Learning for Life: Raising backyard poultry

There are numerous reasons why we choose to keep small poultry flocks in our backyards with the joy of farm animals and a steady source of protein, eggs, and garden fertilizer just to name a few, but keeping our birds and ourselves healthy requires us to be proactive by creating a clean and healthy environment.

Whether you’re ordering your first chicks this spring, have an established laying flock, are considering selling eggs locally, or perhaps you’re even venturing into the world of raising chickens for meat, we have a number of very helpful University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service publications to help you get started.

Find “Selecting, Brooding, and Rearing Small Numbers of Chicks”, “Home Laying Flock” “Safe Egg Handling for Small Egg-Laying Flocks and Operations” and “Broiler Production” at http://www.uaf.edu/ces/districts/kenai/.We also have hard copies in our office located at 43961K-Beach Rd., Suite A, Soldotna, AK 99669. Call us at 262-5824. We are “Learning for Life”.

Submitted by Lydia Clayton, UAF Cooperative Extension Service, Agriculture and Horticulture Agent, Kenai Peninsula District.

More in Life

This dish, an earthy and herbaceous vegetarian reimagining of the classic beef wellington, is finished nicely with a creamy maple balsamic sauce. Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion
A special dish for a special request

This mushroom wellington is earthy and herbaceous, and its preparation comes with much less pressure.

File
Minister’s Message: Lifelong learning is a worthwhile goal

Lifelong learning. That’s a worthwhile goal. Schools have been in session for… Continue reading

This E.W. Merrill photograph shows Charles Christian Georgeson, special agent in charge of all agricultural experiment stations in Alaska, starting in 1898. (Photo from Alaska History Magazine, July-August 2020)
The Experiment: Kenai becomes an agricultural test site — Part 1

Individuals deciding to explore Kenai’s historic district might start their journey by… Continue reading

This virgin blueberry margarita made with blueberry flavored kombucha is perfect for sipping while playing cards.  Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion
Sweet fruit for sober fun

Blueberry kombucha gives this virgin margarita complexity in flavor and a lovely purple hue.

John W. Eddy was already a renowned outdoor adventurer and writer when he penned this book in 1930, 15 years after the mystery of King David Thurman’s disappearance had been solved. Eddy’s version of the story, which often featured wild speculation and deviated widely from the facts, became, for many years, the accepted recounting of events.
King Thurman: An abbreviated life — Part 6

AUTHOR’S NOTE: The fate of King David Thurman, a Cooper Landing-area resident,… Continue reading

File
Minister’s Message: Being ‘thank full?’

As a young dad, I remember teaching my toddler children to say… Continue reading

Public photo from ancestry.com
James Forrest Kalles (shown here with his daughters, Margaret and Emma) became the guardian of King David Thurman’s estate in early 1915 after Thurman went missing in 1914 and was presumed dead.
King Thurman: An abbreviated life — Part 5

AUTHOR’S NOTE: King David Thurman left his Cooper Landing-area home in late… Continue reading

These heart-shaped chocolate sandwich cookies go perfectly with a glass of milk. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
Chocolate cookies for a sweet treat

A healthy layer of frosting makes these sandwich cookies perfectly sweet and satisfying.

File photo.
Minister’s Message: Memento mori

In the early centuries of Christianity, the Desert Fathers — Christian monks… Continue reading

Emmett Krefting, age 6-7, at the Wible mining camping in 1907-07, about the time he first met King David Thurman. (Photo from the cover of Krefting’s memoir, Alaska’s Sourdough Kid)
King Thurman: An abbreviated life — Part 4

AUTHOR’S NOTE: In 1913, King David Thurman, a Cooper Landing-area resident who… Continue reading

Bulgogi kimbap is a favorite lunchtime staple and easy travel meal. Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion
Kimbap when craving Korean food

Bulgogi kimbap is a favorite lunchtime staple and easy travel meal.