OMG! It's a Roo! How to Tell if You Have a Hen or a Rooster

Are you wondering if you have a rooster in your flock? If so, you're not alone. As baby chicks start to grow up, it's not uncommon to wonder about the sex of your chickens even if you chose from the pullet brooder at the store or ordered pullets directly from the hatchery. Here's my personal story with getting an accidental rooster and how you can tell what you've got one (or three) in your flock.

Roopert as a young rooster.

Baby Chicks Get Outside Time

As spring gets warmer and baby chicks get older, people wonder when their chicks can get outside for some exercise and time to scratch and peck. After all, the ultimate goal for your chickens is to live in the backyard. But when is that possible? Are there small steps you can take toward the ultimate goal?

How to Make Marbled & Tie-Dyed Easter Eggs

Why make Easter decorating hard on yourself or expensive? You can make marbled eggs and tie-dyed eggs using everyday ingredients from your pantry including food coloring. These techniques produce beautiful eggs that look like they came from a fancy egg dyeing kit. Both you and your kids are sure to love them!

Marbled Eggs

Creative Easter Egg Decorating Ideas

Easter's such a fun holiday. So why not step it up and use some creative Easter egg decorating ideas your whole family is sure to love.

As I grew up, we always bought our white eggs from the store and used a PAAS Easter egg kit to make beautiful Easter creations. It’s not that my mom didn’t know how to dye eggs with food coloring; I just think my sister and I loved buying our cool egg kits so much that she didn’t deny us the pleasure.

Fast forward to today, and at Easter, my egg customers have a definite preference for the white eggs laid by my Brown Leghorn chickens. They see all the kits in the store and fall for the myth that white eggs dye so much prettier than other colors. Nothing, in my opinion, can be farther from the truth. In my family, we prefer to dye the brown and green eggs laid by the rest of my flock. I love the deep, rich tones that the brown and green eggs provide when they’re dyed. And frankly, we don’t need a kit from the store. We use the food dye from our pantry and find that it’s so versatile that we can make tons of interesting combinations.

Polka dot, rubber band and flower decorated eggs. 

How to Make Glitter and Floral Print Easter Eggs

These fun Easter egg decorating techniques give a nod to my girls, who love anything sparkly, and to my garden for the life it brings after a long winter’s sleep. Learning how to glitter your eggs and make floral print Easter eggs is easy, fun and colorful!

How to Make Silk Tie Dyed Eggs

This time of year the grocery store aisles are packed with Easter egg dyeing kits. I'm not opposed to these kits but am always on the lookout for creative dyeing techniques that don't come out of a box. Silk tie dye eggs fit that bill perfectly. I first saw this technique on Martha Stewart and soon found they are a beautiful way to reuse old silk. They are mess free. The get the hard-boiling and dyeing done in one step. And, they will wow anyone who sees them.

What is Coltsfoot?

Are you seeing dandelions in the spring? You may want to double check. Those yellow flowers you're seeing could be coltsfoot.

While its flowers are pretty, this plant is actually named after its leaves which resemble a horseshoe in cross section. Coltsfoot flowers pop up in early spring and are often found in poor, disturbed soils. (Which is why it grows next to my driveway!) The leaves don't appear until after the flowers have died back and the plant has gone to seed, so in the spring, the flowers show up with no apparent leaves. 

Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara)