Reviews by Allsfairinloveandbugs

Very informative and well-written, including excellent illustrations and diagrams.

That photo of poor Edgar and his beak certainly got my attention to read your article and learn his story. You've done a great job helping him live the life of a normal chicken despite his a handicap.

Very well-written and informative article! I've already seen blood on eggs twice this spring as my older hens resume laying again. I wasn't concerned since it rarely happens, but this article was nice confirmation that there is no reason to worry.

This article asks good questions to help a person decide which breeds would be best suited to their wants and needs.

Very informative article. The mention of various activities that pigeons can be trained to do is very intriguing!

I'm so impressed that you were able to think of this idea and make it work. Well-done, and congratulations on a successful hatch!

This article makes showing chickens sound like a lot of fun, and the helpful tips improve one's odds of winning. Also, Sophie is sooo cute and beautiful. Congratulations on her Best of Fair win!

Article includes many helpful ideas on ways to "repurpose" chicken poop and put it to good use to improve garden soil. Good job!

Very informative, and the many differences between incubating emu eggs and poultry eggs are very interesting. For anyone who wants to incubate emu eggs, this article contains all the information needed to have a sucessful hatch.

This article is very informative and thorough, emphasizing the neccessity to keep chickens comfortable in hot weather through proper coop construction styles and ventilation, as well as many other important tips and pointers.

I'm really sorry about your beautiful favorite hen, but commend you for writing this article in hopes of saving others from the same fate.

Very well written, helpful information.

Extremely interesting and very well-written article. You definitely gave me an appreciation for your native, unique landrace!

Excellent tips for traveling with poultry. As I read this article, I remembered back to the catastrophic California fires a few years ago, and how some BYC members were panicking while deciding to evacuate with their poultry or leave them behind. Personally, I grew up on the Texas gulf coast, and hurricane evacuations are an annual concern. So this article is helpful for other reasons along with choosing to take poultry on vacation.

That is an amazing survivor story! A couple of years ago I went into the nest boxes one morning to gather eggs, and found a dead hen near a nest box. Her entire beak was completely gone, sliced off flush to her head. It was a very disturbing sight, and I couldn't figure out how it happened since I lock my chickens up safe and secure every night. Soon I saw another hen walking nonchalantly through the yard as if nothing was wrong, but to my horror her right wing was missing! At this point I knew the culprit was surely an opossum, but still had no explanation as to how the possum gained access to the coop. I went out that same eve before dusk with a dog-proof trap, wondering where I should place the trap to catch the culprit. I went inside the coop to check the nest boxes before closing the coop door, and discovered a big male opossum curled up inside a nest box. He had gone inside before dusk and was waiting until dark so he could once again dine on chicken. Too bad for him, the chicken wing he ate the night before was his last meal. The hen that lost her wing healed with no issues, but unfortunately the injury to the hen that lost her beak was fatal. So glad that your hen's story had a happy ending.

The vast amount of nutritional information in this article is incredible! I really appreciated the nutritional info you added for each of the various foods you feed your flock. I also liked that you commented on an often-repeated refrain on BYC "to only give treats once per week; otherwise stick to commercial feed only." Every single item you feed your birds could be considered "treats", but they add up to a balanced diet. Plus, we all know how much chickens love treats! I have no doubt you have a very healthy and very happy flock. Since I couldn't memorize the entire article, I will be referring back to it often, and recommending it to others too.

Very interesting, informative and unique article. I've always marveled while watching broody hens interact with their chicks. Broodies become very excited to sacrifice tasty food morsels, calling to their chicks with a sense of urgency, "Look what momma found!" When not broody, these same hens share with no one. Mesotocin production explains the reason for a broody hen's extreme change from normal hen behavior. It seems natural to make the connection that humans bond with birds the same as we do with dogs and other mammals. Friendly but non-broody hens produce mesotocin when closely interacting with their humans, and that we humans at the same time produce oxytocin, thereby cementing emotional bonds.

Very well written and stated. No matter the species, there is never a guarantee that one will live to see another day, and quality of life does matter.

Excellent informative article with easy-to-understand step-by-step directions and great photos too. As a bonus, I love your humor!

Great pictures and very detailed information showing how the pepsi cooler was converted to a chick incubator. The prices of various parts used in the conversion was also included. A very interesting and informative article!