Back in 2017, we began our Gotland sheep adventure, and since that time we've learned so much about this amazing breed but also have so much more to learn.  We began this adventure with 3 ewes and 1 ram and this last spring we produced 12 lambs.  Out of those 12 lambs, 9 of those are ewes, and that is pretty amazing!  Fall of 2020 we purchased a new ram from Carol Ronan out in Oregan.  This ram is Halvard the first place yearling ram at the OFFF show in OR (the largest Gotland sheep show in the USA) Halvard is a high percentage Gotland with a long line of Swedish genetics ..read more

 A couple of years ago we decided to go the next step with our Olive eggers and produce the F2 Olive.  Waaaaay back 13 or 14 years ago we produced the first Olive eggers way before the big hatcheries ever dreamed of producing a green egg.  We began selling Olive Eggers from our website and at that time we told our breeding strategies.  Now fast forward to 2021 and every hatchery big and small in the US has now copied our recipe.   We have always produced the 1st generation due to barn space and to be honest I was always really satisfied with the 1st generation s ..read more

I received a message from a very concerned friend today.  He had purchased pullets a few weeks ago and noticed this morning that his Lavender Orpington was not acting normal.  She was a bit sluggish and just sitting around.  Upon further investigation he picked her up and noticed that her crop was swollen, gurgling and squishy.   He inquired as to what I thought might be wrong with her.  My first question was, have you fed her a lot of grass lately?  He said funny you ask that, I mowed the yard and  spread a bunch of grass clippings in their run, I tho ..read more

Hello chicken loving friends, it's been awhile since I've sat down and wrote up a blog but with all that is going on in the world with the Covid-19 virus I just wanted to sit and reach out to whoever might be searching for poultry in this uncertain time we're all experiencing .  I can't begin to tell you how many calls I've received from frantic people searching for information and advice.  Almost every phone call begins with I'm look for hens that are laying eggs now.  Most of the people calling at this time know nothing about chickens but they're feeling the need to be more self suffic ..read more

Happy Cyber Monday!!    Orders placed today will receive free shipping.  Just order 16 or more day old chicks, place your order today and your chicks will ship to you in the spring with free shipping. Come on over to Chicken Scratch Poultry and make your spring chick wish list.  We have several new breeds to offer this year.  Chickens are the perfect gift that keep on giving ..read more

Today I'm going to cover the nutritional needs of young juvenile birds.   Let's say your chicks are 7 to 8 weeks old and have graduated from the brooder. They no longer have a need for a heat lamp or any source of heat and they're old enough to venture outdoors into the warm sunshine to scratch around in the dirt. At this age we're still feeding a chick grower feed that is medicated.  This is very important if your juveniles were not vaccinated for Coccidiosis as day old chicks.  If your chicks were vaccinated then there is no need for medicated chick feed.  Coccidiosis is found everywhere ..read more

Looking for chicks that will produce you a colorful egg basket, let the farmher (that's me Angie) choose your chicks.  For a short time we will be offering this special deal, $160 gets you 16 chicks, shorter wait time, price includes shipping.  If you need them vaccinated it will be an extra $2 per chick.  Each week we have a variety of chicks remaining after filling orders, these chicks a lot of times are some of our most rare and expensive breeds.  We're giving you the opportunity to allow the farmher (that's me Angie)  to fill your box with the breeds she would pick for her own c ..read more

My favorite part of my job is calling customers and letting them know their baby chicks are shipping out. It makes my day listening to adults squeal with delight when they hear their baby's are on the way!  Our goal is to produce healthy top of the line chicks that grow into productive poultry.  Our customers often tell me, "those are the most active, vibrant chicks I've ever received through the mail."  That's exactly what I like to hear and I want to give my customers the opportunity to keep them healthy and thriving. There is nothing more exciting than receiving a box of baby chicks ..read more

 What's lurking around the farm?  Doe getting up close and personal with the camera :) We like to keep a game camera and move it every few weeks to a new spot on the farm.  We find this beneficial in knowing what kind of varmints are hanging around.  The camera is checked daily and if we see a large amount of raccoons, foxes, skunks, opossum or coyotes hanging around then we know it's time to take measures to insure the safety of our live stock. From the photos that the camera has taken over the last couple of months, I feel pretty confident that at this time we aren't seeing a huge ..read more

It's that time of year when folks are thinking about spring and adding some new chickens to their existing flock.  Maybe you have an old flock of girls and they're getting to the age where they just do not produce as many eggs or maybe your just dreaming of adding some new egg color to your basket.  Well, integrating young pullets into a flock of older hens can be tricky, but not totally impossible. The most important thing to think about when you've decided you're adding newbies to the flock is, where are you going to keep them until they're ready to be integrated.  You will need a small c ..read more