Neil Armitage (519)

I am an experienced poultry keeper who has been raising chickens for over 20 years in challenging conditions in Yorkshire, UK. I am passionate about helping people learn about and enjoy the benefits of keeping chickens. I love raising chickens because they are such friendly and productive animals, providing me with fresh eggs, meat, and fertiliser, and they are a lot of fun to watch.

27 actionable ways to save money on chicken feed and keeping costs

27 ways to save money on your chickens and their feed bill.

Orpingtons like the jubilee and the blue are rare and expensive

Where to get Orpington chickens and how much to pay for them.

A trio of white Orpingtons clearly showing the difference in the sexes.

Sexing Orpington chickens, how to tell the boys from the girls.

Marking eggs safely.

How to mark eggs safely.

An chicken hanging after processing.

Keeping and raising Orpington chickens for meat.

3 light brown orpington eggs in a display

The Orpington egg. Size, colour and quantity.

The origins, history and development of the orpington chicken.

The history, origin and development of the Orpington chicken.

A silver laced wyandotte hen showing off her feather patterns

Chicken feather patterns with breed examples, pictures and video.

What to look for in breeding stock and how to choose the best birds

Selecting chickens for breeding. What to look for and some do's and don'ts.

A close up of the eye of a chicken showing the third eyelid or nictitating membrane

What is wrong with my chickens eyes? Diagnose and treat eye problems in chickens.

The chicken keepers survey

Take our chicken keepers survey. (60 to 90 seconds)

Chicken math in action

Chicken math explained with real examples.

Two Guinea fowl grazing free range.

The complete A to Z of what Guinea fowl can eat.

The life cycle and habits of chicken mites and how to deal with them

Chicken mites, what are they and how to deal with them. With mite FAQ'S.

Pecking order movie review, who will rule the roost

Pecking order (2017) movie review and trailer.

A laying hen's beak in close up.

What is wrong with my chicken's beak?

The girls from my egg flock settling down at bedtime.

A chicken's bedtime: What is it and why does it change?

A chick with an unhealed navel is likely to get infected with Omphalitis or mushy chick disease.

Omphalitis or mushy chick disease and how to prevent and treat it.

A bad hatch when only two chicks made it.

Why your eggs aren't hatching and what to do about it.

My egg flock eating some pumpkin seeds.

What seeds can chickens eat? 17 seeds tested and costed.

Some of my chickens getting chopped pineapple as a treat

Can and should chickens be eating pineapple?

This cockerel is showing no signs of stress what so ever.

19 causes of stress in chickens and how to reduce it in your flock.

A dirty white leghorn

How do chickens keep themselves clean?

A hen with her comb and wattles in excellent condition.

What is wrong with my chickens comb?

A mother hen with her chicks feeding on pasture

Can and should chickens eat grass and is it good for them?

Gaping and respiratory symptoms are classic infectious bronchitis.

Identification and treatment of infectious bronchitis (IB) in chickens.

My chickens in deep snow when the temperature is 10 Fahrenheit.

What makes chickens cold hardy and which breeds are best?

A few of my laying hens with a leghorn cockerel.

Laying hens and their care.

My chickens eating figs as a treat

Can and should chickens eat figs.

My bantam barnevelders eating

Feeding bantam chickens.

6 Japanese bantam eggs on display

Japanese bantams as egg layers.

A show quality Japanese bantam

Are Japanese bantams friendly?

A prime example of a Japanese bantam at a poultry show

Japanese bantam breed standards and characteristics.

The Japanese bantam is a small ancient breed with a long heritage

The Japanese Bantam.

What products do I recommend for chicken keepers

Recommended products for chicken keepers

Sexing Serama bantam chickens is very difficult

Sexing Serama bantams.

A single serama bantam egg

Serama bantam eggs.

Amazing pictures of Serama bantams

Serama gallery of images.

Raising Serama is a little bit more difficult than other chickens

Raising Serama bantams.

Breeding serama is all about healthy, small birds with attitude.

Breeding Serama bantams.

Serama can eat normal chicken food but prefer it cut smaller

Feeding Serama bantams.

Serama bantams makes easy to care for pets

Serama bantams as pets.

Where to get Serama bantams and how much to pay for them

Buying Serama chickens or hatching eggs

Finding good quality Serama is very difficult.

What to look for in Serama bantams.

Because they are so small Serama take up so little space.

Serama coops and housing.

Because of their small size and susceptibility to predators, Serama are often kept indoors.

Keeping Serama bantams indoors.

A Serama hen does occasionally go broody.

Incubation and hatching of Serama eggs.

There are 4 types of Serama bantams.

Types and varieties of Serama bantams.

The Serama is a modern breed of chickens from the 1970's.

The histroy and origin of the Serama bantam chicken.

A quality Serama cockerel at a poultry show

Showing Serama bantams.

A frizzle Serama bantam at a poultry show.

The Frizzle Serama bantam.

One of the colours of Serama bantams.

Serama bantam colours.

A close up photo of a Serama bantam in a show cage

Characteristics of the Serama bantam.

The serama breed standards include attitude.

Serama bantam breed standards.

A stunning Serama cockerel at a poultry show.

Serama Bantams

A Serama bantam chicken in a show cage

Bantam chickens

Aspergillosis is a respiratory infection that can cause gaping like this.

Aspergillosis in chickens

My chickens eating chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans

Can chickens eat garbanzo beans or chickpeas?

My chickens eating coconut

Can chickens eat coconut and is it good for them?

A chicken with the classic purple comb and wattles in a Salmonella infection.

Salmonella in chickens. The risks, prevention and treatment.

What to do about chickens with sore, red or bleeding vents or bottoms.

Chickens with bleeding bottoms or vents.

What are the orpington breed standards

Orpington chicken breed standards.

A small flock of Buff Orpington chickens free ranging on grass

The Orpington chicken.

My Guinea fowl and chickens feeding together

Keeping Guinea fowl with chickens and other poultry.

A flock of Guinea fowl on perches in a coop

Do Guinea fowl need a coop?

A batch of Guinea growers in a coop.

Guinea growers and growing on. A Guineas teenage years.

A Guinea hen with a large brood of baby keets.

Brooding keets and baby Guinea fowl.

A guinea fowl keet just hatching inside the incubator.

Artificial incubation of Guinea fowl eggs.

A mother guinea raising her brood of keets naturally

Hatching Guinea fowl eggs naturally.

A home produced Guinea fowl prepared and trussed ready for cooking

Raising Guinea fowl for meat.

A guinea fowl on her nest with keets.

Guinea fowl nests and nesting boxes.

A large nest full of Guinea fowl eggs.

Guinea fowl eggs.

A brooder with 25 guinea fowl keets.

Raising Guinea fowl keets successfully.

Telling the males from the females is difficult with Guineas.

Sexing Guinea fowl.

A flock of Guinea fowl feeding free range.

Feeding Guinea fowl.

A prime example of a male Guinea fowl.

Male Guinea fowls

A guinea fowl taking a dust bath to help keep parasites away

Do Guinea fowl get parasites?

A dog with a dead Guinea fowl.

Guinea Fowl Predators

A Guinea fowl with all its wing feathers intact.

Clipping and pinioning of Guinea fowl wings.

Guineas and chickens eating mixed scratch as a treat

Treats for Guinea fowl.