Cock-a-doodle-oo-la-la.

The Dorking is one of the most ancient of all domesticated poultry. Believed to have originated...

Let's take a closer look at 12 of the most popular blue chicken breeds, exploring their unique features and what makes them stand out!

Key Characteristics The North Holland Blue’s very quiet and docile nature makes them a pleasure and easy to manage. They love to forage and are ideal for free-range living. They are efficient converters of food. Mature birds that are not in lay, confined and overfed can easily run to fat. The breed is almost ‘auto sexing’, most cockerel chicks are much lighter in colour than their sisters, although about 20% of chicks are difficult to sex until older. They are now a very rare breed. History The North Holland Blue (British type) is included in the RBST’s list of native breeds because it differs from its ‘parent breed’, the Noord Hollandse Hoender which is from the Netherlands. Development of the Noord Hollandse started about 1900, where Belgian Malines, which were big but not hardy were crossed with smaller, hardier local breeds to produce table birds for the Amsterdam markets. Some of them were imported to the UK in 1934 but they were still variable. UK North Hollands were standardised with feathered legs and Dutch-Noord Hollandse with clean legs. The breed was conserved virtually single-handedly by Les Miles in his modest back garden at nearby Enfield. Les was a classic example of how one person, with just a normal garden, really can make a difference to poultry breed conservation. Appearance The North Holland Blue is a heavy meat breed. There is only one colour variety, cuckoo. The male has slightly lighter colouring than the female. British birds should have lightly feathered legs. Uses Depending on the strain they could lay about 150 - 180 good sized light brown eggs in a year. They mature quickly and to a heavy size and also make good white-skinned table birds (males weigh 3.8-4.8 kg). Did you know? As there is only one colour variety, the cuckoo, it seems confusing that this breed is called blue. The breed was called North Holland Blue because they were said to look blue from a distance. Breed Societies Rare Poultry Society

Discover the practicality of Wyandotte chickens. Dual-purpose breed with exquisite feather patterns, great for eggs and meat.

Thinking of keeping Cochin chickens? Learn the mysteries and facts about these fluffy, best-tempered, and feather-footed backyard pets.

Angora Goats do not produce Angora wool, the super fluffy Angora rabbits do that, but Angora goats do produce a fiber, which is known as Mohair. Angora goats are a specific breed of goat. At one time they were pretty much only white in color, but in recent years people have begun breeding them in different colors. The Angora goat originated in Turkey and as focus was mostly on the fiber production they are not a particularly hardy or prolific breed of goat, often having only one or two kids, and tending to be prone to parasites. Angora Goat - photo from wikimedia The fleece of an Angora goat grows fast, about one inch (2.5cm) per month and is sheared twice a year. It is often used for blankets and sweaters. Wethers (castrated male goats) tend to be the best producers of Mohair. Cashmere Goats are more of a type of goat that produce hairs which are soft and often removed by brushing as they will eventually shed out. The fiber itself is then called Cashmere. There are over 60 breeds of goat which product Cashmere, including the Myotonic goats (fainting goats). The younger goats tend to produce the better Cashmere, which is often used to make scarfs, baby blankets, and so forth. "" High Quality Cashmere & Pashmina Apparel at Fabulous Prices. Free S&H for orders above $100."" About Goats Goats are a bit more tricky to keep than sheep (that is one of the reasons we do not keep them) they tend to climb fences, or sneak under fences. Goats are browsers and will nibble trees, shrubs, and flowers. Goats are sexually mature around 5 months of age but it is best not to breed them until they are at least 8 months of age. Gestation for a goat is 5 months.

More about one of the recent additions to the Barnevelder stable: The…

The giraffe cichlid, or as it is commonly known the venustus, is a beautiful giraffe-colored fish that is readily available and easy to care for. The giant 8-inch African cichlid can grow up to 10

Chickens are categorized as pure breeds, hybrids, and bantams. A chicken breed is a group of birds with distinctive characteristics. There are more than 500 chicken breeds throughout the world. There are laying breeds, meat breeds, and ornamental breeds. Some breeds are also considered dual purpose or raised for both eggs and meat. Each breed is further subdivided into varieties based on physical characteristic, such as color, comb type, leg feathering, presence of a beard or muffs, or comb type (i.e. single comb white leghorn). Many breeds have a single comb. Rose combs are typically flat and close to the bird's head. Common breeds include Brahma, Cochin, Orpington, Plymouth Rock, Rhode Island red, and Wyandotte...

If you're thinking about raising alpacas, we've put together this very comprehensive guide, detailing every aspect of caring for them.

Geese and goslings make good pets, great lawn mowers, and excellent watchdogs. Here's how to keep them healthy and happy.

