Feed & Nutrition

DIY Organic Chicken Feed: Beginner Recipe Guide

When I started keeping chickens, I assumed “homemade feed” meant tossing cracked corn in a bucket and calling it a day. My hens disagreed loudly and immediately. Real DIY feed can absolutely work, but only if it is balanced . Chickens do not just need “grain”. They need the right mix of energy,...

The Scratch Grain Myth

If there is one chicken-keeping habit I see passed around like a family recipe, it is this: “Just toss some scratch and they will be fine.” I get it. Scratch is cheap, it makes chickens come running like you rang a dinner bell, and it feels wholesome in that old-timey farmyard way. But scratch...

Free-Ranging vs. Commercial Feed

I love watching chickens free-range. It is equal parts pest control, comedy show, and “how are you finding another worm, again ?” But the question I get over and over is the practical one: does foraging really cut the feed bill , or is it just a nice bonus? The honest answer from my own backyard...

High-Protein Chicken Snacks for Fall Molting

Every fall, my flock goes from “glossy calendar chickens” to “tiny dinosaurs in a pillow fight” almost overnight. That annual feather dump is normal, but it is also hard work for their bodies. Feathers are mostly protein, so when the molt hits, your birds suddenly need enough of it to rebuild what...

Stop Chickens from Wasting Feed

If you have ever watched a hen take a beakful of crumble, fling half of it over her shoulder, then stare at you like you did it, welcome to the club. Feed waste is one of the fastest ways to turn “fresh eggs” into “why is this hobby so expensive.” The good news is that most waste comes from a few...

Winter Chicken Nutrition

The first winter I kept chickens, I thought “cold-proofing” meant piling on straw and calling it good. Then I watched my three Rhode Island Reds burn through feed like tiny feathered furnaces and I realized something important: winter comfort starts in the coop, but winter survival starts in the...

Grit vs. Oyster Shell for Chickens

The first time I brought home a bag of “chicken grit,” I assumed it was basically the same thing as oyster shell. Crunchy mineral stuff in a bag, right? Nope. They are completely different tools for two different jobs. One helps chickens grind food . The other helps hens build strong eggshells . If...

Fermented Chicken Feed

I started fermenting feed for the same reason most of us try anything new in the coop: I was tired of watching perfectly good pellets turn into soggy, stomped mud around the feeder. Fermented feed is one of those old-school chicken keeping tricks that sounds a little crunchy until you see how well...

15 Toxic Foods You Should Never Feed Backyard Chickens

If you have chickens, you already know the golden rule: if it looks like food, a chicken will try it. My hens have sprinted across the run for a single noodle like it was an Olympic event. That enthusiasm is adorable until you realize how many everyday kitchen scraps and yard plants can make a bird...

Chicken Feed Stages: Starter, Grower, and Layer

I still remember my first three Rhode Island Reds peeping their heads out of a cardboard brooder while I stared at a bag of “starter” feed like it was advanced calculus. Chicken feed labels can feel like a maze, but the idea is simple: as your birds grow, their bodies need different building...