Chickens & Poultry

Raising backyard chickens, ducks, turkeys and quail: coops, brooding, winter laying, hatching eggs and meat birds.

Poultry is where most homesteads start, and it's where small mistakes cost the most: a coop that's a few square feet too small, chicken wire where hardware cloth belongs, a brooder that runs ten degrees too cool.

These guides cover laying hens, ducks, turkeys, quail and meat chickens with the numbers extension poultry programs publish: space per bird, brooder temperatures by week, feed by age, and the predator-proofing details that actually hold.

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All Chickens & Poultry guides (11)

Raising a Thanksgiving Turkey

When to start, grow-out weeks by breed, the feed program, feed withdrawal and how to chill the carcass safely to 40 F.

Incubating & Hatching Eggs

Egg selection and storage, incubator temperatures and humidity, turning, candling, lockdown and what to do on hatch day.

Preserving Fresh Eggs

The egg-freezing method extension services recommend, why water glassing isn't considered safe, and why dehydrators can't dry eggs.

Chickens Laying in Winter

Why hens stop laying below 12 hours of daylight, how to add light without stressing the flock, and the ventilation rule that prevents frostbite.

Raising Meat Chickens

Cornish Cross vs. slower broilers, brooding temperatures, space per bird by age, starter and grower feed, and processing steps.

Raising Coturnix Quail

Why Coturnix reach the table in about 7 weeks, space and brooding temperatures by age, incubation, feed protein and safe processing.

Build a Chicken Tractor

Square feet per bird for broilers and layers, why daily moves matter, and the mesh, apron and cover details that stop predators.

Build a Backyard Chicken Coop

Square feet per hen for coop and run, nest box and roost sizes, and the hardware-cloth and buried-apron details that keep predators out.

Raising Backyard Turkeys

Broad-breasted vs. heritage breeds, brooder temperature schedule, space by age, and the rule that keeps turkeys and chickens apart.

Raising Backyard Ducks

Duck breed choice, brooder temperatures, how much water ducks really need, and feed-by-age numbers before your ducklings arrive.

Start a Backyard Chicken Flock

Coop space per hen, brooder temperatures, feed by age, predator-proofing and when to expect your first eggs. Research-backed and free.