You might have been surprised to discover that birds are actually descendants of dinosaurs. They have evolved for millions of years from the earliest dinosaur species and have survived because of their ability to fly and search for food all over the world. Does this also include chickens? Are Chickens Dinosaurs? Chickens are not dinosaurs….
![Black Chickens With Feathers On Feet [4 Breeds]](https://homesteadcrowd.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/black-cochin-chicken-768x531.jpg)
Black chickens with feathers on their feet are known for their striking black plumage and the interesting feathers that they have on their feet. These hens are also well-known for their hardiness, broodiness, and their ability to lay eggs. Popular Breeds Of Black Chickens With Feathers On Their Feet Numerous breeds of chickens exhibit these…
If you have backyard chickens and let them free-roam, you might find that they come onto your porch. This can be a problem for a number of reasons. If your porch is made of wood, the chickens may scratch and peck at the wood, and this could damage it. They will also leave droppings, which…
Cleaning a chicken coop is not that difficult if you stick to a regular schedule and understand the importance of keeping the coop nice and clean for the benefit of your chickens and their egg production. Here are some instructions on how to clean a chicken coop. Set Up A Cleaning Schedule To make your…
Keeping your chicken coop nice and clean is of paramount importance because it means your chickens will be healthy and happy. A clean coop is also less likely to attract rodents and other pests and diseases. So, how often should you clean a chicken coop? How Often To Clean A Chicken Coop? While there is…
When deciding which treats to feed your chickens aside from the pellets that you give them, you might be wondering whether chickens can eat apples. Can Chickens Eat Apples? The good news is that chickens can eat apples, and these are actually quite nutritious for them as long as you don’t feed them too many….
When you have an oversupply of certain fruits and vegetables, you might be searching for which of these are safe for your chickens to eat. During your search, you might ask whether chickens can eat beans. Can Chickens Eat Beans? It’s perfectly safe to feed beans to your chickens as long as they’re cooked. However,…
You might be looking at your fruit bowl and notice that one of the bananas has just ripened beyond the point you prefer to eat it. Rather than mashing it up to make banana bread, could you feed it to your chickens? Can Chickens Eat Bananas? Chickens can definitely eat bananas, and what’s more, you’ll…
People who raise backyard chickens are always looking for nutritious treats to give their chickens as a supplement to their regular diet. Have you wondered if chickens can eat watermelon? Is It Safe For Chickens To Eat Watermelons? Watermelon is perfectly fine to feed to your chickens. In fact, you might find that they actually…
If you plan to raise your own chickens, you’re going to need a chicken brooder. This is because newly hatched chicks are not able to control their body temperature within the first few weeks of their life and need to be kept warm. What Is A Chicken Brooder? A chicken brooder is a device or…
Are rats getting into your chicken coop? If the answer is yes, you really need to address this issue because rats can pose a danger to your chickens and their overall health and the health of the coop as a whole. Plus, rats can also pose a risk to any humans that are constantly entering…
If you’re planning to get some backyard chickens so that they can provide you with lovely fresh eggs on a daily basis, you’ll need to first set up your chicken coop and then decide whether you’re going to let them roam around your garden during the day or whether you also need to build a…
Whether you have chickens for laying eggs or meat production, it’s important to keep an eye on their weight. Knowing how much each breed of chicken should weigh helps you to estimate how much feed it’s going to need and also spot any possible illnesses or diseases within your flock. Of course, the average weight…
When it comes time to raise some backyard chickens for the first time or to add to your flock, you may come across the term “straight run chickens” as you’re perusing some chicks for sale. Straight run chickens are chicks that have not yet been sexed to determine whether they’re male or female. This means…
If you’re building your first chicken coop, you’ll want to know everything that you should put inside the coop to keep your chickens happy and healthy. It’s essential that your coop contains all the necessary items so that your hens will be content and continue laying eggs for you. Essential items inside the coop include…
With the rising cost of living right around the globe, many people are turning to produce more of their own food at home in any way that they can. This often includes a backyard veggie patch, perhaps some fruit trees, a potted herb garden, and even investing in some backyard chickens. After all, eggs are…
If you’re new to raising chickens, you’re going to have a few questions about their behavior, how to care for them, and what you should feed them. One of those questions might include when you should expect them to start laying eggs. Generally, chickens will come into lay at around 6 months of age. However,…
If you’re considering raising backyard chickens so that you can enjoy the scrumptious eggs that they’re going to lay for you, you’ll want to invest in a decent chicken coop. This will keep your hens safe and give them a beautiful home where they feel comfortable and happy. So, what are the secrets to a…
A pulled pork butt has to be cooked over a low fire or on a slow grill for a considerable length of time in order for the meat to become tender enough so that it can be pulled apart with a pair of forks. But because you can’t see inside the butt to see whether…
Bugs come to your home for all sorts of reasons. You may have accidentally spilled some sugar. Perhaps your blood is too enticing, and a mosquito can’t help but pay you a visit for a little drink. Either way, they’re unwelcome guests in your home. While bug spray or insecticides may be an effective solution,…
