Sources of information

When you decide to keep chickens, it is a commitment you are making to animals who are surprisingly aware, social and who will work for you their entire lives in one way or another. My philosophy is: give them the best live they can have – allowing them to express as much of their chicken-ness as possible.

Where do you start? You start by reading  and talking to those who have had chickens for a while.

Did I read everything under the sun before I went ahead to get some chickens – NO – however, I was lucky to have been recommend what just might be the best book out there for someone like me who wanted to work with chickens and gardening.

It covered everything I needed to know to get started – and I went back to consult it afterwards.

Then, once you have chickens – some questions came up that needed more detail if  and since I discovered that: a – I was not gonna kill my roosters – and b – I started looking at the chickens a little more in the direction of a pet …. Are there other books – sure, but I never felt the need to get any more – the only reason I am considering other books is to be able to tell you about them …. so maybe that will mean a trip to the  library some day.

I found these sites very helpful and/or interesting:

backyardchickens.com: HUGE – has a LOT of info, some of the best info and a lot of MISinformation that are merely opinions. After a while, you can tell  better which is what.

I especially enjoyed the story told by Beekissed.

Even today I check out the site periodically for this or that reason and I did find homes for 6 of my roosters through there.

If I ever have an issue or question with my chickens, I ALWAYS google search and read up on what comes up via the search. I found that chickens have almost miraculous healing powers when it comes to physical injury. And I have not yet had a chicken that suddenly got sick….but getting medications or professional care might be problematic – so that would mean more time trying to get info online.

My favorite chicken poop page (never thought I’d be interested in it that much either, just wait)

I found a lot of good articles and blogs over time, but then, because of facebook, these here are the ones I check more often just because it is fun:

Natural Chicken Keeping: love some of their stuff since I am going the organic, natural route with my chickens.

Fresh Eggs Daily: again, a lot of cool info and in-line with the natural/organic way to keep chickens.

The Chicken Chick: very well researched articles and very useful info on stuff like chicken first aid  kit and bumble foot surgery. Seems more geared towards the urban/backyard oriented chicken keeper rather than the rural zoned flock keepers.

I liked this one Poultry FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions About Poultry (With Emphasis on Free-Range Chickens) http://www.plamondon.com/poultryfaq.html

So far my chickens have been very healthy, but say – if I see a limping chicken – I search for what might be the problem – and it could be anything from a sprain, to bumblefoot to a broken toe….and more. Or the first time a weeklong triple digit heat wave is happening …how can I help the chickens? Or …my broody will not allow me to move her …she is sitting in a nest box …what do I do …You need to know about “pasty butt” BEFORE you get your chicks…and what food you can give them.

Stuff like that.

I can tell you one thing: OBSERVATION is one of your best tools.  Common sense another.

Here are just a couple of pages and topics I happen to have a bookmark on.

Common Poultry Diseases

Egg Bound Chicken

Controlling mites in your Poultry Flock