Northern Fowl Mite
Northern Fowl Mites are similar in size to Red Mite (about 1mm long) and are almost the same colour but slightly darker, almost brown. Red Mites live in the cracks in the house and come out at night to feed on the bird, but Northern Fowl Mites live on the birds permanently and can therefore be […]
Electric Poultry Netting
One of the joys of keeping chickens is to see them wandering around the garden going about their chicken business (or destroying your annual bedding depending on your point of view!), and there is nothing more satisfying than watching a group of stately Orpingtons sailing across your lawn like a determined armada. They become pets, […]
Winter Care of Bantam Ducks
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm is located in Alberta, Canada. During the winter, the temperature can drop as low as -45°C. Specialist care is, of course, required in these icy winter conditions.
Newcastle Disease in Backyard Flocks
Newcastle disease was first found in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1926.The disease is caused by a virus called Avian Paramyxovirus Type 1. Whilst we tend to think of Newcastle disease as being associated with large numbers of dead birds it is important to remember that the disease varies from lentogenic (moderately pathogenic) strains which cause mild respiratory […]
Common Health Problems of an Ex-Battery Hen
Considering what they have been through, ex-battery hens don’t usually have too many health problems. Battery hens are vaccinated against most of the serious poultry diseases that they could get and they don’t carry many worms since they cannot pick up the worm eggs in dirty litter having lived on a wire floor.
15 Tips and Tricks for Exhibiting Show Chickens
Laurence has a lot of exhibiting show chickens and judging them, right up to the National level. This article provides some excellent tips for showing chickens to newcomers wanting to show their poultry. Showing chickens is a popular hobby that all the family can enjoy, and all shows have prizes for junior keepers, and many […]
Marek’s Disease
Probably one of the most common problems we see is Marek’s disease in small flocks of birds. It causes great distress as it is often seen in pullets between 12 and 20 weeks of age and will be fatal. The control of the disease is difficult and you need to have a good understanding of the basic […]
Will Red Mite Infest Your House?
Over the last five or six years, I have been dealing with the dreaded Red Mite in my poultry houses and trying different red mite treatments to get rid of them. Since posting “How to get rid of a red mite infestation” (when I found a large number of mites in one of my hen […]
Fixing Specific Traits into your Line
Following on from Making your Own Line of birds, Laurence Beeken looks at how to fix specific traits into your line and how to introduce fresh blood when necessary.
Popular Poultry Breeds Book Review
Popular Poultry Breeds was written as a companion volume to Rare Poultry breeds by the same author. Forty of the most popular poultry breeds (large fowl and bantam varieties) have been covered in detail as well as their variants and variations in name and breed standards which can sometimes be considerably different from country to country.
Chlamydiosis In Poultry
There is a misconception that Chlamydia can only be caught by humans from parrots, but it is common in pigeons, occasional in turkeys and ducks and is becoming more common in chickens. It is known as psittacosis in parrots or ornithosis in other birds, this is a potentially dangerous zoonotic disease as it may cause flu-like […]
Making your Own Line of Birds
If you are familiar with showing and breeding then you will almost certainly recognise the reference to a ‘line’ or a ‘strain’ and this becomes immediately obvious when you start to look at show winners. A particular exhibitor will have a row of birds all appearing exactly the same, and in fact the average member of […]
Butterfly Poultry Saddles
Around mid-summer, many hens that are kept in a flock with a cockerel start to look bare on their backs having lost feathers from his constant attention. Small flocks suffer the most but even in a large flock, a cock will have his favourites who are no doubt the birds who have lost the most […]
Gold and Silver Sex-Linkage
Many years ago, a group of scientists in Cambridge discovered that certain characteristics are passed down from parent birds to their sons and not their daughters and vice versa. Some of these characteristics are down colours and markings that can be used to identify male and female chicks when they hatch. This is a very […]
Cuts and Wounds
Small scratches and abrasions will usually heal naturally. Severe open wounds and bites require a veterinarian’s help and often, antibiotics, but often you can take care of small injuries at home. Some small open wounds can be taken care of immediately without putting the bird through the stress of going to the vets. I have […]
Vaccinating against Avian Influenza in Holland
Summer 2006 and our 23 geese and 4 chickens are vaccinated….at last. It could have been done sooner, but we wanted the goslings to be vaccinated as well. We were told that according to the European Union we had to wait until 1st July, when our goslings were old enough. They had to be seven weeks […]
The Life of a Battery Hen
So what has life been like for the hens you re-home? Well, we have all heard about the dreaded battery cage that typically houses 4 hens, giving them about the space of an A4 sheet of paper. Still, just like those rather strange breeds of cat or dog you see from time to time, battery […]
Haynes Chicken Manual Review
The complete step-by-step guide to keeping chickens Author: Laurence Beeken Publisher: Haynes Publishing Edition Published: 4th Feb 2010 Softback: 200 pages ISBN-10: 1844257290 ISBN-13: 978-1844257294 Available from: Amazon I have used some of the excellent Haynes Manuals for fixing my car over the years and after spotting the Haynes Chicken Manual as a new release, […]
ChickBox Plastic Nesting Boxes
In this Equipment Focus, I test two ChickBox plastic nesting boxes in one of my coops and find them ideal to stop eggs breaking and easy to clean!
Stoats And Weasels
Stoats and Weasels will not usually attack large chickens but can be a problem with smaller birds such as bantams, guinea fowl, call ducks, quail and many species of wild fowl as well as chicks and growers. Both have the same diet and similar habitats although they do tend to avoid each other.