Backyard Chickens & Coturnix Quail: Incubating Hatching Eggs and Chicken Breeding

send us an email and be sure to include your address so we can respond! Standard Cornish chickens aren’t Cornish Cross—and choosing good breeders takes more than spotting a big young bird. Blake Phillips of 4 Hill Acres joins Jennifer Bryant and Carey Blackmon to talk about raising large-fowl Cornish, selecting for balanced proportions, and waiting long enough to see a potential breeder’s full pro...

send us an email and be sure to include your address so we can respond! A beautiful chicken coop is only useful if it works for your birds—and for the person doing the chores. Jennifer Bryant and Carey Blackmon talk with Nikki Husted of Purely Chickens about backyard chicken keeping, learning from social media without copying every trend, and making practical choices for your own flock. Nikki shar...

send us an email and be sure to include your address so we can respond! Do ducks need a pond? Can ducklings swim? Does every duck need extra niacin—and what health risks should backyard keepers actually watch for? Jennifer Bryant welcomes poultry veterinarian Dr. Teresa Morishita back to Poultry Nerds for a practical conversation about duck care, feeding, and flock health. Jennifer brings examples...

send us an email and be sure to include your address so we can respond! The chick pulls much of its calcium out of the eggshell, so what the hen ate before she laid the egg matters long before it hatches. Thin shells, soft shells, or chicks that don't make it: it is not always the incubator and it is not always shipping. Carey and I walk through calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D, why a hen n...

send us an email and be sure to include your address so we can respond! Heat plates don't heat the brooder. They heat the chick, and only if it can touch the plate. If you're losing chicks, that's one of several brooder mistakes we see all the time. Carey is building a new brooder, so we're getting into what actually matters when you raise chicks: why an old-time show breeder s...

send us an email and be sure to include your address so we can respond! Why do raccoons, snakes, hawks, and other wildlife keep appearing around a chicken coop? Sometimes the chickens are not what attracted them first. National Wildlife Federation naturalist David Mizejewski joins Jennifer and Carey to explain how spilled feed, rodents, habitat, and easy access can turn a poultry area into a preda...

send us an email and be sure to include your address so we can respond! Does keeping chickens really have to mean constant coop cleaning? Matt Dubois of Carolina Coops joins Jennifer Bryant and Carey Blackmon to discuss how thoughtful coop design can make backyard chicken keeping easier. We explore Matt’s approach to deep litter, why ventilation matters in every season, and how space, moisture man...

send us an email and be sure to include your address so we can respond! Fresh. Natural. Organic. Free-range. Air-chilled. Raised without antibiotics. A package of chicken can carry half a dozen reassuring claims—but what are you actually paying for? In this episode, Jennifer and Carey sort through the language on grocery-store chicken packages and explain which questions those labels answer, which...

send us an email and be sure to include your address so we can respond! Chicken molt season can make even experienced keepers panic: feathers everywhere, birds that suddenly look half naked, fewer eggs, and a flock that seems miserable. In this episode, Jennifer and Carey break down what a normal molt looks like, what triggers it, and how to help chickens through it without adding more stress. The...

send us an email and be sure to include your address so we can respond! Why raise American Bresse for the freezer when giant Orpingtons are already on the farm? Jennifer and Carey compare American Bresse, standard-bred Orpingtons, and Cornish Cross chickens—not just by size, but by growth rate, feed investment, reproduction, flavor, texture, and usefulness in the kitchen. In this episode, we discu...

send us an email and be sure to include your address so we can respond! For the first time since 1994, the National Academies has released a major revision of the nutrient requirements for poultry. What does that mean for the feed in your barn—and should you change anything? Jennifer and Carey break down why crude protein alone does not describe a complete diet, how digestibility and amino-acid ba...

send us an email and be sure to include your address so we can respond! How do you choose a reputable poultry breeder—and what should you ask before buying birds or hatching eggs? In this video, we cover 10 important questions every buyer should ask before placing an order. You’ll learn how to evaluate a breeder’s experience, breeding goals, nutrition program, recordkeeping, biosecurity practices,...

