How Much Space Do Chickens Need?
Many of us have relatively small back gardens these days, and if you get the urge to keep some chickens, you might start wondering whether it’s possible to squeeze them in! Anne asks “How much space do chickens need?” How long is a piece of string? Although chickens will appreciate all the room you can […]
Preparing for the Breeding Season
Jeremy suggests some ways of preparing for and ensuring healthy, early, chicks from your breeding stock.
Vaccinating Chickens
Should I vaccinate my flock? This is a question often faced by vets in practice, and the answer is often a complex one. Firstly, let’s look at what a vaccine is before we consider vaccinating chickens. A vaccine is made up of either an inactivated form of the organism that causes the disease you are […]
Sex-Linked Crosses and their Offspring
Crossing genetically gold and silver birds can result in a useful sex linkage. Still, it only works one way around, and there are often questions about the offspring they produce.
Botulism
A condition that sometimes, although not often occurs in domestic poultry is botulism. It has been seen in chickens, turkeys, pheasants and peafowl. However, for the backyard poultry keeper it should not represent too big a concern providing good standards of hygiene are kept.
Beginner’s Guide to Caring for Ex-Batts Review
Have you ever been tempted to rehome some ex-batts but didn’t know where to start? This little book is written especially for the new or prospective ex-batt owner, providing the information you need to confidently care for your own little flock of ex-commercial hens…
Sexing Chicks: How to Sex Chicks
A popular question from people incubating and hatching eggs is how to sex chicks? – how can you tell if they are male or female? Sexing chicks while young isn’t easy, but as they start to grow, there are some tell-tale signs to look out for.
Recessive Genes / Faults
When assessing your rearing stock and noticing an obvious fault, it can be very disheartening. An otherwise-fine specimen is ruined for show and breeding. However, If the fault in question is observable in the bird’s parents or grandparents, perhaps you only have yourself to blame? We would all breed from near-perfect specimens if we could, but […]
Proper Chicken Runs Give Peace Of Mind
Jeremy Hobson looks at some ways of building chicken runs to give your chickens space yet still keeping them free from danger.
Poultry Genetics: Black and White
Black crossed to white? A common question in relation to breeding is: what will be the outcome of crossing a black to a white fowl? The answer to which, no-one really knows. This may seem a bold statement, but there is an explanation… The outcome of a proposed black to white, or vice versa cross, is largely […]
Avoiding Problems when Keeping Chickens
No-one expects the unexpected, there are potential dangers lurking in the most unexpected of places for the chicken keeper, says Jeremy Hobson
Riemerella Infection In Ducks
Whilst we tend to think of ducks as being bulletproof in terms of disease there are a few deadly conditions that can infect them. One such disease is Riemerella. The disease is caused by an organism related to Pasteurella called Riemerella anatipestifer. The bacteria is often spread between birds by mucus that has been exhaled. […]
The Other Type of Gold (Red)
When learning about how Gold and Silver genes work in poultry, it can be very gratifying to realise that much can be made of the sex-linked cross (Gold male over Silver female). This produces sex-identifiable progeny in the day-old offspring (yellow males and brown females). Silver Pencilled Wyandottes. These specimens being ‘non-carriers’ of the Ap gene. […]
French Fancies
Jeremy Hobson investigates the Fancy French breeds and the attitude the French have towards back garden poultry-keeping.
Enriched Colony Cages: What are they Like?
In January 2012, the barren battery hen cage ban came into force. In this article, Jo takes a look at the new enriched colony cages.
In Love with Bantams
Jeremy Hobson describes the fun and pleasure these wonderful little birds have given him over the years – and suggests that you will be captivated too!
Garlic for Chickens
In European countries where they consume large amounts of garlic in their diets, they have a lower risk of cancer and are less likely to suffer from heart disease, but what about garlic for chickens?
Old Wive’s Tales & Natural Remedies for Chickens
Jeremy Hobson, the author of Success With Chickens, tries to uncover the truth behind some long-held chicken health myths and potions used as natural remedies.
Depluming Mites
Depluming mites are one of the less well-known poultry parasites that can affect chickens, ducks & geese, causing irritation and damage to feathers and skin.
Questioning Colour
As I alluded to in a recent article on the subject, there are many factors that got me interested in colour genetics of poultry. One of the main sources was the book ‘Bantams in Colour‘ first published in 1984 by Gold Cockerel books. Little did I know at the time that both Michael and Victoria Roberts would one […]