2014

Digital Art - How to Draw Chickens Like a Boss... Or like a SAHM trying to pay bills...

So this is the beginning of our rags to rich... ermmm... not-so-raggedy... story. Back in late August my husband lost his job. Losing a job ...

This Week In Chicken Art

Michael King Friday, 17 October 2014 Add Comment Chicken Art Edit

I have plenty of great blog posts in my head, but until I get all my illustrations done, they'll have to stay in my head. So instead, th...

NCK Online Show Awards Ceremony

Michael King Wednesday, 8 October 2014 Add Comment Online Poultry Show Edit

Well - this post would have come out much sooner, but due to a glitch with Blogger, the entire post was erased when I was trying to post it ...

Photo Shoot and How to Draw a Chicken... Or Two

Michael King Monday, 6 October 2014 Add Comment Chicken Art Edit

What a fun and crazy weekend I have had! Ever since my husband lost his job and my youngest became home-bound for fear she might catch the d...

Pictures of Chicks and Chicken Artwork - The Sequel

Michael King Monday, 29 September 2014 Add Comment Chicken Art, Chicks Edit

I have been seriously, ridiculously, over-the-top busy working on chicken breed artwork for GRIT Magazine 's 2015 Guide to Backyard Chic...

Fall - The Best Time to Plant Garlic (Your Chickens Will Thank You!)

Michael King Monday, 22 September 2014 Add Comment garlic Edit

Fall is the best time to plant garlic - specifically just after the first frost. If you live in Australia, please flip this post upside down...

Chicken Artwork - Roosters and Hens

Michael King Wednesday, 17 September 2014 Add Comment Breeds, Chicken Art, Hen Art, Rooster Art Edit

In today's episode of You Show Me Yours and I'll Show You Mine... Of course as you may know, we are hosting our first ever Online P...

Working for Chicken Feed

Michael King Sunday, 14 September 2014 Add Comment Online Poultry Show, Poultry Show Edit

While my husband diligently searches for a job and my flock muddles its way through a molt, we have found ourselves in a position where we c...

The Truth about Guinea Fowl

Michael King Wednesday, 10 September 2014 Add Comment Guinea, Guinea Fowl Edit

Are you considering getting a flock of guineas? (Do you have masochistic tendencies?) Guinea fowl are commonly used to control tick and mosq...

To YOU - who Helped My Family

Michael King Wednesday, 3 September 2014 Add Comment Edit

Thank You! Clearly you understood that we are a proud family and very much want to work for everything we get. That is why you sent a $200 g...

Molting Season – Fewer Eggs and Fewer Feathers

Michael King Tuesday, 2 September 2014 Add Comment eggs, Feather Picking, Feather Sheath, feathering, feathers, Molting, Pin Feathers Edit

Molting season is upon us, and with it comes a reduction in egg production and possibly some raggedy-looking chickens. In the late summer ...

So Thankful for YOUR Support!

Michael King Wednesday, 27 August 2014 Add Comment Edit

Yes - YOU. My readers and supporters. I have received so many emails and messages of support, work ideas and even a few photography and port...

Hard Choices for Hard Times - Please Read

Michael King Monday, 25 August 2014 Add Comment Edit

Today my husband lost his job. There - I said it. It will take a while for the sting to dissipate from those words. Of course this means I...

Preparing and Showing Your Chicken at a Poultry Show

Michael King Friday, 22 August 2014 Add Comment Bath, Grooming, Poultry Show, Preparing for a Show Edit

Yesterday I tried something I have never done before. I took one of my Swedish Flower Hen pullets to a poultry show at a county fair. One o...

My Gingerbread House Chicken Coop - Another Upcycling Project

Michael King Monday, 18 August 2014 Add Comment coop, Creative Coops, Run Edit

My family had been renting the century-old farmhouse on a beautiful horse farm (partially pictured in the header) since June of 2012. We wer...

Life Hacks - 40+ Boredom Busters for Chickens and Chicks

Michael King Sunday, 3 August 2014 Add Comment behavior, Boredom, Bullying, Feather Picking, Hacks, Mean Chicken, Pecking Order Edit

We speak highly of free ranging on this blog. There are so many benefits for the chickens and for your feed bills, but the truth of the matt...

Bird Shots - Portraits of Chickens

Michael King Tuesday, 29 July 2014 Add Comment behavior, Photos Edit

One thing that many non-chicken people don't know is that every chicken has its own personality. Right from the start that personality i...

Processing My Meat Birds (Heads are Going to Roll!)

Michael King Monday, 21 July 2014 Add Comment Cornish Cross, Cornish X, culling, Killing, Processing Edit

Let me start by saying that if you are an animal rights activist or don't believe that animals should be killed for meat, this post is ...

The Broody Bunch

Michael King Tuesday, 8 July 2014 Add Comment broody, Chicks, Hatching, Hatching Eggs Edit

Here's the story, Of a lovely lady, Who was sitting on 2 very lovely eggs. both of them were Swedish Flower, Like their mother, Though t...

Raising Ducklings and Chicks Together & Aspergillosis in Chickens

Michael King Sunday, 6 July 2014 Add Comment Aspergillosis, coop, Disease, Health, Necropsy Edit

*** Warning - this blog post contains graphic materials. *** Yesterday as my husband and I were working on a new run for our young flock of ...

Wry Neck - Using Turmeric to Treat Wry Neck in a Chicken

Michael King Wednesday, 2 July 2014 Add Comment Christine Myers, Health, Wry Neck Edit

~ By: Christine Myers Just last week, I was standing in my yard, looking at my favorite pullet, feeling sure I’d have to euthanize her. Hop...

Bird Shots - Photos from this Week

Michael King Saturday, 7 June 2014 Add Comment Edit

Just Chillin' (with) My Meat Birds

Michael King Monday, 2 June 2014 Add Comment Cornish Cross, Cornish X, Free ranging, Leigh, Meat, Meat Birds Edit

Just chillin' (with) my meat birds. So there's something you don't hear every day. In this day and age of factory farming we a...

The Dry Incubation Method for Hatching Difficult-to-Hatch Breeds

Michael King Thursday, 22 May 2014 Add Comment Hatching, Hatching Eggs, Incubating, Incubators Edit

~ By Karen I hatch a LOT of eggs – generally more than a thousand annually. Over the years I have had a great deal of luck with the Dry Inc...

Chicken Keeping