chicken keeping Archives

Nicole runs Heritage Acres farm and has an online store.

Podcast: Bees and Hens with Nicole Gennetta

Nicole Gennetta runs Heritage Acres, a 2-acre hobby farm in Pueblo West, Colorado. She and her husband tend poultry, bees, a garden and orchard. She's also a medically retired paramedic and firefighter who teaches CPR and community college classes. We're excited to have her as our guest this week. Nicole Gennetta runs Heritage Acres farm and has an online store. We chat about beekeeping, tending the various breeds of poultry on the farm, and how beekeeping can be therapeutic. Nicole…

Post author:Christy
Post published:September 19, 2019
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:2 Comments

Mildred has decided she wants to raise chicks. Alas, there is no rooster around.

Chicken Troubles 2019

When people visit Gardenerd HQ, they often faun over our five hens. These ladies are beautiful, adorable, and productive...most of the time. It's around this time of year that chicken keeping becomes more challenging. And for those who want chickens, we think it's important to know what you're getting yourselves into. At present, two of our five ladies are causing trouble. Mildred, our Cockoo Maran, has gone broody. Mildred has decided she wants to raise chicks. Alas, there is no…

Post author:Christy
Post published:June 5, 2019
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:5 Comments

Ceebs Bailey Tip of the Week Podcastchickens

Ceebs Bailey knows her hens. Here she holds our hen Sylvia.

Podcast: Chicken Keeping with Ceebs Bailey

This week's Gardenerd Tip of the Week Podcast features a chat with Ceebs Bailey, who keeps 17 chickens in the middle of the city. Ceebs helps run Honeylove.org and is our beekeeping mentor, but today, we're talking about chicken keeping. She shares her favorite tricks for integrating new chickens, introducing chickens to dogs, and feeding tips for healthy hens. Chicken Keeping with Ceebs Bailey Listen here for our interview with Ceebs. You'll laugh, you'll learn, you'll want chickens: Chicken Keeping…

Post author:Christy
Post published:August 2, 2018
Post category:Blog Podcast What's Growin' On
Post comments:3 Comments

Diving into the forage mix

Ask Gardenerd: Growing Chicken Feed

Heads-up homesteaders, this Ask Gardenerd question is for you: "I want to start having my chickens eat things from the earth, than from the store. They are were born in April. I saw your video on YouTube about making that grass cover for them. Do you recommend compost piles and the turf for the chickens? Would you feed them other things as well? Or do you have resources that you think might get us in the right direction. Thank you!…

Post author:Christy
Post published:June 24, 2015
Post category:Blog Sage Advice
Post comments:0 Comments

Rouge Vif e’Etampes much like the one we grew this year

When Life Gives You Destruction: The Pumpkin Massacre

Each year, we grow our own pumpkins for Halloween and winter pumpkin puree-based desserts. Most years it goes well, but this year's results left much to be desired. It all started out so good... We planted Rouge Vif e’Etampes (AKA Cinderella's Carriage) and despite our gloomy overcast summer dishing out gobs of powdery mildew, they thrived. We had three pumpkins in one cluster growing gangbusters. Then, well past the point of pollination infancy, one 5" small pumpkin withered and fell…

Post author:Christy
Post published:September 3, 2013
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:0 Comments

The ladies investigated the flat first, but wouldn't eat.

Chicken Forage Mix: The Feeding

Awhile back, we started planting a special blend of legumes, grasses and greens from Peaceful Valley Farm for our hens to forage, and we wrote about it in June. The day of truth came when the mix had grown tall enough to give to the ladies. Would the chickens like it? Would they eat it? Would they ignore it? Here's what we found out: The seed mix didn't germinate as thickly as we would have liked. But that didn't stop…

Post author:Christy
Post published:September 19, 2012
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:6 Comments

A Chicken and Her Cankles

Just like gardening, where you mostly learn as you grow, chicken keeping is proving to have the same learning curve. Polly the Barred Rock in particular, has kept us on our toes this week.

At first, we thought she might be a 'he', since her legs and feet began to look much thicker than her sisters. It's not entirely uncommon to discover your hen is a rooster if her comb changes color or the legs thicken up (or ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:April 25, 2012
Post category:What's Growin' On
Post comments:2 Comments

Chicken Update: Blanche, You’re a Woman Now

Many readers have asked that we post regular updates about our new chickens, and since Blanche - our Barnevelder - recently reached a milestone, it felt like a good time to send one out. Yes, Blanche started laying, and we were there to witness her first day.

It's not something that you read in books. In fact, it is often not even implied, but what we saw Blanche endure that day was nothing less than a rite of ...