Hi everybody, just wanted to let you know that we just noticed that we never dropped the link for episode 5 into the blog post for the episode, So there was no player!! We know that after waiting a week obsessively relistening to episode 4, you probably haven’t slept since we “released” episode 5 without a player!
So with our sincerest apologies for any discomfort you may have experienced, feel free to listen to;
“Twin Beaks Chicken Podcast Episode 5; Fluffball Chick Mortal Combat!”
Welcome to Twin Beaks Episode Five! Amber and I take some time to talk about the antics of our new flock, and of course, bring a fluffball chick or two in as a guest of the show! The chicks have been developing and taking on all sorts of delightful and amusing characteristics. We’ll talk chick care, behavior, and talk all about their antics! Also on the show we go over some common “Chicken problems”. Is something tearing holes in your fence? Rat problems? Is your chicken OK if its laying tiny eggs? Tune into this weeks show to find out how to address these problems, insights on early chick behavior and care, and more!
This week we introduce a regular segment to the show “Solving Chicken Problems”. We read a few pages of the book “The Chicken Keepers Problem Solver” Written by Chris Graham. Its an excellent 1-2 page per problem index of 100 Common Chicken Problems. We will cover the topic in the book, and share with you personal experiences with these issues. You can Find Chris Grahams book here.
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What color is your dream chicken? There is a world of wondrous
variety in the various breeds of chicken, and there are a lot of different factors to consider when choosing your dream chicken. Most of us only have space for a small flock of chickens, and that makes careful consideration of which breeds will get to fill that lucky spot essential. Don’t get birds you really didn’t want, and don’t work with your plans, listen in on the show and join us for a conversation on what the world of chicken variety has to offer!
Today we’ll talk about the various considerations in picking your birds. People pick their chickens for a variety of reasons, and there is no single breed that suits all purposes. Do you have small kids? One of the more tame varieties might suit you. Are you breeding your own birds? And if so, are you breeding for resale, or to perpetuate your flock? Depending on your answer, you may or may not want a uniform flock of dream chickens. Do you have chickens for eggs, meat, feathers, or just fun? Each of these attributes has a breed who makes it their specialty. What is the climate like where you live? Some birds do better with heat, some do better with cold. Maybe your main focus is profitability; “bang for your buck” – Theres breeds for that too! There are dozens of considerations when picking your dream chicken and we will cover many of these in the show.
Chickens have been around since the dawn of time. Amber tells us on the show about a prehistoric “monster chicken” weighing over 500 pounds! Someone make a saddle! Also, she reviews archeological evidence of people domesticating chickens back in ancient history! Shannon shares his story of picking the wrong birds.. 20 turkeys… Don’t let this happen to you!! Join us for the episode where we help you pick your dream chicken!
Ready to start window shopping for dream chickens? Follow along with this guide as you listen to the show! Chicken Guide
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Welcome to episode 3 of the Twin Beaks Chicken Podcast! 
Today we’ll focus on getting your yard ready for chickens.. You’ve picked out your breeds, you set up your brooder box, the birds arrived, and now they’re growing, growing, growing…. Are you getting your yard ready? We’ll help you make sure you’ve covered all the bases. But first..
We begin episode 3 with an update on our own chicks, and introduce Amber’s news segment; a compilation of recent news stories involving chickens. This week includes a VERY exciting bit of news from the poultry industry; A couple stories about heroic chickens saving the lives of their keepers, and why you should keep them in the bedroom- For Your Own Safety!, or maybe just give them your house.. You won’t believe the story of one lady who took that idea to heart and kept two houses full of chickens, with A couple turkeys… Just for good measure.
After the news segment we discuss the basics of getting your yard ready for chickens, and why planning is far better than “lets get chickens and sort it out later”. We’ll cover the basics, a few things that people might not consider that are essential, the virtues of the dust bath, keeping the bad guys out, keeping the good guys in, questions of how many chickens your yard can support, and why keeping your numbers low is important, protecting your yard from the birds that will eat anything and everything, and we kick around the bewildering internet theory that “you can let your chickens in the garden, and they will kill all the bugs”. Its mostly true, but theres a few problems with the plan… Stay Tuned!
Hang in with us through this episode. This is where we discovered that one of the channels in our microphone was dead. Amber may be a bit hard to hear during portions of the show. Since recording we’ve found a work around and new microphones are on the way. We’re still new at this, but were committed to providing you with the most amazing chicken show on the planet.. you’ll love what we’ve got coming up!
