Clucky Corner

Yes — if you keep chickens (or any poultry or “captive birds”) in England or Wales, you do need to register. The rules changed recently and I’ll walk you through the process.

It’s something none of us ever want to think about, but as back-garden keepers and smallholders, we do sometimes find ourselves facing a heartbreaking decision: helping a suffering hen pass peacefully when a vet isn’t an option. Perhaps the bird is in...

This is the classic “where are the eggs gone?” question. It happens every winter and there can be several reasons. Let’s review the most likely ones and what you can do.

If you’ve got an automatic coop door, you’ll already know what a lifesaver they usually are. Mine have kept me sane on many a dark winter morning when the alarm goes off and I’m nowhere near ready to step outside. But every year, as soon as the frost...

Every season on the smallholding brings its own little surprises, and this year it’s the weather keeping us on our toes. With such an unusually warm autumn, many of us are noticing that our hens haven’t started their usual feather-drop on schedule. If...