How using deer netting can deter hawks

Hawks are a big problem in many places. Even small hawks like the red tailed hawk can be found in urban areas. Especially now that the weather is breaking and everything is hungry! We've had hawks fly down into the chickens run and walk right into the coop. Of course this never ends well for the chickens, especially the bantams. 

Unfortunately not every coop has a run that I can put a roof on. We've started adding deer netting to the tops of these runs and it's really helped to deter the hawks.

I prefer to put a solid roof on the run to keep out both predators and bad weather. That's not always possible, so sometimes you need to trick the predators. Oh sure, a hawk could rip through that netting but chances are they won't even try.

Chop boiled eggs the easy way!

This week I decided to copy a post from my other blog. I know you all have tons of eggs and that means lots of different egg dishes. What is the absolute worst part about all those egg salads we like to make? Chopping eggs! So here we go courtesy of Feathers In The Woods....

Chopping hard boiled eggs the easy way!
If there's one thing I hate doing it's chopping eggs. They get all over my fingers if I cut them by hand, or they turn to mush in my chopper. Yuck! A few years back I came up with a much better solution and all I needed was a fork!

How to dye chicken feathers the cheap way (super easy!)

Scroll to the bottom for the Jobberknoll feather DIY.

The holiday is almost here and as I look at my list of feather crafts I want to make I notice one thing: I'm going to need a lot of feathers. Not just any feathers though, multi colored ones! With 80 assorted poultry is residence I have plenty of feathers it's just a matter of getting them the color I want. 

Obviously I'm going to have to dye the feathers myself, but how? So glad you asked, because I have 2 different feather dying methods that I decided to try out today.

I decided to dye the guinea feathers first. Those are the black and white polka dotted ones.  I also threw a few white ones in the mix for variety.....I think a few others got through too. I collected my supplies: boiling water, white vinegar, a glass baking pan, stirring spoon, Kool-aid in various flavors, food coloring and dish soap in an extra bowl.

14 reasons you should not raise Guinea fowl

Guinea fowl are interesting birds. They are poultry, but not really. They kinda look like feather covered helmets with clown face makeup on. Guineas act like idiots and eat ticks and snakes like it's their job. Well, I guess it sort of is their job since most people get them for their insect control talents.

In fact, guinea fowl have become really popular in the 9 years I've been raising them! When I first decided to get guineas I had a hard time finding some to buy and an even harder time learning to raise them. I kinda had to learn as I go. 

If you're interested in raising guinea fowl you'll soon found out that there are 2 types of people who have raised guinea fowl: they either love them or hate them.

I love them.

Raising Guinea Fowl

I think guineas are about the coolest bird I could get. I never have a health problem with them and they keep the ticks under control in our woods. They're funny and quirky and a whole lot of entertainment!

How to tell the sex of Guinea fowl by sound (It's really easy!)

As you may know I raise Guinea fowl along with my chickens. I currently have somewhere around 50 Guineas in various colors. One of the most frequent questions I get asked is how to tell the males guineas from the female guineas. I usually respond that the females all have red leg bands on, but I'm pretty sure that's not what they mean! lol

There are several common 'farm wives tales' about sexing guineas, none of which are 100% accurate. I discussed this awhile back in The Guinea Wattle Myth. The only proven sexing method for guineas is by listening to the noise they make and unlike most chicken chicks, guineas cannot be sexed at hatch.

When trying to tell guinea fowl apart, the only sure way to tell the male Guinea cock from the female Guinea hen is by the noise they make. Unfortunately male and female guineas make some of the same noises! 

The female guinea does have 1 unique call though and it is quite distinct, but unless you know what to listen for you might not recognize it.

Rehoming a rooster....the why's and how's

So you need to get rid of a rooster, right? It's a very common issue actually. It's not about what you need to do, it's about why you need to do it and how you go about it. You don't want your rooster to end up in the wrong hands, but we might not agree on whose hands those are! First, let's talk about the 'why' in re-homing your rooster, then we'll talk about how you can rehome the rooster.

1) I'm not allowed to have roosters
2) I have too many roosters
3) He beats up other roosters, flogs my child, and chases the dog.
4) He gets beat up by the other roosters

That's pretty easy, right? Now let's get onto the 'how', however many of these solutions depend on the 'why' for their answer.