African Peacock Cichlids Growers Choice at azgardens.com since 1987

Ancona ducks are not only adorable, they are great egg layers, friendly and docile. There's not reason not to want to raise them.

Make use of an experienced homesteading goat breeder's knowledge, by reading her guide on goat breeding, before venturing into breeding goats.

Just like any other type of livestock, pigs have three basic requirements: food, water, and shelter. Compared to other animals, housing for pigs can be fairly minimal as long as it protects them from wind, rain, and the elements.

11 kinds of poultry to consider adding to your homestead! Not a chicken fan? No problem...here are 10 other varieties of poultry that you can raise and breed!

Wonder How Long to Separate Duck Breeds for Purebred Ducklings? This post has the answer!

Leghorn chickens is a very popular chicken breed due to their use in commercial egg production factories. They've been bred for excellent production.

Owls aren't the biggest threat to chickens, but they can sometimes pose a threat so it's good to know how to keep your flock safe. Learn how to keep owls away from chickens and how to appreciate the benefits owls have on the farm. Not bound by the earth and not stopped by putting up a solid fence, owls and hawks have an aura of mystery that surrounds them. The reality is they are not the greatest threat to a flock. The ground assault from raccoons, foxes, and other four-footed mammals is much more relentless and focused on the all-you-can-eat buffet at the coop. However, it’s not unheard of to experience losses from owls and hawks. There are two things to remember when focusing on protecting chickens from owls and hawks – laws and identification. Laws It is illegal to harm or kill a bird of prey, which includes, hawks, owls, falcons, eagles, and kites. You can receive jail time and a hefty fine, so it’s not advisable to use predator elimination as a method to protect your flock from native birds of prey. Pin the image below to save this information for later. Identification It’s vital to correctly identify your predator otherwise you may spend all your time and efforts on the wrong predator and continue to experience losses. In the case of an owl or hawk, you can’t always trust your eyes to accurately help you with identification. Sometimes an owl or hawk will be found at the scene of an attack and not have actually committed the crime. Finding food in the wild can be hard and consume lots of energy, so if they find a carcass, they’re unlikely to turn down a free meal. Ground predators will sometimes take more than one chicken at a time if possible. An owl or hawk will eat one bird per day. Multiple losses at one time equal a ground-dweller. If an owl or hawk has attacked your flock, sometimes you’ll just come up short when you do your nightly headcount. You’ll find no evidence. That’s the same with other predators too. They’re stealthy. Sometimes all that’s left behind will be a pile of feathers. If that’s the case, it can be impossible to identify the culprit. Scattered feathers can be the byproduct of many attackers. Owls and hawks do pluck the feathers and other inedible parts from their victims leaving a large pile of feathers on the ground. They will do this at the site of the kill if they feel safe or go to a plucking perch which is a safe place to roost and eat. An owl will swallow its victim whole if it can. If you find a pile of plucked feathers it can sometimes result in valuable clues and make you feel like a forensic scientist. Look closely, sometimes you can see the beak marks on the feather shafts. And look for tissue at the base of the feather. If you find tissue, you know the feathers were plucked when the victim was already dead and cold – a piggyback crime. If you find clean bases, the victim was plucked shortly after the kill. Raptors (birds of prey) will defecate at a kill site. An owl will leave heaps of chalky whitewash on the ground. A hawk will leave whitewash radiating out from the feather pile. You can see the wing imprints left from a hawk or owl that tried to attack a White Leghorn hen. Fortunately, the hen was unharmed except for a few missing feathers. Photo by Pam Freeman. Protecting Your