Bringing Home Turkey Poults I ordered 8 Broad Breasted turkey poults this spring and went to pick them up from the farmer in Wisconsin this week. Although I only ordered 8, I came home with 10. Chicken people, you all know how this happens. Am I right?! For more information,…
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My Chicks from Sunnyside Hatchery Arrived!
I’m Back in the Chicken ‘Business!’ My homestead really doesn’t seem much like a homestead without some chickens. So I placed an order for 25 chicks from Sunnyside Hatchery in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin and waited impatiently. I’ll be honest with you, going almost 9 months without chickens was kind of…
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How to Set Up Your Brooder Box for Day Old Chicks
Set Up A Brooder Box For Chicks Setting up a brooder box is the first step in providing a safe and healthy home for your day-old poultry. Chicks, ducklings, goslings, and turkey poults require the same basic setup for their first few days, although ducklings and goslings are larger and need…
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Egg Recall & Egg Safety Tips
Egg Recall 2018 & Egg Safety Tips Have you been affected by the latest egg recall? Are you concerned about the safety of your food? I am! Food safety is something I think about a lot. Since a lot of our food comes from my garden or barn, I’m very aware…
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Your List of Heritage Turkey Breeds For the Homestead
Want to raise heritage turkeys on your homestead? Here's a great list of the best breeds and their qualities.
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Broad Breasted vs Heritage…What’s The Best Turkey For Your Homestead?
Want to raise turkeys, but you're not sure if you should try Broad Breasted varieties or heritage breeds? Here's help!
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How to Sell Your Farm Fresh Eggs
Learn how to sell your farm fresh eggs! Follow regulations for your area.
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The Ultimate Homemade Chicken Coop Guide
The Ultimate Homemade Chicken Coop Guide Guest Post by Claire, creator of The Happy Chicken Coop Spring is nearly here and for us, chicken enthusiasts, that means one thing; new baby chicks! Build Your Own Chicken Coop! Whether you are a new chicken keeper or have kept them for years,…
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Too Many Duck Eggs!
Too Many Duck Eggs! It’s either feast or famine around here. Until recently I had NO duck eggs. However my four young duck hens are in full production now and I’m getting a lovely egg from each of them, every day now. I hatched two Pekin ducklings at the…
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Hatching Heritage Turkey Poults
You might also like my posts How to Hatch Chicken Eggs in an Incubator and Top 5 Reasons for a Poor Hatch Rate. Hatching Baby Turkeys My heritage turkey hens have provided me with quite a few eggs over the last month or so. I put some eggs in the incubator in…
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A Gang of Wild Turkeys
A ‘Gang’ of Wild Turkeys Maybe 3 doesn’t really consitute a gang. We have a lot of wild turkeys in the area, and I often hear them calling to my little flock. The turkey hens have shown great interest in the calls, especially since they didn’t have a tom.…
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Scruffy Chicks, Sprouting Seeds, & Turkey Troubles
Scruffy Chicks Our 23 mixed breed chicks hatched 3 weeks ago and they’re at that in-between stage…past being cute fluffballs but their feathers aren’t completely grown in. So they look pretty scruffy and comical now. They’ve been happily exploring their brooder room, along with our 6 ducklings. I’m keeping my fingers…
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My Redneck Brooder Box
My Redneck Brooder Box It feels a lot like spring on my homestead today. The sun is shining, temps in the 50s, and a whole bunch of chicks are peeping in the incubator in my dining room. Two incubators are humming away on my Grandma’s buffet. One has ducklings due…
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The Best Way to Cook Stewing Hens
What’s The Best Way To Prepare Stewing Hens? Old stewing hens are pretty tough birds. I have found that the following methods are the best ways to prepare them: pressure cooking pressure canning in broth boning and grinding the meat (raw or cooked) These methods work very well for making old chickens…
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Why Do Chickens Molt?
Why Do Chickens Molt & What Can I Do About It? Chickens molt to replace their worn out feathers with new ones. Old feathers don’t insulate and protect a bird from cold, wet weather as well as a set of glossy new ones. All birds go through this process, just as other…
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How Many Eggs do Chickens Lay and other Common Chicken Questions
Common Chicken Questions People from all over the world contact me with comments and questions about homesteading. Chicken questions top the list! Here are some of the common questions I am asked about raising chickens…I hope that this post will answer some of your questions too! How Many Eggs do…