Black Krim and Cherokee Purple are both different varieties of tomatoes. They are both quite dark-colored, large, and very tasty. While there are a number of similarities between the two varieties, there are also some notable differences that we’re going to discuss. The most common differences between these two tomato varieties are their appearance and…
There are numerous varieties of ghost peppers that you can grow. In general, the difference between the varieties is their color. There are red, orange, brown, dark green, white, yellow, or even peach-colored varieties. If you grow any one of these, you might be wondering when they are ready to be picked. Ghost peppers are…
If you have the space for a coop outside, then raising some chickens could be a great idea for your family. But you might be wondering how many chickens you need. Here is a handy table that shows how many chickens the size of your family should have. Family size Number of chickens Eggs per…
Farmers are not considered rich in a financial sense. Although both median farm operators’ household income ($83,111 in 2019 in the U.S.) and average farm household net worth ($1,042,855 in 2019 in the U.S.) were higher than those of the general population, farmers are not considered rich by most people standards. Being rich or wealthy is,…
Many people successfully raise chickens and turkeys together. And it is certainly possible to do so. However, it may come with some challenges. It is best to mount different sizes of roosting bars in the coop when raising chickens and turkeys together. Turkeys raised for meat require different feed than laying hens. It is recommended…
One of the first questions people interested in having a homestead ask is: How Big A Homestead I need? Most homesteaders aiming for self-reliance and a high degree of self-sufficiency will usually find that a homestead of 2-10 acres is large enough to meet all or most of their needs. Five acres should be typically…
Many people dream of one day having their homestead, where they can live as sustainably and self-reliantly as possible. But for many, the dream feels out of reach – often for economic reasons. If you are one of those people, you might be wondering how people afford to homestead. Many people afford homesteading by initially…
Deciding to raise ducks could be the best thing you ever do on your homestead. But raising ducks successfully means starting outright. In this guide, we’ll talk about everything you need to keep your ducks safe, happy, and well. If you want to raise ducks, you will need some accommodation for them. Whichever ducks you…
Keeping ducks can be a fun, relatively easy, straightforward, and rewarding experience. But if you are new to the world of duck keeping or considering keeping them for the first time, you might be wondering what to feed ducks and what to avoid. You can feed ducks with duck feed you can buy in shops….
Adding animals to your homestead can be a great way to increase your self-reliance and resilience. Keeping different kinds of livestock can be a fun and interesting thing to do. More than this, it can provide you with a range of useful yields. But choosing which animals to raise is not always easy. One important…
If you are thinking about effective ways to insulate a chicken coop, the chances are that you find yourself in one of two potential situations. Either you will be thinking about the design for your coop before building one from scratch. Or you will be thinking about ways to insulate a chicken coop you already…
If you are making your own chicken coop, you may wonder what floor to use. The best and worst floors for chicken coops very much depend on where you live and the conditions to be found there. The best chicken coop floors are either no floor at all or wood boards protected with a rubber…
If you are trying to establish a new homestead or farm, you might be wondering how many chickens per acre, you can plan on having. It is recommended sticking to around 50 chickens per acre, with a maximum of around 100 for free-range, ethically kept birds. In very specific situations, you can keep around 400-500…
Chickens should use a roosting bar in a coop at night. Unfortunately, as experienced chicken keepers know, they do not always roost where they should. To get chickens to use the roosting bar, first, you might just have to wait or place them where you want them. If this doesn’t work, you can try to…
Nesting boxes are the spaces chickens will use to lay their eggs. Getting it right when it comes to the locations, number, size, and materials of nesting boxes is crucial for domestic flocks. From my own experiences, I know that chickens seem to take any excuse to lay in the most inconvenient places possible! But…
Learning how to raise rabbits on your homestead can bring many benefits. One key reason why they can be such a useful type of small livestock to the rear is that they also provide a bountiful source of manure – free fertilizer for your garden. To raise rabbits for manure, you must choose the right…
One question people who are new to keeping chickens might ask is: Can chickens stay in the coop all day? Chickens can stay in the coop all day only from time to time. It is not recommended to keep the chickens in the coop all day, all the time. When you leave the chickens locked…
Should you insulate a chicken coop? (And if so, when, why, and how should you do so?) To answer this question, we need to delve a little deeper into what chickens need, the conditions where you live, and the materials you use to build a coop in the first place. Generally speaking, you should create…
An acre is a unit used for measuring area. It equates to around 43,560 square feet or 4046.86 square meters. But how can we turn those abstract numbers into something we can understand? How Big is an Acre visually: Approximately the size of 1 American football field (without the end zone and the last 10…
Many of us want a homestead, where we can begin to take back some control over our own lives and live more sustainably, in closer harmony with the natural world. One of the most common questions people ask when contemplating a change to this way of life is how much land they need. Are 5…