Flock CLOSE THE COOP — The easiest way to protect your flock from owls is to make sure your birds return to the coop at dusk and that you close the coop at night. People think that owls only hunt in the dark of night, but that’s not true. They will hunt in the evening when the light is dulling and they will hunt in the early hours of the morning. So, don’t let your birds out first thing. Let the light come up fully before opening the coop for the day. (This technique also works for ground predator protection.) ELIMINATE PERCHES & ROOSTS — If you can, eliminate perch areas within 100 yards of the coop. This can be difficult as most coops are tucked into a tree line for shade or close to a house and other structures. But do what you can knowing it may not be perfect. Close up buildings where owls and hawks can roost. But be aware. Barn owls are endangered in some states. They rarely eat chickens and should be encouraged to roost in barns and other structures. SIZE MATTERS — If your chickens are going to free-range, take their size into account. A small bantam chicken can be the same size as local birds which are on the accepted menu for birds of prey. A standard or heavy chicken is much less likely to be on the menu. THINK CAMOUFLAGE — Think camouflage. Some people poo-poo this suggestion, but there are just as many that swear by it. When picking your chicken breeds, try to pick birds that blend in with the environment. A chicken with a lot of white feathers, like a White Leghorn, is more easily seen. On a personal note, my only confirmed loss from a bird of prey was a White Leghorn. With my next batch of chicks, I ordered Brown Leghorns and haven’t experienced bird of prey loss in years. PROVIDE HIDING SPOTS — Provide lots of hiding spots. While you’re removing perch spots which are high up, don’t remove hiding spots for your chickens. Planting bushes and allowing your chickens access under decks and overhangs is essential when they free range. Smart chickens learn quickly to take cover if danger is circling overhead. KEEP TRACK OF THE CALENDAR — While hawks and owls are year-round predators, they do migrate in spring and fall. During those times, backyards and farms that are in the migration path can experience high predator volume. Be more diligent during those times and consider using more than one protection technique so you’re covering all your bases. Don’t be afraid to keep your birds inside for a few days to let the threat pass. GET A FLOCK PROTECTOR — If you have a poultry-friendly dog, let it out in the yard at different times throughout the day and especially at dusk. An owl or hawk isn’t going to take the risk of confronting your canine friend, so your dog can be a great solution for how to keep owls away from your chickens. Also, think about adding a rooster to your flock if you live in an area that allows them. A rooster can be really good at assessing potential danger. With an eye to the sky, a rooster will give a distinctive cry if he spies a hawk or owl. The hens know to take cover when they hear the rooster’s sharp, shrill warning whistle and will take cover until the rooster lets them know danger has passed. FAKE IT — It may seem cheesy, but pick up a fake owl or hawk the next time you’re at your local farm store and/or grab a few extra scarecrows at Halloween. Birds of prey don’t want to tangle with each other or a person, so if you mount your fake predator, scarecrow or both, your yard will become an inhospitable spot. Just make sure to move them around because birds of prey are smart and they understand routine. COVER IT & TRICK IT — Depending on the size of your yard and run, it’s prudent to add protection above your birds. Put a cover on the run attached to your coop. If your yard is small, consider running small wires overhead so birds of prey can’t swoop from above. Also, grab some old cd’s or pie pans and hang them from branches around your yard, they will move in the wind and sparkle even as the sun is setting. This can give a wary predator pause. The good news is that hawks and owls aren’t the biggest concern that chicken keepers face and with a few simple techniques you can learn how to keep owls away from your chickens so they are happy and safe.

