Author Archives: Mara Bacsujlaky
Welcome to the Chicken Wire
I’ve added a new tab: the Chicken Wire. It contains a link which takes you to a private Wiki that I have set up for questions, discussions and information. Anyone who joins can edit, post, and upload files and photos. … Continue reading
Breath of Fresh Air
Thanks to the Lower 48 taking on our Polar Vortex- winter here in Fairbanks has been perfect: mostly warm, with plenty of snow for skiing and other winter recreating. It’s been good for chickens too. Maybe not for outside frolicking … Continue reading
Tumoltuous!
In the past couple of weeks, my chicken house looks like several chickens have spontaneously combusted… it’s a cloud of feathers. But every chicken is, luckily, accounted for. It’s just my Easter-egger going through a late-season molt. Though I know … Continue reading
Survey says….
….99.9999999999% of chickens in Alaska hate winter. Gandalf the Rooster registered his disgust today at approximately 1:30 PM when he burst out of the sealed lower coop door and gave a thoroughly peeved-off crow. I was alerted to the chicken … Continue reading
Getting the Flock Ready for Winter
Yup. It has happened again. Summer screamed by, and all of the things I meant to do relative to the flock (relocate the manure pile, enlarge the pen, add a new gate) didn’t get done. Now it is a mad … Continue reading
The New Roo on the Block
With the ending of the state fair (where he took third – despite his very crooked toes), and his debut as a 4-H exhibit, Mr Roo, Stew’s replacement, Gandalf, arrived. Raised and handled by kids with a fondness for the … Continue reading
The Mark of a Roo
This morning, as I was weeding the garden for chicken treats, I realized the main reason I keep laying hens is likely more for the rooster crowing than even for the hens themselves; some years ago I made peace with … Continue reading
New Page: Urban Chickens
In response to a lot of questions I receive about whether or not backyard flocks are allowed in the major urban areas of Alaska, I have added a page summarizing zoning regulating the keeping (or not) of backyard flocks in … Continue reading
Natal Attraction
Although I have always had a rooster, hatching chicks from my own flock never struck me as a practicable option, largely because my hens rarely go broody (just twice in twelve years) and going the incubator route just seemed … Continue reading