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.

Sudden death syndrome in chickens

Sudden death in chickens

A blue marans chick ready to be sexed

Sexing Marans chickens

A white skinned Marans chicken, plucked and ready to cook

Keeping Marans chickens for meat.

how much are beautiful hens like this and where can you find them

How much do Marans cost and where to get them.

Copper black marans free ranging

Caring for Marans chickens.

A copper blacj marans hen eating treats

The history of the Marans chicken.

Dark shelled Marans eggs ready for incubation

Incubating and hatching Marans eggs.

What are the colours and types of Marans chickens

Marans types and colours.

Marans is all about the eggs

The Marans breed standard.

The winning display of marans eggs from the national poultry show

The Marans dark brown eggs.

3 of my copper black marans hens free ranging

Marans chickens. A complete breed guide.

A batch of fermented chicken feed, ready to use.

Fermented chicken feed. Should you and is it worth it?

Drunk chicken cartoon

Can chickens have beer, wine, spirits and alcohol?

Three of my hens eating grated carrot

Can chickens eat carrots?

one of my show chickens

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My bantam barnevelders on deep litter

The deep litter method for chickens

One of my young la bresse chickens free ranging

la Bresse Gauloise chicken breed profile.

My chickens eating celery. they seem to like the crunch.

Can chickens eat celery and celeriac?

A white leghorn hen with a dirty bottom.

Why do my chickens have dirty bottoms

The five freedoms for chickens safeguard their basic rights

The five freedoms and what they mean for chicken keepers.

My egg flock getting stuck into left over apples

Can chickens eat apples

Adding new chickens to the flock can cause problems

Intergrating flocks and adding new chickens to the coop

A selection of eggs from my hens with two tiny ones.

Will my chickens eggs get bigger?

My chickens roosting in the coop at night

Why chickens stop going into the coop at night and what to do about it.

A winning silkie chicken at a poultry show.

The Silkie chicken

A 12 week old grower free ranging on grass

Cold tolerance of young chickens and growers

How you store fertile ggs for incubation is very important

Storing fertile eggs for incubation

My chickens eating mushrooms

Can chickens eat mushrooms, toadstools and funghi

A silver double laced barnevelder at a poultry show

Barnevelder chickens

How to select fertile eggs for incubation

Selecting fertile eggs for incubation

two of my cream crested legbars eating courgette

The Cream Crested Legbar breed profile.

My flock of chickens eating their way through some potatoes

Can chickens eat potato, sweet potato and yams?

Candling a chickens egg to determine fertility

Chicken fertility and reproductive problems

my chickens eating grated parsnip

Can chickens eat parsnip?

An Ancona hen in a cage at a poultry show

Ancona chicken breed profile.

2 of my flock pecking away at rutabaga or swedes

Can chickens eat rutabaga, swedes and turnips?

A chicken suffering with Newcastle disease.

Newcastle Disease in chickens

Me holding a polish hen in my hand

Polish chicken breed profile.

Some of my flock eating flowers

Can chickens eat flowers and which ones are to be avoided.

Mycoplasma gallisepticum - MG - in chickens and how to deal with it

My chickens eating yoghurt

Can chickens have yogurt and is it any good for them?

a stunning porcelain brahma chicken

The Brahma chicken. All about the gentle giant.

a chicken with the classic posture of egg yolk peritonitis

Egg yolk peritonitis. The causes, symptoms and treatment of EYP.

I use hollow cinder blocks to feed grit and shell to my chickens

The complete guide to feeding grit and oyster shell to chickens. With FAQ

My egg flock eating cooked rice

Can Chickens eat rice and is it good for them?

A nest with olive green eggs

Complete guide to Olive Egger chickens and how to breed them. With FAQ's

Cinnamon queen chickens eating while free ranging

Cinnamon Queen chickens

A chicken with infectious coryza

Infectious Coryza in chickens. And what to do about it.

Some of my chickens eating a marrow

Can chickens eat courgette, zucchini and marrow

My chicken running of with the tomato while i am trying to film them

Can chickens eat tomato

Contact me

A lash egg

Lash Eggs, Salpingitis or Egg Lash Disease in chickens

a shell less chickens egg in a nest

Abnormal chicken eggs. 37 egg and shell problems explained.

My egg flock eating eggplant or aubergines

Can chickens eat Aubergine or Eggplant (Brinjal)

My chickens eating cucumbers

Can chickens eat cucumbers

Some of my chickens eating peppers

Can chickens eat bell peppers and chillies

A chicken with Marek's disease

Mareks disease in chickens and what to do about it.

Some of my chickens eating treats

What can chickens eat, the complete A to Z guide

Chickens eating scratch from the grass

Chicken scratch grains, when and how much.

Chickens eating peanuts

Can chickens eat peanuts

Two chickens that have lost nearly all their feathers in the annual moult.

Moulting chickens with FAQ and pictures.

A chicken suffering with coccidiosis

How to treat and prevent Coccidiosis in chickens

My light Sussex chickens on my allotment

Allotment chicken keeping

A show quality blue Andalusian chicken.

The blue Andalusian chicken breed profile

how much and how often to feed your chickens.

How much do you feed to chickens

a flock of Altsteirer chickens

The Altsteirer or Styrian chicken breed profile

A bantam chicken in a show cage at a poultry event

The A to Z of chicken breeds

An infestation of red mites in a chicken coop.

Tackling the dreaded red mite in chickens.

How to sex chickens.

Sexing chicks. 10 ways that work and 8 that do not.

Earthworms raised for chickens

Earthworms for chickens.

A chicken enjoying a dust bath in the sunshine.

Dust baths for chickens and what to fill them with

Taming and training your chickens

How to tame and train chickens. With an 8 week guide.

Can and should chickens be laying eggs in winter

How to get hens to lay eggs in winter.

A chicken coop in an urban backyard

Urban and city chicken keeping made easy.

A rooster drinking fresh clean water

Wading through the watering of chickens!

A soft shelled egg laid by a hybrid chicken

Why are my chickens laying soft or thin-shelled eggs?

Some of my chickens perched on a roost in the chicken coop

The lowdown on roosts, roosting and perches with FAQ.

two chickens eating lemon slices

Can chickens eat Citrus Fruits?

The crop is easily seen on this barnevelder chicken

Crop problems, prevention and treatment

A rare breed chicken

Choosing chickens a beginners guide.