Poultry Breeds
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Volume 11, Number 4 Backyard August/September 2016 PoultryDedicated to more and better small-flock poultry The Coolest A Vocabulary of 2016 Guide for Coops NEW CHICKEN OWNERS Cooking with OSTRICH EGGS A Profile of the AFRICAN GOOSE $4.99 US www.countrysidenetwork.com Backyard Poultry FP 12-15 THINK:Mother Earth 4.5 x7 12/17/15 3:20 PM Page 1 SATISFACTION GUARANTEED oryourmoneyback! To Protect Your Property From Night Predator Animals Nite•Guard Solar® has been proven effective in repelling predator animals for the past 19 years. #1 Nite•Guard Solar attacks the deepest most primal The World’s fear of night animals, that of being discovered. Top Selling Solar Powered Nite•Guard When the sun goes down, Nite•Guard begins to Security System Repellent Tape DON’T BE FOOLED BY Keeps predators flash and continues until sunrise. 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NO EGG DISCARD ALL NATURAL FORMULATED FOR CHICKENS, TURKEYS, DUCKS, GEESE, DOMESTIC POULTRY, AND WATERFOWL OF ALL AGES Now there is a comprehensive, safe, and effective way to help protect poultry health ® The Backyard Chicken™ Health Pack is designed to ZYFEND A improve intestinal health, provide safe drinking water, n Use during worm infestations to help offset and help protect poultry from worm related issues. worm related issues The all natural formula supports 25 chicks for about n All natural with no synthetic chemicals 50 days with three water soluble health aids – n One bottle treats 90 gallons of water HealthyFlock ® Tabs, Oxy E-100, and Zyfend® A. HEALTHYFLOCK® TABS n Targets harmful pathogens n Improves intestinal health n Contains beneficial bacteria n All natural formula n One bottle treats 90 gallons of water OXY E-100 n Sanitizes drinking water n Safe and easy to use n Reduces exposure to pathogens n One bottle treats 90 gallons of water Downward Chicken photos by gina easley Gina Easley is a multi-talented backyard poultry enthusiast who enjoys spending time among her chickens, even if it’s in a full yoga pose. Her flock of turkeys, ducks and chickens all are allowed to wander around her garden and enjoy the love and attention Gina gives them every day. Oh yeah, and she’s also a pretty good photographer, which is why her pictures were selected for this issue’s opening photo essay. 4 Backyard Poultry Yoga, a Hindu spiritual practice, involves breath control, meditation and body postures to promote health and relaxation. It also helps with coordination, which can mean one less broken egg every now and then. Ducks and chickens free-range around Gina’s property while she meditates in a lotus pose. 44 Coolest Coops Clever designs, functional features and good cover for flocks helped make these three coops this year’s winners. 4 Downward Chicken FEATURES CONTENTS 30 Family Album 14 Something To Crow About The best of the best submission from flocks around the world. 11.4 18 Coming Events 34 Bookstore 36 Poultry Talk Ron Kean and Pam Freeman answer reader questions about their flocks. 42 Healthy Feed Peppermint has been proven to help a chicken’s immune system 28 and strengthen eggshells. HELPFUL HINTS 44 The Coolest Coops of 2016 Pictures and coop details 22 Sex-Links and the W Chromosome from the top three finishers How long-awaited research into the female chromosome is turning into in our third annual Coolest a field of its own. Coops contest. 24 The Nervous System In part 7 of our biology series, Thomas Fuller traces the chicken’s nervous 48 From Nutrena system, from their brains to their feet. Ten chicken-feeding facts for 28 Free-Range Problems your flock. Your chickens want to be free, but that’s not always good for them. 8 Backyard Poultry 52 Breast Myopathies How to recognize and prevent muscle diseases in common backyard meat birds. 56 Why the Flu Never Flies Chicken eggs are vital for studying viruses at the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia. 62 Chickens (n): Defined A vocabulary list built just for chicken owners. Fowl Language Kenny Coogan finds all the poultry clichés and 60 idioms you can put in one basket. 64 The African Goose We introduce you to a versatile bird with a little bit of attitude. 70 Finding CoCo CoCo is showing off a few deals on cool new products aimed at backyard poultry owners. 78 For the Love of the Hobby Judy Mehlman updates us on all the animals, including chickens, Happy Hen Treats entertaining her in her backyard. Premium Treats for Chickens 82 Shell Games We know how much you love your flock, so reward them How many ducks does it take to lay an with some tasty Happy Hen Treats. Our treats are specially egg? How many have you got? formulated for chickens and made from quality ingredients. We know you’ll love our products, because all our products 84 Gertrude McCluck An Enormous Task are tested and approved by our own backyard flock. 