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.
-
Wing Feather Sexing: How to Read a Chick’s Wing, and When It Won’t Work
Wing feather sexing only works on chicks bred for it, like white egg-layer hybrids. How to read the wing in the first…
-
Can Chickens Eat Watermelon? Yes, but It’s a Treat, Not Their Water
Yes, and frozen watermelon is a good heat-wave treat. A hen’s share is only 10 to 15 grams, though, so it’s a…
-
6 Chicken Roost Ideas and the Spacing Numbers Behind Them
Six chicken roost ideas, from a plain square bar to a branch or a pallet, with the bar length, height and spacing…
-
Rhode Island Red vs Buff Orpington: Which Hen Fits Your Flock?
Same price and about the same eggs, so what splits them is size, feed, broody hens and the Red rooster. Here’s how…
-
Can Chickens Eat Black-Eyed Peas? Yes, if They’re Cooked and Plain
Black-eyed peas are cowpeas, and raw ones carry lectins and trypsin inhibitors. Cook them plain, with no salt or pork, and give…
-
Laying the Foundation: A Beginner’s Handbook to Egg-Raising Chickens 🐣
🥚 By Tanner · ChickenRise How to Raise Chickens for Eggs From picking the breed to the eggs you can’t eat fast…
-
Chicken Pen vs Run: Fixed or Moving Is the Real Choice
Pen or run is mostly a name. What really matters is fixed or moving, roof or no roof, and where your hens…
-
Chicken Pen Ideas: 4 Run Layouts and What Each One Needs
Four chicken pen layouts checked against 15 sources: a roofed run, two runs in turns, a pen that moves and electric netting,…
-
Chicken Coop Ideas: 3 Styles Checked Against 12 Extension Guides
Three chicken coop ideas, from a doghouse with a run to a coop you move to fresh grass, held to what 12…
-
Can Chickens Eat Black Rice? A Grain, Not a Superfood
Yes, raw or cooked, if it’s plain and stays a treat. To a hen it’s one more grain, with about the same…
-
Can Chickens Eat Bitter Melon? Yes, but Not the Seeds
Green bitter melon and its leaves are fine as a small treat for hens. The seeds and the ripe, split fruit aren’t,…
-
Can Chickens Eat Beet Tops? Yes, a Few Leaves at a Time, the Rest Kept Cold
Yes, raw or cooked, but a hen’s share is about half a leaf a day. Snip a few leaves from the row,…
-
Can Chickens Eat Barley Grass? Yes, Young and as a Treat
Yes, and hens will clean up sprouted barley. Cut it young and short, skip moldy fodder, and keep grain to about a…