Please give us feedback, we would like to hear from you! You can comment on this post, get in touch with us through the contact page, through Facebook, or subscribe and leave us a review on iTunes. iTunes reviews really help the show! Feel free to register to the website, and get in touch with us and your fellow chicken enthusiasts through the forum. Thank you for your continued support, we’d love to hear what you think of the show!
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Everybody likes clean, healthy birds. Its easy to think that 
you’ve done something wrong if your birds get chicken lice and mites. However, the truth is whether you live in the city or the country, they’re very hard to avoid. In fact, you might as well count them as an inevitability, and prepare in advance to deal with them.
Consider all the ways in which your birds are exposed to carriers for these little parasites, and its no wonder that its difficult to keep your birds completely pest free. Animals in the wild live with a constant state of parasitic infection, and in fact, lice and mites are a way of life for most wild animals.
Wild animals cope by trying to keep numbers down in a variety of ways; bathing, relocation (Which keeps the population from getting too comfy and overpopulating), grooming, eating and spending time around plants that are noxious to parasites, and there are other countless more obscure methods. Wild animals have one distinct advantage over their city cousins; lack of population density. In order for a parasite to thrive, it has to find a host, and the more dense the population of hosts, the easier it is for a minor case to turn into a full-blown infestation.
Such is the case with city birds, where pigeons, doves, sparrows, gulls, etc, live in close quarters in large numbers. The “bird around town” is loaded with parasites, especially while on the nest, where they can’t escape. The important thing to realize here is that many people think that because they don’t live “in the wild” they don’t have much to worry about in terms of their birds getting parasites. In fact, the opposite is true. City chickens have a much harder time defending themselves from parasites than their country cousins. There are more critters in the wilderness that eat these parasites, keeping numbers down. Your typical city flock has much less room to roam than their country cousins, and they share the yard with house sparrows, pigeons, etc, that are not only loaded with parasites, but are attracted to your birds, for either food, water, or shelter. What to do?!
EXCLUSION IS ALWAYS BETTER THAN TREATMENT
In college I had an internship with Vector Control, dealing with all forms of “problem wildlife”. There was one thing I learned that they all had in common; dealing with them was much more challenging after they got in that keeping them out entirely. Most chicken keepers love seeing those first few wild birds show up at the chicken coop. Most of us have chickens partially because we long for some sort of “getting back to nature”, so why wouldn’t we love the sight of sparrows beginning to gather in the yard? However, the more seasoned chicken keeper knows what this sign portends, and is wise enough to know that while these guests might be beautiful and entertaining, its better to keep them out.
I know what you’re thinking… “How am I supposed to keep a flock of 4oz birds away from my chickens?! Its true, short of wrapping your whole chicken enclosure in avian wire (a possibility worth considering, budget allowing), keeping tiny birds like sparrows away seems a formidable task, but it is possible.
Other birds are attracted to your chickens for 3 basic reasons, depending on conditions; 1) Food. 2) water, and 3) Shelter, or Habitat. Obviously A wild animal that has to forage or hunt for its meals loves a free lunch. Deny them. Its better for your birds, its better for your wallet, its better even for the wild birds in many cases. One simple way to do this is to figure out how much your birds eat, and feed them that much, and no more. This is done through experimentation; raising or lowering the amount of food each day appropriately. Gravity feeders are convenient, but the “endless food trough” is quite irresistible to wild birds. If left unchecked, the word gets around, and before long you may find a small army of birds forming a continuous train of food stealers. They’ll take your feed (your money) and might leave you chicken lice and mites or even diseases for a tip. Not to mention.. that open feeder attracts rats. You can also feed later in the day, when the wild birds are headed for shelter, change times of day for feeding the flock, and to some extent, location of the food matters too. Wild birds prefer to avoid going inside a structure for food (though they will!)
If you live somewhere very hot and dry, or alternatively, far below freezing, you might find that birds are drawn to the coop for water. Obviously, in this case in particular, you MUST have a continual supply of fresh water for your birds. Keeping this water inside will reduce its attractiveness to wild birds, and keep it cooler for your birds as well. Also, you can supply water to the wild birds somewhere else. Make a very desirable bird bath outside of the coop, and the wild birds will be less drawn to your chicken waterer. Honestly however.. Water is life. If the wildlife can’t find water, they will die trying for your chickens water. Put yourself in their place. And put a waterer (or three) just outside your coop.
