Online Chicken School Podcast

Episode 15 – Don & Suzy finish up their discussion on raising baby chicks. [hr] Show Notes Welcome to the World, Braden Wright Suzy’s sister, Sheryl, has a little boy they named Braden. His middle name is Wright, and I choose to believe they named him that in honor of the Wright Brothers. Chickens Turn […]

Episode 14 – Don & Suzy talk about how to set up a brooder and heat source in anticipation of baby chicks. [hr] Show Notes Dotte Rocks Explore the Outdoors We are raising three Dotte Rock cockerels, and Suzy took them outside for the first time over the weekend. It is always fun to watch […]

Episode 13 – Do you have to start with baby chicks? Don & Suzy talk about the possibility of starting your urban chicken flock with adult hens. [hr] Show Notes Suzy’s Confession When we work out in the yard, we often open up one or more of the chicken tractors to allow our chickens some […]

Episode 12 – In this episode we discuss ways you can protect your flock from predators. [hr] Show Notes Plumping Suzy recently discovered an article describing the meat chicken industry’s practice of injecting chicken meat with saltwater to increase the flavor of an otherwise bland product. It’s called plumping. Plumping creates a few problems for […]

Episode 11 – In this episode we discuss common chicken myths you should know about. [hr] Show Notes Light Sussex Update You know that old saying “never count your chickens before they hatch?” It is wise advice, and never more appropriate than this last weekend when we were expecting our first batch of Light Sussex […]

Episode 10 – In this episode we continue our discussion on reasons a hen stops laying and what you can do about it. [hr] Show Notes The Light Sussex Eggs are in the Hatcher For the last eighteen days, we have been incubating our first batch of Light Sussex hatching eggs. We just moved them […]

Episode 9 – In this episode we discuss reasons a hen stops laying and what you can do about it. [hr] Show Notes International Listeners Looking at our stats, I noticed that we have picked up a bit of an international following. We now have listeners in Canada, England, Australia, Italy, the U.K., India and […]

Episode 8 – In this episode we discuss which treats are safe to feed to your urban chickens or backyard flock. [hr] Show Notes Salmonella-Related Recall The FDA has discovered Salmonella in packages of Kirkland Signature Course Ground Malabar pepper which is sold exclusively at Costco stores. This has nothing to do with chickens, except […]

Episode 7 – In this episode we explore the many reasons you should consider raising hybrid chickens in your backyard or urban chicken flock. [hr] Show Notes Update on The Colonel The Colonel is our portly Light Sussex rooster. In a previous episode, Suzy expressed her concern that The Colonel was not fertilizing his flock. […]

Episode 6 – In this episode we explore the many reasons you should consider raising heritage chickens in your backyard or urban chicken flock. [hr] Show Notes More Interest in Backyard Meat Chickens? Suzy and I held another “Hands-On Backyard Chickens 101” class this last weekend and this was a really great group of people. […]

Episode 5 – In this episode we try to make sense of backyard chicken laws. [hr] Show Notes Chickens and Dogs Suzy has been introducing our twelve week old Australian Shepherd puppy, Shep, to our chickens as they run around after work. Our previous Aussie, Yeager, was really good at protecting the flock from predators, […]

Episode 4 – In this episode we discuss whether you should wash your farm fresh eggs or not. [hr] Show Notes We are now on iTunes! Our podcast is now available on iTunes, and we are pretty happy with the first few days of results. We have had downloads in Australia, Ontario, Florida, North Carolina, […]

Episode 3 – In this episode we discuss the latest salmonella scare and talk about whether you should be afraid of your chickens. [hr] Show Notes Update on Sadie Our cute little Mountain Cur, Sadie, was finally able to ditch the cone after her surgery. After spending seven days locked in a cage so she […]

Episode 2 – In this episode of the Online Chicken School Podcast, we offer some tips on for helping your flock deal with the heat of summer. [hr] Show Notes Our Dogs We have three dogs on our little farm that help keep predators away from the chickens. Max is the adult of the group, […]

Episode 1 – In this episode of the Online Chicken School Podcast, we explore the many benefits of keeping chickens. [hr] Show Notes Surviving the Easter Chick Madness This year is the first Easter season we have been operating our tiny little micro-hatchery on Florida’s Suncoast. We were not mentally prepared for the phenomenon of […]

Episode 0 – The Pre-Podcast Episode, an introduction to Don, Suzy and the Online Chicken School Podcast. [hr] Show Notes About Us We (Don & Suzy), are a married couple who live in Southwest Florida. Two years ago we decided to move out of our condo and onto a five-acre mini-ranch. We were both very […]