Getting Started
Essential Chicken Supplies for Beginners: Complete Coop and Flock Checklist
A practical beginner checklist for secure housing, feed, water, bedding, roosts, nests, cleaning, storage, first aid, and safe optional upgrades.
Chicken-keeping knowledge
Chicken Learning Center
Practical, trustworthy guides to help you raise a healthy, happy backyard flock and choose the right supplies for your chickens.
Latest articles
133 articles
Getting Started
How Many Chickens Should You Start With? Choosing the Right Flock Size
Most beginners do well with three to six compatible hens, but the right starter flock depends on space, local limits, egg needs, and long-term care.
Getting Started
Backyard Chicken Laws and HOA Rules: What to Check Before Getting Chickens
A step-by-step process for checking city ordinances, county zoning, permits, rooster restrictions, setbacks, and HOA rules before starting a flock.
Getting Started
Chicken Behavior and Pecking Order: What's Normal and How to Stop Bullying
Learn how chickens establish a pecking order, distinguish normal corrections from dangerous bullying, reduce resource conflict, and protect an injured bird.
Chicken Health
How to Tell if a Chicken Is Sick: Healthy Signs, Warning Signs, and Health Checks
Recognize healthy flock behavior, perform a calm chicken health check, identify urgent warning signs, and know when to isolate a bird and call a veterinarian.
Getting Started
Collecting, Washing, and Storing Fresh Eggs Safely
A practical food-safety guide to collecting backyard eggs, handling clean and dirty shells, refrigerating consistently, labeling cartons, and discarding cracked eggs.
Getting Started
Common Beginner Chicken-Keeping Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Twelve common new-chicken-owner mistakes—and the practical planning, housing, feeding, health, and routine changes that prevent them.
Chicken Feed & Nutrition
Chicken Grit vs. Oyster Shell: What's the Difference and When Do Chickens Need Each?
Grit helps grind food in the gizzard; oyster shell supplies supplemental calcium for laying hens. Learn when and how to offer each separately.
Chicken Coop Guides
Chicken Coop Ventilation: How Much Airflow Does Your Flock Need?
A practical guide to high ventilation openings, airflow without roost-level drafts, condensation and ammonia warning signs, summer airflow, and winter moisture control.
Chicken Health
Chicken Mites and Lice: Signs, Treatment, and Prevention
Identify common signs of mites and lice, inspect birds and coop hiding places, choose poultry-labeled control with professional guidance, and prevent reinfestation.
Chicken Health
Respiratory Illness in Chickens: Symptoms, Causes, and What to Do
Chicken respiratory signs have many possible causes. Learn which symptoms are urgent, how to isolate safely, what environmental checks to make, and when to report illness.
Chicken Health
Egg Binding in Chickens: Signs, Emergency Care, and Prevention
Egg binding can become life-threatening. Recognize straining, repeated nest visits, tail pumping, weakness, or penguin posture and contact a veterinarian promptly.