Hen Helper Blog

A common intestinal disease in chicks is Cocci (coxy) or Coccidiosis.  As explained in the Merck Veterinarian Manual , it is a "protozoa of the phylum Apicomplexa, family Eimeriidae," and "Coccidia are almost universally present in poultry-raising operations." Even in healthy environments, the chicks may have some Cocci within their digestive system, but when it overloads their digestive tract, then chicks may fail to thrive and stop eating altogether.   Unfortunately, if chicks develop Cocci, the use of medicated starter feed is less than helpful, nor useful in these situations, especially when it involves chicks, because they will usually stop eating. Most chicks and mature chickens can build resistance to Cocci parasites in their digestive system over time if they are raised and kept in a healthy environment. Unfortunately, brooding environments can be difficult to keep clean and "Cocci" free, as the birds are typically eating feed that falls on the flo...

Why do you Brood Chicks?  We enjoy it. We watch over the chicks, ensuring to protect them from Predators like rodents and mites, and from other dangerous events such as Brooder Fires (caused by improper use of heaters/heat lamps), illness such as Pasty Butt or Dehydration, other health conditions such as Splayed Leg or Impacted Crop, and generally to attempt to get them started with a healthy organic life.  How Many Chicks do you Raise per Year? Actually, not very many compared to most poultry farms that raise hundreds. We typically raise no more than 25 in a batch and we start about three to four batches per year. At most, we brood 100 broiler and layer chicks per year. Some of them we keep but most of them are sold.  Why Organic?  We have found that Organic Raised Layers and Broilers produce the best tasting Eggs and Meat! We can tell the difference in the flavor of the eggs, and so can others who eat our Hens' Eggs.  Also, the Meat is very tender with very li...

We started like many backyard farmers with a small flock of four chickens.  We chose the Russian Orloff. They are a beautiful bird that will lay about 100 to 150 medium-sized light brown eggs in the first year. They are quite hearty for cold regions which I can attest to that when we had many weeks of subfreezing weather that first year we started the flock. However, they do not do so well in the very hot summers which we have started experiencing year after year the past few years. 3-week Russian Orloff Pullet Because we live in an area that is renowned for predatory animals, we built an A-framed coop and run with a footprint that was just big enough for four hens. It was so sturdy, that we couldn't move it without a tractor!  First Chicken Coop The first coop had all the fancy bells and whistles, like an auto feeder and watering cups, electricity to it for lighting, and insulated. Like I said, all the bells and whistles....