Pocket Farm Magazine Chickens and Bantams

Preventing egg laying problems in older hens with implants

implants_hens_laying

As hens get older they have a tendency to develop problems when laying eggs. As they approach the end of lay stage shells may begin to display full or partial wrinkling. This is caused by reduced elasticity of the tubes which the eggs travel down as ...

Integrating new chickens into an existing flock

Dominant hens can police food an d deny newcommers access

This can be a traumatic experience for both chickens and owners alike. As you probably know chickens establish a hierarchy or ‘pecking order’ in any flock and newcomers will quickly be shown their place – sometimes with quite violent ...

The nests in my heart – a personal view of ex-battery hens

Ex Battery Hens

I have often been asked why I adopted ex-battery hens, after all they are worn out before I take them home, according to people who have never kept chickens. What can I say about these little brown hens who have lived all of their lives standing on a ...

Chicken FAQ: your most common chicken keeping questions answered

hen_nesting-_in_wheelbarow_600

When I am out at shows and events around the country talking to prospective keepers about chickens it’s invariably the same questions that keep arising. With that in mind I thought I’d answer some of the most common ones in a Pocket Farm chicken ...

Hens and herbs – no this is not a chicken recipe

Dandelion

Chickens love greens just offer them a head of cabbage, floret of broccoli or even a handful of fresh grass clippings and see how eagerly they consume them. Many of you will know that greenery imparts the intense yellow to the yolks of eggs from hens ...

Feeding chickens: a balanced diet for backyard hens

Layer pellets

Feeding your chickens a balanced diet is a very straightforward affair these days. With the advent of properly formulated mashes and pelleted feeds (pic above) we have a convenient and clean way of providing a perfectly balanced diet whatever the ...

Breed Focus: Transylvanian Naked Neck Chickens

Transylvanian Naked Neck

Well, what have we here? You could be forgiven for thinking the Transylvanian Naked Neck is some sort of chicken/turkey hybrid, indeed many have, which has lead to its common nicknames ‘Turken’ or ‘Churkey’ but, be assured, that this unusual ...

Breed Focus: True Bantams

Rosecomb bantam hens black

While many breeds have bantam varieties true bantams are naturally small breeds that have no large fowl counterpart. There are many true bantam breeds and those below represent a good cross-section and display a wide range of differing characteristics, appearance and temperaments. Small ...

The broody blues: dealing with a broody hen

Broody Hen

In the natural cycle of life a hen lays eggs, hatches them and raises the chicks until they are about eight weeks old when she will abandon them. Broodiness is a perfectly natural, hormone induced, instinct in any laying hen. However, unless you are ...

Breed focus: Russian Orloff

Black male Russian Orloff

Until recently the Russian Orloff chicken was a rare and endangered breed but, thanks largely to the efforts of the Russian Orloff Society in the UK, is now no longer rare and is classed as a soft feather heavy bird. Formally known as the ...

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