Giving chickens to underprivileged women will lift them out of poverty. So says Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is getting a lot of flak from his country’s political elite. But consider this: Chickens were once the savior of poverty-stricken rural Americans, according to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Henry A. Wallace (1933-1940). In the 1900s, […]
Continue ReadingMonth: December 2018
What to Do with Unwanted Roosters
It’s a problem every chicken keeper eventually faces: What to do with unwanted roosters. If you purchase chicks, or hatch your own, you’ll have this problem sooner rather than later. Even sexed chicks that are sold as pullets (young hens) almost invariably include one or more cockerels (young roosters). If you end up with more […]
Continue ReadingHow Long After Mating Does a Hen Lay Fertile Eggs?
When a rooster mates a hen, his injected semen is stored in numerous sperm storage tubules (SSTs) located in the area where the hen’s uterus joins the vagina. That is, provided the hen likes the rooster. If she doesn’t, she can squirt out the semen to avoid hatching his offspring. Assuming the hen approves of […]
Continue ReadingYour Christmas Goose
Geese were traditionally harvested when they were the fattest, toward the end of the year and in time for the holidays. Fat is essential for good meat flavor, and rendered goose fat makes a delicious shortening. Any goose breed is suitable to raise for meat, although the different breeds vary in size. You may want […]
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