Mangalitsa piglets. | Photo by Tim Winkler If you’re considering moving away from conventional breeds to add a little diversity to the livestock on your small farm or homestead, Mangalitsa pigs are a great hog with a rich history. Mangalitsa, also known as a Mangalica pig or Mangalitza pig,

Guinea fowl colors – There are many types of guinea fowl in the world with various colors. Wanna know about it? Let's check it out here!

Geese often get overlooked because they have a rep. for being "mean and loud." But did you know there is a more tame and less noisy breed out there?

By Karen - The Dorking is an ancient breed tracing it's lineage all the way back to the Roman Empire and the birth of Christ. It was first introduced into Britain by the Romans and became a favorite of many, eventually taking the name of the region where it was most popular. Thus evolved the Dorking breed. The Dorking evolved as primarily a meat breed, but is also a decent layer of medium to large eggs, lays through the winter and can be an exceptionally vigilant and protective hen when broody. As a meat breed, the meat is fine textured and well flavored and has been a winner of several taste tests in recent years. The Dorking of today isn't as large as its ancestors of even 50 years ago but still retains all the finer points of the breed, so now it's up to Dorking enthusiasts to bring it back up to its ideal size. Dorking roosters should mature near 9 pounds and hens near 7 pounds (but as I said before, many do not reach their ideal size at this time). They have a long and low structure a friend once referred to as 'barge-like'. Their legs are relatively short with the thighs hidden well up in the body feathers, have five toes and white skin. They are fairly slow growing with roosters reaching their full size by 2 years old. Hens typically start laying between 5 and 6 months old. Unfortunately, with the advent of the commercial broilers (of which the Dorking is one of the original ancestors) and the American preference for yellow skin, the slow growing Dorking fell out of favor. Since then it seems that "Bigger, Better, Faster, More" applied to peoples' lives more and more as the years went on. A few dedicated breeders continued on with the Dorking, but their population and size decreased with their popularity. In recent years, with the resurgence of "Heritage" breeds, the Dorking is slowly regaining some of it's popularity. In my opinion there is no equal to the Dorking, whether it be for the gourmet table bird or the all-round usefulness as a dual-purpose egg and meat breed or as an exceptional free range bird or broody for rearing chicks. The APA recognizes 6 varieties; (single combed) Silver Grey, Colored, Red and Single as well as Rose Combed Cuckoo and Rose Combed White. A large part of the problem with Dorkings is that there are so few sources of quality birds. The primary sources people get their birds from are hatcheries. Murray McMurray is currently probably one of the best sources for Silver Grey Dorkings. Sandhill Preservation Center has the best readily available Red and Colored Dorkings I've seen, though if you are willing to wait and hunt around, the Roger Tice and Dick Horstman lines of Reds are my personal preference. Cuckoos are few and far between, so I have no frame of reference for them at all. The Whites, however, are best gotten from Yellow House Farm. YHF is not a dedicated hatchery, but a farm dedicated to preserving and improving a few select breeds. His White Dorkings are exceptional, in my opinion. Now on to my own birds... I have a small flock of Dorkings, compared to some. For the silver greys, I will be keeping my six largest hens and two best roosters for breeding. I have four red hens I am keeping, but I am short a rooster at this time, thanks to a series of attacks by predators. I have one red cockerel in the grow-out pen but he's only 7 weeks old as I write this article, and I have no way of knowing how he will mature. I will also be contacting the breeder that two of my girls and my previous rooster came from to see if he has anything available. So hopefully in a few weeks we will be back up and running with the reds. I also have two colored girls who have no mates to match, but will be put with a red rooster at some point, to see if I can rebuild a nice colored flock. But that is a project for later. Some people have asked me to also write about things not usually touched on for various breeds... One of the biggest things I have noticed with my Dorkings, is their dislike of confinement and crowding. Most of my birds free range except when they are penned for breeding. As a free range bird, they are exceptional foragers and the roosters are extremely vigilant in finding choice goodies for the girls, warning of dangers and even protecting them from attack. One rooster even took on a hawk to protect his girls, losing part of his comb in the process. I think that is why I no longer have a red rooster as well. He probably died defending his girls from the raccoons. Of that, I will never know for sure though. Hens can be exceptionally (annoyingly) broody and like their privacy. So if free ranging at the time, they will try to find secluded nests 'off the beaten path'. I've had to relocate a number of these "wild broodies" this year. Only two girls were successful in hatching their clutches. One had her nest under the ground-level deck (beneath the welcome mat) and the other next to the tractor shed. I allowed these two to stay where they were, simply because of difficulty in getting to them to remove the eggs. Some things I can say with certainty of my own Dorkings. They do not like being confined, but will tolerate it as long as they are not crowded and are provided ample roosting space in the pen as well as the coop. I also noticed they did not generally care for the shorter pens I use for my bantams, as they like to roost off the ground even during the day. They are not strong fliers, only able to fly (while flapping as hard as they can) about 20' from a roost 5' high. But they ARE exceptional jumpers, capable of launching to a perch well over 6 feet up! So when planning pens for them, I highly recommend covering them. So I will end now with a hope that some may decide to add this wonderful breed to their efforts. Note: My birds were free ranging at the time the photos were taken and there may be some other breeds present. ~ Karen ~ *

"Best prices. Best selection. Best quality. 100% guaranteed. That's what you'll find at Arizona Aquatic Gardens. Purchase the Rock Dwelling Mbuna Cichlid today!

We bring you an updated and detailed list of the best and most interesting goat breeds to meet your needs, with insight as to what goats can be used for.

If you're looking for a dual-purpose heritage breed that will give both eggs and meat, Delaware chickens check both boxes.

Discover why Australorps are the poultry enthusiasts' best-kept secret! Explore their egg-laying prowess, resilience, and friendly personalities, making them the must-have addition to your flock.

Cubalaya Chicken was born in the middle of the 19th century. Since it was bred and refined in Cuba, they named Cubalaya to honor the Republic of Cuba.

People love to breed animals with extreme characteristics, but what does this mean for chickens? Take a gander at some genuinely freaky chicken breeds.

The gorgeously blue polar blue parrot cichlids result from artificial cross-breeding between two attractive cichlids. It is an unusual type of fish, so many aquarists want to own one. They bring together the looks, power,

Although Magpie ducks aren’t that well known, they are one of the must-have duck breeds for the homestead as they are easy to keep, ideal for the layperson.

The electric blue acara is gorgeous and easy to care for. The caring tips we provide include diet, breeding, and common diseases.

Whether you keep them for their winter eggs and occasional meat or as kid-friendly coop ornaments, Faverolles are sure to win your favor!

There are more to farm animals than just chickens and horses

The Andalusian chicken is a breed that stands as a testament to Spain's rich agricultural and cultural history, particularly rooted in the Andalusia region.

Check out some of the best duck breeds for your backyard farm! They say that ducks are the "new chickens" - it seems backyard farmers all over the country