by Holly Callahan-Kasmala and Chrisie DiCarlo | Feb 28, 2025 | Backyard Chickens, Chicken Breeds, Coffee with the Chicken Ladies, Featured, Guest Articles, Heritage Breeds
The quirky and beautiful Houdan is the kind of bird that the Chicken Ladies love. From their exuberant crest to their striking mottled feathers, you don’t have to be Cruella DeVil to appreciate how gorgeous these black and white chickens are. And their personalities?...
by McMurray Staff | Feb 16, 2025 | Backyard Chickens, Chicken Breeds, Chickens, Featured, Gail Damerow, Guest Articles
The terms “autosex chickens” and “sex link chickens” are often used mistakenly used interchangeably. Continuing our interview series with Gail Damerow, poultry expert and best-selling author, we ask her to explain the difference between autosex...
by McMurray Staff | Jan 1, 2025 | Backyard Ducks, Duck Breeds, Ducklings, Ducks, Featured, Guest Articles, Missy Irish
My love of ducks started with my stomach. As a young girl, I vividly remember my dad, grandpa, and uncles coming home with colorful mallards hanging upside down in their hands. We’d fry up the hearts and livers in butter right away, and a few days later, we’d enjoy a...
by McMurray Staff | Dec 7, 2024 | Backyard Chickens, Chickens, Gail Damerow, Guest Articles, Poultry Health
Chickens always find a way to take a dust bath, whether indoors in the coop bedding or outdoors in dry soil. Even baby chicks instinctively dust bathe in the brooder. Here, we continue our interview series with Gail Damerow, poultry expert and best-selling author, we...
by McMurray Staff | Sep 27, 2024 | Gail Damerow, Guest Articles, Homesteading, Meat Birds
Cornish-cross meat chickens eat almost constantly and they grow fast, resulting in unique nutritional requirements. Continuing our interview series with Gail Damerow, poultry expert and best-selling author, we ask her to offer tips for meeting the nutritional needs of...
by Ann Accetta-Scott | Sep 9, 2024 | Ann Accetta-Scott, Book Reviews, Building Your Flock, Chicken Breeds, Chickens, Featured
Raising poultry, whether a backyard flock or free-range birds on a homestead or farm, does come with the fact that the flock will need to be freshened at some point. Of course, when new hens are brought on is determined based on your needs. As a small family farm that...