send us an email and be sure to include your address so we can respond! Every summer, backyard chicken owners hear the same advice—but how much of it is actually true? In this episode of the Poultry Nerds Podcast , we separate fact from fiction as we tackle common summer feeding myths, including: Does scratch corn cool chickens down—or make them hotter? Should treats replace layer feed during hot...

send us an email and be sure to include your address so we can respond! Are frozen treats really dangerous? Should you close the coop to keep hot air out? Does ice water hurt chickens? Summer is full of advice about keeping poultry cool—but not all of it is accurate. In this episode of Poultry Nerds, Jennifer Bryant and Carey Blackmon tackle some of the most common heat stress myths they see onlin...

send us an email and be sure to include your address so we can respond! Episode Description Can apple cider vinegar prevent disease? Is bleach water ever safe for chickens? Are homemade remedies helping your flock—or creating new problems? In this episode of the Poultry Nerds Podcast , Carey Blackmon and Jennifer Bryant play Fact or BS? as they tackle some of the most common chicken health myths c...

send us an email and be sure to include your address so we can respond! Quick Look In this episode, we discuss: Why so many poultry keepers and homesteaders experience burnout. The difference between working in your business and working on it. Why social media shouldn't be your entire business strategy. How websites, blogs, and email lists create long-term growth. The story behind why Jennife...

send us an email and be sure to include your address so we can respond! What Flies Are Really Telling You About Your Chicken Coop Flies are more than just an annoyance—they're often an indicator of what's happening in your coop and run. In this Poultry Nerds Podcast clip, we discuss why flies are attracted to chickens, the environmental conditions that encourage them, and practical manag...

send us an email and be sure to include your address so we can respond! What happens when a simple incubator turns into a mission? In this episode of the Poultry Nerds Podcast, we visit with Laurie Pineda of Harrison's Hatchery to hear the inspiring story of how her family's poultry journey began with one young man's fascination with hatching chicks. Harrison, who is on the autism s...

send us an email and be sure to include your address so we can respond! What makes a quality coturnix quail breeder? In this episode of the Poultry Nerds Podcast, Jennifer Bryant of Bryant's Roost and Carey Blackmon discuss practical quail selection methods that breeders can use to improve their flocks generation after generation. Whether you are raising coturnix quail for eggs, meat producti...

send us an email and be sure to include your address so we can respond! Broody hens are a natural part of chicken keeping, but they can be confusing and frustrating if you don't understand what's happening. In this episode of the Poultry Nerds Podcast, Jennifer Bryant and Carey Blackmon take a deep dive into broodiness—what causes it, how to recognize it, and what poultry keepers should...

send us an email and be sure to include your address so we can respond! What should you feed your chickens, quail, and other poultry? Does protein really matter? Are expensive feeds worth the cost? And how much does nutrition impact hatchability, chick quality, and flock performance? In this episode of the Poultry Nerds Podcast, Jennifer Bryant and Carey Blackmon tackle listener questions about po...

send us an email and be sure to include your address so we can respond! From hobby chickens to homesteading chickens, we all have questions.  In this episode we discuss feeding chickens to dry hatching and more!   Hatching Marans Dry hatching washing hatching eggs Exploding eggs Chick Electrolytes Hatching Upright Listen on your favorite platforms, youtube and on the www. PoultryNerdsPodcast.com ...

send us an email and be sure to include your address so we can respond! In this episode of the Poultry Nerds Podcast, Jennifer Bryant and Carey Blackmon sits down with Jessica from Little Willow Homestead to talk about chickens, homesteading, hatching, and building a recognizable brand in the poultry world. The conversation covers the story behind the “Coffee Egger,”  connecting with fellow homest...

send us an email and be sure to include your address so we can respond! In this episode of the Poultry Nerds Podcast , Carey and Jennifer break down the real-world differences between heritage chickens, hybrid broilers, and the Cornish Cross birds used in commercial meat production. If you’ve ever wondered why home-raised chicken tastes different than store-bought chicken — or whether raising your...

send us an email and be sure to include your address so we can respond! Silkie chickens are one of the most misunderstood breeds in poultry—and most people are getting it wrong. In this episode of the Poultry Nerds Podcast, we sit down with veterinarian Dr. Nicole to break down what actually matters when it comes to breeding, raising, and selecting high-quality Silkies. From genetics and defects t...