7 Tips for Buying Chicks From the Feed Store

Make Sure You're Prepared Before You Get to the Feed Store

For a few months each spring, when you walk into your local feed store, you're greeted to the chorus of tiny chicken chirps as the annual chick season tempts so many shoppers. If you're not sure of where to buy baby chicks, this is a great place to pick up your first flock members or add to your existing flock of backyard chickens. It's local. It's immediate. And it's fun.

Here are some tips to make the process easier on you and your new flock members.

How To Care For A Shamrock Plant

This is the time that shamrock plants are in abundance in stores each March. Should you lay down a few clams and purchase one? Yes! Shamrock plants are worth it for a holiday treat and an easy-to-care-for houseplant that will rebloom again and again. 

Molting Chickens Explained

Molting is a natural process that chickens go through at different times in their lives. A chicken's first molts take place as it grows from a baby chick to an adult. Because they're babies, we tend to think of this as a process of growing up, and it is, but it's technically molting.

As adult chickens, molting takes place in late summer and fall when birds replace old feathers with new plumage.

What is the Preen Gland on a Chicken?

The uropygial gland, better known as the preen gland or oil gland, is located near the base of the tail. It's normally hidden under feathers, but molting and feather loss can expose it. What is the preen gland on a chicken? It’s a gland that produces the oil that chickens use when preening their feathers.

Can You Raise Chicks in the Fall?

Chick season is prominent in the spring, but can you raise chicks in the fall? Yes. In many parts of the country, fall weather is mild and raising chicks is easy. But even in the North, raising chicks in the fall is possible and even preferable by many. If you'd like to start a flock or expand your existing flock, fall is a great time to take the plunge!

Why do Roosters Crow? Plus Answers to Other Odd Chicken Questions!

Why do roosters crow? Have you really stopped to think about all that crowing? Why so much? If you feed your chickens meat will they turn into cannibals? What about your backyard swimming pool; is that a place your chickens might like to visit? So many questions! Here are five top chicken questions along with the answers.

Feathers 101 - Why Does a Chicken Lose Feathers and More....

Why does a chicken lose feathers? Why are some feathers fluffy and others not? Why do roosters have different feathers than hens? There are so many questions about chicken feathers. Here’s a helpful guide to answer those questions and more…