Author: Tanner Barnsley

Tanner Barnsley is the pen name on Chicken Rise's backyard chicken guides: what is safe to feed a flock, breeds, coops and chicks. Chicken Rise is written by a small team under pen names; we are not vets, and if a bird is unwell, call an avian vet.

Food

Can Chickens Eat Snap Peas? Fresh Pods, Vines and How to Serve

Yes, chickens can eat snap peas. Pod and all, raw is fine. You don’t have to shell them and you don’t have…
Food

Can Chickens Eat Mushrooms? Store-Bought, Wild and the Ones to Avoid

Yes, chickens can eat mushrooms. The store-bought kind, anyway. The wild ones that pop up in your run after a fall rain…
Coop, Homestead

Chicken Compost Bin: Let the Flock Turn the Pile, Not Finish It

Every October the two big oaks behind my place drop more leaves than I can rake in a weekend, and for years…
Coop

Small Backyard Chicken Coop for 3 to 6 Hens: What I’d Build

A small coop for 3 to 6 hens needs two nest boxes, 18 square feet of floor, buried wire and a real…
Raise

Free Range Chickens: Hours, Hawks, Dogs and Getting Them Back In

Let hens out after the morning lay and lock them in at dusk, every night. Give them cover from hawks, and keep…
Raise

How to Collect, Clean and Store Fresh Eggs (Skip the Sink)

Collect eggs twice a day, brush off dirt dry instead of washing, and get them in the fridge at 40°F or below,…
Raise

Integrating Chicks Into Your Flock: Feathers First, Then a Wire Wall

The hen that almost killed my first pullet wasn’t being vicious. She was just three times the pullet’s size, and I put…
Raise

When Can Chicks Go Outside? Around Six Weeks, Weather Permitting

My friend Matt moved his grow-out batch outside at six weeks because that’s what the internet told him. Woke up the next…
Raise

Medicated or Non-Medicated Chick Starter? Ask About the Vaccine First

Before you buy the bag, find out one thing from the hatchery or the farm store: were your chicks vaccinated for coccidiosis?…
Raise

Brooder Temperature for Chicks: Week by Week, and How to Read It

You just got home with a box of chicks and you’ve got a thermometer clipped to the side of your brooder —…
Raise

Chick Brooder Setup: What’s Worth Buying and What’s a Waste

The feed store sold my neighbor a $90 starter kit the day she brought her chicks home, and two of those items…
Raise

Raising Baby Chicks: Week by Week From Brooder to First Egg

Raising baby chicks pretty much comes down to a handful of changes you make at the right time. The heat starts high…
Coop

Bucket Nesting Boxes: How a 5-Gallon Bucket Measures Up

A 5-gallon bucket makes a fine nest box if it’s food-grade. How it measures up, how many your hens need, bedding, cleaning…