Shelter, or habitat for birds that carry chicken lice and mites can be an issue for your flock. Do you have a nearby barn that has 100 pigeons, each with their own mite filled nest, just 50 feet from your coop? Count on them trying to share the parasites with your chickens. Birds of the prey variety (Sparrows and pigeons, for example), dislike wide open spaces. Where are the perches that the wild birds use as an entry point to the coop? Remove them, or place a deterrent there. Overall, do everything you can to make the wildlife work as hard as possible for that food, water or shelter. And consider offering easier alternatives away from your birds. You can find a variety of pigeon (and other bird) deterrent products here.
The truth is that even if your birds live in a completely enclosed aviary wire (the small hole stuff) box, chicken lice and mites can still get at your birds, being spread through the fence, or can even be introduced to the flock though their keeper adding new birds. However careful you are, your birds might occasionally pick up these parasites anyway. Keep following our blog for the next installment of this article; “Chicken Lice And Mites; Send Them All To Valhalla.”
Join Amber and Shannon as they welcome their 8 new guests to the show! In this episode we discuss the various methods of getting and raising baby chicks. Joining your hosts today on the show are the 8 baby hens recently arrived to the Twin Beaks Household via mail. Amber and Shannon share with the audience their recent chick buying adventure, discuss the new batch of babies, and what they’ve learned from ordering birds in the past. Hatchery birds aren’t the only way to get some chicks though. We’ll talk feed store birds, craigslist, incubators, ordering eggs, and that funny notion of letting your chickens handle the whole affair, and letting nature take its course. Tune in for a talk on all things chicks, all the ways of getting your first birds, nursing them through those first few critical moments, and great tips on making sure your birds new home gives them a fantastic start in the world!
We would like to thank you for joining us on the Twin Beaks Chicken Podcast, please feel free to leave a comment about the episode in the section below. Join us in the new forum, or contact us through the contact page. We would love to hear from you!
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The decision to bring living animals into ones household, for the thoughtful, moral person is one that must be made carefully, for there is much to consider. Not only must one consider the costs and benefits for oneself and ones family, one should also consider the well-being and quality of life for the animals as well. Is raising chickens right for you?
Despite chickens being one of the easier, low-maintenance animals to care for, there are considerations. One should familiarize themselves with the needs of the animal; space, shelter, food, water, and your time. Certainly, if you consume chicken products, consider the question of the quality of life the birds who currently produce your eggs and meat have, and ask yourself “Can I provide a better life for the birds that provide a better life for me and my family?” If you have the means, consider raising chickens.
The Nay-sayer may argue raising chickens is too expensive; Certainly a farm producing hundreds of birds have certain “scaling” advantages.. Feed is far cheaper by the truckload. If one is not careful, it is certainly possible to spend more bringing eggs and meat to the table with your home grown chickens than visiting the grocery store. But I would argue that while electricity, wire, feed, water, feeders…on and on and on…add up, so too do many less obvious benefits.
Values are a subjective thing. What is knowing that the birds that make your food live a quality life, with lots of sunshine and good food worth? Chickens will rapidly diminish the number of insect pests in your garden. Does that matter to you? Quite a lot if you’re an avid gardener, perhaps not so much if your yard is ignored.
For myself, I highly value knowing that every bird I raise is one less in the cramped, dark battery. I like knowing my animals had something resembling a normal, natural life… Sunlight, running around, eating bugs, mating, raising chicks… It just feels good knowing that my birds have a quality of life befitting a living animal.
I also value the independence. Raising chickens at home gives you a form of security. No matter what happens… Job loss, price inflation, interruptions in the supply chain, as long as you can feed your chickens (independence from the feed bag will be a later post), the eggs will just keep coming..
Theres also environmental concerns.. Chickens raised at home, free range, have a much lower environmental impact than industry birds. In fact, they can have a net positive impact. Hundreds of chickens confined together produce a waste management problem. Half a dozen birds in a back yard produce better soil. The meat and egg industry is very non-local, and very petrochemical intensive. I recommend Joel Salatins book “Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal” for his discussion of the “100 mile chicken”.
Then theres quality. Discerning gourmet chefs know that (truly) free range eggs and meat are vastly superior in taste to industrial birds. Crack open the egg of a chicken that feeds on REAL range, and the difference is obvious. The yolks are a dark, almost orange color, and the taste doesn’t compare. Once you’ve had a real free range egg, its very hard to want to go back. There is a similar tendency with the meat as well, in addition to it being safer, cleaner, and freer of chemicals. Not to mention, fresher. Did you know that most of the eggs you get at the store are already weeks old?
