There were a number of things that I didn’t expect when we were first planning to get chickens. This post details some of the behaviors that were a surprise to me. Healthy Chickens As I mentioned in a post about getting your first chickens, I got some advice from a local farmer – who offers chicken […]
Chicken Breeds
Chickens can be roughly categorized into layers (egg producers), meat breeds, show breeds, and hybrids (crosses between two breeds). These aren’t absolutes, and most of these breeds are considered dual-purpose, for example Rhode Island Reds can be considered both layers and meat chickens. There are usually trade-offs with each of the breeds, so there isn’t a “perfect breed” – […]
All About Eggs
Although some people raise chickens for meat, to show, or as pets, probably eggs are the first thing people think of when they think of chickens. Breeds Different breeds produce different shell colors of eggs. Inside they’re the same. White eggs come mostly from Leghorns, a breed known to be super egg layers. They can be […]
The Economics of Keeping Chickens
Probably the worst reason to get chickens is to make money or save money. I’m certainly not opposed to investments and thinking about things in financial terms – I used to be a personal finance blogger – and I don’t judge people who want to get into chickens for this reason. It’s just that all […]
Your Startup Needs For Chickens
When we decided we wanted to get chickens, my wife and I attended a continuing education class which was an hour and a half overview about getting into chickens. Obviously, this isn’t going to teach you everything you’ll ever need to know about chickens, but it did help us understand the basics and gave us […]
Getting Your First Chickens
It seems that the approach many people follow is to order chicks from a mail-order company, like Murry McMurry Hatchery (non-affiliate link), get a batch of 50 in the mail, then raise the chicks until they have chickens. We haven’t done this yet ourselves, but apparently it’s quite straightforward. The chicks aren’t able to regulate their temperature, […]
Education Theater
Education theater refers to investments made in education designed to provide the appearance of improving learning outcomes for students while doing little or nothing to actually achieve this. Universities originated based on the principles of “training professionals, scientific investigation, improving society, and teaching critical thinking and research“. The modern research university is sometimes referred to […]
Handling Multiple Academic Offers
A friend of mine is at the early stages of his job hunt for his first faculty position and already has 3 offers in hand – what can I say, he’s good! He’d be happy at any of the three positions, and each has appealing elements the other two don’t. While it’s reassuring for him to know […]
Finding A Thesis Topic
The topic of your thesis is one of the most important elements of your graduate career. This will determine the research community you’ll become a part of, the “brand” you’ll job hunt with, influence grant applications, and will be the focus of a major part of your career. It’s possible to change your research direction, […]
Why Do Professors Have Graduate Students?
I once asked a professor in my department “why do professors have graduate students?” He was taken aback by the question and said it was somewhat like asking why firefighters put out fires – in both cases, it’s kind of their job. With professors, there is flexibility in how many students they take on. I […]