Articles by BReeder!

We need more space for our growing covey of coturnix quail, which we raise for meat, eggs and pure enjoyment. Currently we have a single outdoor cage that is 8'x3', which I built to be a movable cage - yea... not so movable.:he Now, with winter coming in just a few months I want to move the...

Our beloved Gold Laced Wyandotte hen, Goldie, was limping around the other day. My wife picked her up, and I immediately noticed Goldie's right foot was very swollen. It was a clear sign of bumblefoot. Our flock is only a bit over a year old, and we haven't ran into many health problems. We...

We have 7 hens. They LOVE our fermented feed. There's never left overs. We offer dry feed as well in case their appetites are not satisfied, but they target the fermented feed first. We have just begun raising quail and will start giving them fermented feed too. We honestly stopped fermenting...

Last year we fenced in our garden and built some raised beds. Our soil is very dense and contains a lot of clay. If I dig down just 12 inches, I hit solid clay. Past the solid clay is a mixture of sand, rocks and clay - I've dug down 4-5ft when installing a backyard pond so I've had a good look...

I grew up in the city of Chicago - truly in the city, not the suburbs and claiming I was from Chicago (that's a bit of a Chicagoan thing). Chicago's laws are very lenient on livestock and poultry - there's not much in Chicago's municipal code regarding livestock and poultry. However, having...

In the summer of 2023 we tore down the old shed that we converted part of into our coop, and then we built a new shed/coop combo from the ground up. The old coop worked, but the shed was here when we bought the house and it was beginning to show wear. It needed new siding, trim and doors, which...

We decided to get ducks this year. Really, I decided and DW went along with it somewhat unwillingly at first. I have been interested in ducks since we got chickens last Spring. We now have 8 chickens, 4 turkeys, 5 ducks, and a whole covey of quail (15 adults, 26 chicks and 40 eggs in the...

I love a good pickle! A sour dill pickle is my favorite. I stated making picked six years ago when our first garden provided and abundance of cucumbers. I've worked on my recipe each year. I really like what we have been making this year and thought I'd share the recipe. First, I grow Boston...