Lastly I’d just like to add that like pets, chickens add a lot of entertainment value to your households life. If you have children, this can be invaluable. Chickens will entertain your children and teach them responsibility, the realities of “where food comes from”, how to take care of animals, and so much more.. They’re also fun and amusing. Chickens can be quite comical, and will often amaze you with their capabilities and antics. There is no shortage of soap opera drama either! I know so many people that pay a small yearly fortune for television programming, only to say that “theres nothing on” or complain that it alienates the family. Compared to the cost of a cable bill, chickens are cheap. And in my opinion, at least as entertaining as most of whats on cable. And, they bring the family together in entertainment, responsibility, and meals.
Consider the raft of benefits chickens offer, relative to the ease of maintaining a small flock, and it isn’t hard to see them as an asset. Personally, I enjoy having them around for entertainment and esthetic enough that I would keep them regardless of production.
I’m sure I’ve left out a few of the benefits of raising chickens. As I said, value is relative, and everybody values things differently, what are some of the things you value about chickens I haven’t mentioned?
Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls… Hens, Roosters, and all you little cluckers out there… Presenting for the first time any time, any place, in any dimension… The Twin Beaks Chicken Podcast Episode ONE!!!!
We are so pleased to offer you our inaugural episode of the Twin Beaks Chicken Podcast. Amber and I are beginning Podcasters, and also new at website development and hosting, but we are so enthusiastic, so passionate about our favorite bird, the chicken, we carelessly and fearlessly cast aside our trepidation and learned the ropes of podcasting to share our enthusiasm with you!!
Ok.. Well.. maybe not fearlessly.. Actually, we were a little nervous at first to be honest.. But we’ve already received SO MUCH support and excitement from the public about the idea that we’ve become quite confident that you will enjoy listening to the show almost as much as we do making it.
This is our “meet the hosts, and learn about the podcast” episode. Shannon and Amber introduce themselves to the audience and share a little about their differing experiences in raising chickens from flock sizes of 100 to keeping individual chickens as house pets. We’ll also cover the scope of topics of the show; raising chickens, housing, feeding, watering, breeding, different breeds, medical issues… All things Chicken! Theres also a good amount of chicken related music, songs and humor!
Let us know what you think! We’re beginners, and would love feedback. Contact us Today!
TWIN BEAKS EPISODE 1:
Steampunk Chickens in Diapers. Why Not?
Amber and Shannon introduce themselves and share some golden moments from their lifetime of chicken obsession! Join us as we evangelize the glory of all things chicken. Enjoy wild tales of keeping indoor chickens as pets, raising 100 chickens on a remote farm and many other wackadoodle wonders!
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Welcome to the Twin Beaks Chicken Podcast Website! We would like to thank you so much for coming by the site. Your participation is what we’re all about here. We Looove to share our enthusiasm for chickens with fellow fans! Please peck around the site…. We have art and old fashion photographs; pictures of listeners chickens as well as Amber and Shannon’s, and much, much more….
Part of what makes the site great is the opportunity to share our eggsperiences with each other.. The forum is a great place for trading stories, sharing strategies for caring for our favorite bird, and generally discussing all things chicken. Do you want to know whats wrong with your chicken? Looking for a better feeder? How DO you trap mice in a chicken coop without hurting your chickens? Whats your favorite breed? Register for our forums, and cluck about it with your fellow chicken enthusiasts!
And of course, we have the podcast.. Amber and Shannon truly love doing the podcast, and sharing our enthusiasm for chickens with the audience, we hope it shows. We strive to be both entertaining and informative, and we would love you to contribute! You can listen to our podcast through the site, or download it on iTunes.
After you’ve checked out the site, registered for the forum, and caught a podcast, drop us a line! Give us some chicken scratch! Contact us! Let us know what you think about the show! Contribute photos of your birds, or just your favorite photos! We would love to hear from you!
And of course, check back here, at our blog for the podcast, links to various things we mention during the podcast, and to check in on our latest thoughts, essays, and news regarding all things chicken..
Thanks for stopping by and we really look forward to hearing from you.
Don’t forget to sign up for the podcast in iTunes!
Twin Beaks is a chicken fanatics podcast. We’re crazy about chickens and we want to make you crazy too! We will be exploring the fantastic and intriguing world of all things chicken. Not just the usual about chickens but the unusual; Folklore, mythology, alternative medicine, permaculture and chickens as house pets. From chickens around the world to chickens traveling around the world…..
Join Amber And Shannon as we explore all things chicken and share in their personal experiences living with this bird we love: the chicken!
Join the flock and register for the website. Meet us in the forum and discuss all matters chicken with fellow chicken fans. We look forward to your participation and thank you for listening!