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🐥 Want to raise happy, healthy chickens in your backyard, but not sure where to start?
I have good news for you - you're in the right place!
Sometimes when you're starting out – or even when you've been raising chickens for a long time – it can feel a little overwhelming...
What they should and shouldn't eat, choosing the right coop, recognising and treating illness, how to keep them warm – or cool, helping them lay the most nutritious eggs...
And if you're at the point of planning to have chickens, would the cost be too much?
Don't worry. Raising chickens is not hard, it's lots of fun – and we will do it together!
➡️ Quick links: find what you want here, or carry on reading!
Here's where to start learning the basics. Click any of these links for practical guides to each chicken-keeping must-know for happy hens!
My chickens start free-ranging from a very young age!✅ You'll know you're in the right place if...
You're attracted to the thought of a more natural way of living, even if you live in an urban area.
You like to give your family healthy, unprocessed food, and you want to know where it's come from.
You want real, well researched information — not just recycled blog posts which may or may not be accurate.
You'd like your children to learn a sense of responsibility for other living things, and for the food they will eat in their future.
You have a busy, stressful, demanding life, and you'd like to add some quiet, quality de-stressing parts to it.
You like chickens — you’re not sure why, they just make you smile. Raising some in your backyard might be fun!
You just know that when you do have your own flock, you'll be talking about them as "my girls" in no time.
You don't or can't have your own "girls" but you dream that some day, you will. And in the meantime, you'd like to learn.
Artificial Intelligence? Not here!
Please note that I do not (and never will) use any form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to inform my content. Nor do I accept articles from any outside source.
Information about backyard chicken-keeping from AI and agency writers is at best inaccurate, at times downright dangerous, and almost always out of date.
I write and regularly update all my own articles. Everything I write comes from my own knowledge and experience as a chicken keeper, and from learning through recognised studies and research.
❓ Are chickens right for you and your family?
If you’re new to chickens, the first step is to make sure they’re a good fit for your home, lifestyle — and local regulations! (Yes, it's true – some areas don’t allow backyard flocks.)
These pages will help you prepare with confidence.
It's one thing to bring home a fluffy yellow chick. But chicks grow into noisy hens. Make sure chickens are right for you!
You've decided to get chickens and need to know where to start.
These articles will make sure you know what you need.
Not all chicken breeds are as friendly as others. Find out which are the best breeds for your family.
🐣 So you'd like to hatch and care for baby chicks?
Most people who keep chickens at some point decide they want to incubate and hatch their own.
This is where I have a lot of experience. I've been incubating and hatching chicks for over twelve years now. I've seen it all, from the wonder of a chick forming in the egg, to the miracle of hatching 21 (or more) days later.
And the difficult parts, too. Dealing with weak and sick chicks, and sometimes having to cull those whose quality of life is very poor and never going to improve.
If you're thinking of raising chicks from scratch, these guides are a solid place to start.
Before deciding to incubate, you need to make good decisions about the best available equipment to suit all your incubating needs.
My free hatching course, designed to take the stress out of hatching for you! Describing what happens during all 28 days of incubation.
You have chicks – but how to care for them? Start here for everything about raising baby chickens, from 0 - 8 weeks old.
🐓 Raising adult chickens: what you need to know.
There's a lot to think about when you first decide to keep chickens. You have to learn how to...
- provide a safe place to sleep, eat and exercise
- feed them healthily
- keep them cool in summer and warm in winter
- spot when something's wrong – and what to do about it.
Everything you'll find in these pages is based on my extensive reading and research, and has been tried and tested with my own flock. I stick to established facts so that you can be sure your chickens will be safe.
And if you want to go even deeper or double check my content, you'll find my respected sources at the end of all my articles.
🏡 Overall care and housing.
Month by month, step by step details about how to care for your chickens through the seasons. With free checklists for my newsletter group.
From the coop itself to roosts, nesting boxes and bedding - these articles will help you build your own ideal chicken house.
How do you free range chickens to give them their finest natural life? Is it even possible? And which pasture is known to be best?
🌽 Food and drink.
Working out what to feed your chickens, and which treats are safe, can feel confusing and overwhelming at first.
These articles will lead you through the best food for chickens of all ages, plus a wide range of natural treats to keep your flock healthy all year round.
All about what chickens should - and shouldn't - eat, from baby chick to adult.
Should chickens drink only water? What drink is best to keep them hydrated?
We all want to spoil our flock, but which natural treats are best for chickens?
🍎 Keeping chickens healthy.
Most of the time, chickens bring us pleasure and stress relief, not problems. But now and then something goes wrong, and it helps to know what to do.
Better to be prepared well in advance rather than panic when it happens.
These guides will help you prepare, and lead you to other pages solve specific problemns.
From baby chick illnesses to adult parasites and diseases: how to recognise, treat and prevent.
How to know whether you have rodents in your coop, and how to get rid of them before they bring disease to the flock.
Chickens are everybody's favourite meal. Learn how to tell which predators you may have and the best ways of preventing them.
🥚 Raising chickens for eggs!
Your girls' lovely fresh, delicious, healthy eggs will add up quickly!One of the best parts of keeping backyard chickens? Beautiful, nutritious, fresh eggs, and knowing exactly what's gone into them to keep them naturally healthy!
Eggs used to get a bad press for raising unhealthy cholesterol. But that research has been adapted. And backyard eggs are now known to be even more nutritious than shop bought.
My egg-related pages cover it all: from nutrition and storage to health benefits, and keeping laying hens in the best condition.
And, of course, a few of my favourite recipes.
Everything about egg nutrition, and how to enhance the quality of your own hens' eggs - naturally.
🐔 Share your stories, and get my latest tips!
Have your own flock? I'd love to hear about it! You can share your own chicken stories and photos right here on this site.
And if you want regular tips, updates and news from the chicken-keeping world, my weekly "Chicken Digest" newsletter pulls it all together – for free!
Have you lost a much loved chicken? Leave your tribute here, and perhaps write a message of condolence for other people.
Do you have a rooster who's a character? Love him or hate him, here's a place for you to tell his story!
To keep up with information from my website and from the wider world of chicken keeping, sign up for my newsletter - and get a free copy of my ebook!
🌟 My most popular chicken-keeping guides.
🐔 Which chicken breed is right for you? Here's my guide
🏠 How to set up a chicken coop that works — even in small backyards
🙅♀️ Here's what you won't find on my website.
Lots of spammy product suggestions. I only recommend products I've used and love, or someone I respect has, and which I know will be of use to you.
A place where harm is done to chickens. This site is about raising happy chickens. I don't talk about killing or eating them – because I don't.
A place where you're afraid to ask a question because you think it's too silly. There are no silly questions. When it comes to keeping our girls happy, everything's important. I asked lots of basic questions when I first started.
Sometimes I was so clueless, I didn’t even know what questions to ask!
A place of know-it-all experts. My chickens are the experts, and they teach me. I learn from books, research papers, online courses — and from people in my community who’ve kept chickens for generations. I try things out and share what works for me – and what might work for you.
😊 Want to know more about me?
I’ve been raising chickens for years: hatching, housing and feeding them, and learning from them every step of the way.
If you're wondering how I got here (or curious about how chickens led me from Italy to King Charles' garden!), you’ll find the full story here.
It’s proof that you don’t have to be an expert to start. Just curious, kind, and willing to learn.
And why not join my friendly community or follow along on Pinterest.
I’d love to connect!
I'm so looking forward to the pleasure of your company – and to meeting your flock!
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