It’s the middle of winter here in Minnesota and temperatures frequently drop below freezing. Many people question my choice to live here, but if they’d experience the other seasons, they would know why. Minnesota is a wonderful place to grow up, raise a family or even just visit! However, I do sometimes wonder if my flock wishes we lived somewhere more mild, but they can’t talk so I’ll never know! Ha! Why Do Chickens Lay Fewer Eggs in Winter? It's typical for egg production t

One of the most exciting times we’ve had in our backyard chicken experience is the day we received our very first egg. If you've gone through this, you know how thrilling that first egg is! When our girls first started laying it was very early spring. They were technically still “cooped up” then. But to our surprise, Coco plopped her first egg right there on the floor that day, and I didn’t even care because I was so excited!! After our first egg, I remember researching what

If you’ve never experienced a January in Minnesota, you should, at least once in your life! I was born and raised here, and still, there are times when I’m surprised at the sub-zero temperatures we get! I mean the kind of temperatures where your skin hurts just being outside, and your lungs sting when you inhale too quickly. Usually around this time of year, weather officials start to warn about the dangers these temps can cause. They tell us it’s important to take special ca

I remember the first time I watched our chickens go through their fall molt. I was so worried—I thought for sure my chickens were dying! They looked like a total mess. But after doing some research, I quickly learned that molting is a completely normal part of raising chickens. In fact, chickens go through two smaller molts as chicks before they experience their first big molt at around 12-18 months old. When the lazy days of summer turn into cooler, shorter fall days, you ma

When I started this adventure with backyard chickens, I said I wanted NO MORE than six chickens! I had chickens before, and both times, I ended up with too many and was overwhelmed. Fast-forward to now: Our kids are older, we have a better setup and here I am with 26 chickens! Haha! I didn’t start that way, though. Initially, I started with ten chicks, intending to give four away, but I found myself quickly attached to all ten. And then came spring. Our local farm supply stor