Oliver Hayes 
Day-old chicks arrive without feathers and without the ability to hold their own body temperature. That single fact makes the heat source the most important piece of equipment in a brooder, and it is also where most first-time keepers make the costliest mistake. A 250-watt infrared bulb throws light and heat across the whole box, … Read more
Last updated: The best way to keep your chicken’s water from freezing is a heated waterer with a thermostatic element built into the base, or an external heated plate that sits under the waterer you already own. In both cases a thermostat switches the heat on near 35°F and off again before the water gets … Read more
For most large flocks, the best bulk poultry feeder is the OverEZ 50 lb gravity-fed feeder: it holds a full 50 lb sack, has three overhanging no-waste ports that keep feed dry and off the ground, and weighs only 5.4 lb so you can refill it in the run. Flocks of 50 birds or more … Read more
Hens do not need an elaborate henhouse to lay well. They need one dark, quiet, correctly sized box that is below the roost, and they will fill it every morning. Get that wrong and you will find cracked eggs on the floor, hens sleeping in the box, and a daily hunt through the run for … Read more
Most backyard flock losses are not coop failures. They are run failures. A coop can be solid cedar with a lockable door and it will not help you if the run attached to it is wrapped in hexagonal chicken wire, sits on six-inch stakes, and has no ground skirt. Raccoons, foxes, weasels, opossums, and hawks … Read more
A poultry scalder is a heated water tank you dunk a bird into for 30 to 90 seconds at 145 to 150 degrees before plucking. The heat relaxes the skin and loosens the feather quill so feathers come away instead of tearing the skin. It is the single highest-leverage piece of home poultry processing equipment. … Read more
Most farm eggs arrive covered in something. Straw, shavings, dried mud, a feather, or the smeared droppings that make a clean carton look dirty before you even get it to the kitchen. An egg cleaning brush is the small hand tool that fixes that in seconds: a silicone cup you twist the egg against, or … Read more
The best egg cartons for selling farm eggs are blank molded pulp cartons with a wide stamping surface, because they protect the eggs, absorb humidity, and give you a clean panel for every label line you are required to print. Clear plastic clamshells come second because buyers can see the eggs at a market table, … Read more
A broadfork is the fastest way I know to turn a compacted garden bed back into something you can plant in, and after putting ten of them through raised beds all season, the gap between the good ones and the cheap ones is wider than most roundups admit. The best broadforks for garden beds are … Read more
If you want one straight answer before anything else: the MASAKIYO Japanese weeding sickle is the best of the hand scythes on this list for general pasture work, because a 5.9 ounce high-carbon blade from a Japanese forging house lets you work a full afternoon without arm fatigue, and 6,522 ratings at 4.7 stars back … Read more