I’ve never been a Black Friday shopper. It’s just too stressful to me, and there’s nothing I want or need badly enough to stand in line for hours or get up at 4:00 in the morning to go get. I am, however, a big believer in Small Business Saturday. I’m not much of a shopper, […]
It’s that time of year when chicken owners of older flocks are telling sad stories about how they aren’t getting any eggs because their hens are molting. I am one of those people. Most of my girls are going on four years old, are molting like crazy—and not laying eggs. We have 27 hens, 20 […]
I think it’s pretty much common knowledge that a lot of people like chickens. In fact, I would argue that we’re right smack dab in the middle of a veritable chicken renaissance these days. Well, it turns out that rich people really like chickens too. And, as you would expect, rich people have so much […]
Let’s face it. It’s hot here in Maine right now, and in addition to feeling sorry for myself that we do not have air conditioning, I have been worried about my backyard chickens keeping cool. The heat is hard on chickens as well, and I’m convinced that my girls are trying to tell me “This […]
Do your friends send you links to anything and everything chicken they see on Facebook? Do they tease you about your chickens? Do your friends laugh when you mention things like house chickens, chicken swings, and homemade chicken treats? Do you ever try to sneak chickens into the coop, hoping your husband or significant other […]
If you keep chickens in Maine, or really anywhere in the United States, chances are, you’ve heard of Fresh Eggs Daily and Lisa Steele. Lisa Steele publishes books, speaks at the national level, and even has her own television program. I first discovered Lisa’s chicken advice when I was searching the web several years ago […]
Do you remember when all the nutritionists said that butter was bad for us and that the whipped margarine stuff was so much better? Well, I do. I ate that whipped crap for my entire childhood, only to learn as an adult that the nutritionists were wrong. “Oops,” they said. And this was neither the […]
It’s the season of baby chicks. Chicken people are planning their flocks for the coming year, and people who are considering chickens are seeing baby chicks showing up in the stores. I did my very best research before we became chicken owners. I had wanted chickens for years, so I had plenty of time to […]
I’m convinced one of the best decisions we ever made for our family was getting chickens and starting this whole homesteading thing. Our hens provide us with breakfast every morning and constant entertainment, but they also provide us with a sad back yard.
Like many others, my husband and I are homesteaders who are learning to be more self-sufficient, but, because we have a lot to learn yet, we need money coming in from outside sources. This means we must find a balance between our homesteading work and work outside the home.