86 Marketplace Janice Cole has some fun cooking with an ostrich egg, which will feed 88 Breeder’s Directory a small village. 72 Visit us online to find a dealer near you! 90 Classifieds happyhentreats.com 10 Backyard Poultry Happy Hen Treats Premium Treats for Chickens We know how much you love your flock, so reward them with some tasty Happy Hen Treats. Our treats are specially formulated for chickens and made from quality ingredients. We know you’ll love our products, because all our products are tested and approved by our own backyard flock. Visit us online to find a dealer near you! happyhentreats.com Volume 11, Number 4 : August/September 2016 BACKYARD POULTRY www.countrysidenetwork.com ON THE General Manager Mike Campbell COVER [email protected] Special thanks to Sue Sturm from Editor Ryan Slabaugh Illinois, who won our August/ [email protected] September 2016 cover contest. We allowed our online readers Circulation and Fulfillment to vote for their favorite cover Laura Ching, Ellen Soper, Lori Adams, for this issue, and this was their Christine Barkley choice. Great job Sue! For more information about the photo, and Bookstore Managers for more pictures, see page 30. Ann Tom Sam Ingersoll [email protected] Advertising Representatives From Backyard Poultry 800-551-5691 Alicia Komanec [email protected] One Chicken, Two Chickens, Kelly Weiler [email protected] Clint Lindell Three Chickens … [email protected] The most common question I get from other media Publication Designer discovering the backyard poultry lifestyle is, “How Malisa Samsel many backyard chickens are there in the country?” According to the 2012 U.S. Agriculture Census, the Backyard Poultry’s Main Coop number of poultry owners is exactly 221,779. Backyard Poultry My answer is usually two words: “No idea.” 145 Industrial Dr. Medford, WI 54451 Ask any small backyard poultry grower if they [email protected] completed a 2012 census report, and many will cock Ryan Slabaugh their head and look at you funny. If you are just using Subscriptions (U.S. funds): Editor the poultry for personal use (or just giving eggs to a $24.99 per year few neighbors and cousins), then chances are, nobody Backyard Poultry Subscriptions is counting you as part of the larger food system. 145 Industrial Dr. This idea seems a bit crazy to us — we talk to our readers every day, Medford, WI 54451 and eggs and meat are two of the most popular reasons our readers have for 800-551-5691 raising poultry. Many do it specifically because they know they can’t control everything about where they get their food, but they can control a few chickens Printed in the U.S.A. and get some farm fresh eggs. One state is trying to count you, the backyard chicken owner. California Backyard Poultry is launching a poultry census program to measure its number of backyard (ISSN 1559-2251, USPS 023-374) poultry growers, and are finding out quite amazing things. But, turnout is is published bi-monthly by Countryside Publications, still small. We are looking into the census program, and will publish the at 145 Industrial Dr., Medford, WI 54451. Periodicals postage paid at Medford, WI and additional findings, along with a story, in our October-November issue. If you’re in the mailing offices. ©2016 Countryside Publications. state, look it up and help them contribute at http://ucanr.edu/sites/poultry/ The views presented here do not necessarily represent California_Poultry_Census. those of the editor or publisher. All contents of this One side note before I close: Every time I write headlines for the cover, issue of Backyard Poultry are copyrighted by Countryside Publications, 2016. All rights reserved. I feel like I’m leaving out a number of pieces that deserve more recognition. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited except In this issue, one of those is a feature about how unfertilized chicken eggs by permission of the publisher. are used to harvest and grow vaccines that are vital to our public health. It’s a must read and on page 56. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS. (See DMM 707.4.12.5); NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: Contact Ryan Slabaugh at [email protected]. send address corrections to Backyard Poultry Subscriptions, 145 Industrial Dr., Medford, WI 54451 12 Backyard Poultry Do You Have Something To Crow About? We want to hear from you.