Untimely broodiness – breaking the habit

In normal circumstances I welcome broody chickens with open arms (although given the manner of some of my broodies I mean that metaphorically as you would be lucky to get anywhere near them!) However during the late summer months, and in particular during July and August, it can be a real problem if you find …

Chief Vet Nigel Gibbens questions the viability of free range egg production in avian influenza high risk areas – Farming UK News

This might not be what people want but I can't deny the logic behind the fact that if you can't free range then don't free range. It's up to you to decide if that means don't keep chickens, or do keep them but in a contained environment. "UK's Chief Vet Nigel Gibbens has said that …

More sugar coating of egg production – aka Alternative Facts

So...fancy some alternate facts? Read this emotional 'plea' to 'save' spent hens. They are barely a year old and looking for new homes Source: Hens could be slaughtered - unless people don't come forward to offer them new homes - Coventry Telegraph Yep, you read it right, farmer goes and buys 5,000 hens, puts them in …

Farmers left with fowl problem as consumers flock to free range eggs

  I was interested to read the below article in the i paper particularly as it resonates with many of the articles I have written on the subject over the years in titles like Country Smallholding, Fancy Fowl and even the Guardian back in 2012   "Free range egg sales have reached the same level …

Let sense prevail… incubators off.

As another breeding season draws to a close I find myself looking back over my hatching records, and the cross section of growers I have on the go. In front of me on the wall is a 'post-it' note that states “No Eggs To Be Set After End Of May”. It is in my son’s …

WorldPoultry – Commercial poultry embryo sexing a step closer

Excellent development and something I've been following and commenting on in Country Smallholding column for a couple of years.

WorldPoultry – German parliament rejects male chick cull ban

....but is killing them before they hatch really the answer or just the cheaper option?

Race is on to rehome thousands of chickens (to increase profits?)

"CAN you make sure these chickens do not fall foul of the slaughterhouse and give them a new home?" Source: Race is on to rehome thousands of chickens (From The Argus) Yep, yet another pile of misinformation with cracking quotes like "Legally hens cannot be kept on farms for longer than 78 weeks because the …

What goes in must come out – the blindness of backyard poultry keepers?

  I’m quite vocal at times about the contrast between commercial poultry rearing and small scale or backyard keeping. I can be quite damning about some the legislation because I’m a great believer that in a large majority of cases one size doesn’t fit all. In fact the concept of one size fitting all seems …

Review of the Year: Ten of 2015’s Biggest Poultry News Stories

Even if you only keep a few birds as pets or for an egg supply for the kitchen it is worth keeping up to speed on what is happening within the commercial side of our 'hobby' c/o The Poultry Site CHRISTMAS SPECIAL - An editor's selection box of some of this year's news stories that …