Bird Flu and Backyard Chickens: How to Protect Your Flock in 2026
Bird flu is hitting backyard flocks in 2026’s largest-ever outbreak. The biosecurity routine that keeps your chickens safe this spring, step by step.
Poultry
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Predator-Proofing Your Chicken Coop: A May Pre-Summer Checklist
12 things to check on your coop before peak summer predator season — hardware cloth specs, latch types, what fails first, and the fixes that hold.
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Bird Flu in Backyard Flocks: A 48-Hour Biosecurity Checklist for Spring 2026
HPAI is hitting backyard flocks in Georgia, Iowa, and Kentucky this April. Here’s the 48-hour biosecurity checklist that closes the gaps before the virus finds your coop.
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Broody Chicken Hens
As a longtime poultry farmer, I’ve seen quite a few surprises, but this one caught me off guard. I have this determined hen who was so set on hatching eggs, she just couldn’t let go
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Shell-Abrate Diversity: Cracking the Colorful World of Egg Variety!
Going to the store and buying eggs is so passé, backyard micro farms is where it’s at. Those living out in the country have always known the benefits of raising your own brood for the freshest of eggs. Due to current economic circumstances the practice of micro farming is gaining momentum, even among people that…
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How To Introduce a New Generation to an Established Chicken Flock
Raise your hand if you’ve ever been tempted to turn your backyard into a clucking chicken party! It’s not as feathery (err…I mean crazy) as it sounds. We’ve been at it for over a year now, and let me tell you, our 17 hens are egg-cracking good at their jobs. We’re swimming in the freshest…
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How To Be a Chick Magnet
by James the “XDMAN” Nicholas, Mr UnPewFessional Himself Chickens seem to be all the rage right now. With everything that is going on in the world, even basic commodities like eggs are skyrocketing in price. The result is you have everything from companies renting egg-laying birds for the summer, to hordes of people interested in…
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Homegrown Eggs: Are They Safe?
Amidst the nationwide egg “crisis,” I’ve begun to notice two distinct trends among folks. The first, and the more heartening, are those who are (albeit belatedly) using the situation as an excuse to jump into poultry ownership, so they are better prepared for whatever comes next. The other, more worryingly, are those who seem to…
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How to Clean a Gizzard
Plenty of people eat ducks and chickens, but many are unaware they are throwing out some of the best bits with the entrails. Hearts, livers and even gizzards can make excellent eating, though that last one will take some serious prep work. Read on for how to clean a gizzard for use in gravy, or…
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How to Raise Chickens on a Budget
A common misconception about raising chickens is that it costs a lot of money. While you can surely buy a luxurious coop and high-end chicken feed, the chickens can still be productive and happy no matter how much you spend. Chickens are successfully raised in some of the poorest countries on Earth, so you can…
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First Case of Wild Avian Flu in Utah Confirmed
While highly pathogenic avian influenza was confirmed in domestic birds in Utah last month, the first case of the virus in a wild bird was recently confirmed after a dead great-horned owl tested positive. High pathogenic avian influenza viruses are very contagious among birds, and can cause rapid and high mortality in domestic birds, such as…
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Poultry Care: Sometimes You Gotta Change its Diaper
Yes, really. Only it’s called a “clearing a clogged vent.” One of the most frequent health problems of baby chicks is a clogged vent. The vent is the single hole in the rear of a chicken responsible for waste and laying eggs in adulthood. As a chick, sometimes their feces gets stuck in their baby…
