Roosters Quiet. Several times each month I receive letters, emails and phone calls from concerned chicken owners asking how they can keep their roosters quiet.
More times than not, they are keeping chickens in urban areas. Many cities around the country ban roosters to prevent nuisance complaints from their citizens, even though there are several ways to keep roosters in urban areas quietly and responsibly. I had kept backyard chickens for two years before my neighborhood homeowner’s association even found out. Why? Meyer Hatchery. Homemade Incubator #1. We'll try to get some photos up here soon.
John's got to take them first, though! I recently made a homemade incubator by doing the following: I had an old gas grill that I stripped down to its square-tubular steel frame. It is 24" deep and 24" wide. I cut squares from a piece of 1/2" chipboard and put sheet metal screws through the wood into the frame, making a box. My wife had a 250-watt fishtank heater that was cracked, so I tore it apart and wired the bi-metal strip thermostat directly into the electric cord for the strip lights. I use three steel oven/kitchen thermometers inside. I ran the thing for two days to get the temperature range right... the fan blows air around inside the incubator and evaporates about two quarts of water each day.
This setup has not failed at all, and the thermostat keeps the temperature exactly in that see-saw pattern from 95 to 105, an average of 100 degrees. P.S. Back to Poultry Page. Dark Brown Egg Layer Chicken Breeds. Dark Brown Egg Layer Chicken Breeds. Chickens for Sale - Egg Laying Chicken Breeds - Laying Hens. Chickens. Rare Chicken Breed Eggs Hatchery. A Classy A-Frame Tractor. Hi!
And welcome to my chicken tractor page. I hope you'll find some interesting ideas and inspiration from my design. I have a couple of innovations that I haven't seen in other designs like a simple "raccoon proof" latch design, adjustable ridge-vent ventilation system, both ends fold down to accept removable nest boxes, and make it easy to clean. Finally, a nice beefy front handle bar that makes moving it around easier, since there's room for three people! This is a big tractor that requires either one big strong guy or two people to move easily. Murray McMurray Hatchery.