Feathered Fundamentals Curriculum
Here’s everything we’ll cover, section by section:
Bringing Home Your Birds
Choosing chickens that suit your space, lifestyle, and goals, including where to find healthy birds you can feel good about bringing home.
Raising Chicks
Everything you need to know as chicks grow from tiny balls of fluff into young birds. We’ll cover brooder setup, heat, feeding, growth milestones, and what is and isn’t normal during those early weeks.
Raising Teenagers
What to expect during the awkward stage from 8 to 20 weeks, including changing care needs and preparing your flock for coop life and adulthood.
Laying Hens & Roosters
What to expect after 20 weeks as hens begin laying, how to care for adult birds, and how roosters fit into the flock.
Chicken Breeds
A look at common chicken breeds and what sets them apart, including egg production, size, temperament, and how well they handle our climate. This will help you choose birds that suit your space and plans.
Chicken Behavior
Learning how chickens communicate and behave, from pecking orders and dust baths to broody moods and flock dynamics. Understanding normal chicken chaos makes it easier to recognize when something may actually be wrong.
Coop Considerations
Planning or choosing a coop that keeps your flock safe, dry, and comfortable. We’ll talk about space requirements, ventilation, nesting boxes, predator protection, and common coop mistakes.
Introducing New Chickens
How to add birds to an established flock without total mayhem. This includes quarantine, gradual introductions, and managing the inevitable drama when chicken math strikes.
Biosecurity Best Practices
Simple, practical ways to protect your flock from preventable disease. We’ll cover quarantine, dedicated chore clothing and footwear, visitors, shared equipment, and environmental risks.
Healthy Chickens
Understanding what normal looks like, creating useful preventative habits, and recognizing early signs that something may be wrong.
Common Chicken Health Issues
A practical look at health problems backyard chicken keepers may encounter, what they can look like, what information to gather, and when veterinary care is needed.
We’ll look at:
• Comb injuries, nail injuries, cuts, and scrapes
• Respiratory infections
• Bumblefoot
• Egg binding
• Prolapse
• Salpingitis
• Impacted crop
• Sour crop
• Torticollis, also known as wry neck
• Marek’s disease and lymphoid leukosis
• Coccidiosis, worms, lice, and mites
• Heat stress and frostbite
Your Chicken First Aid Kit
What to keep on hand so you are prepared to deal with minor injuries and support a sick chicken while deciding what needs to happen next.
Euthanasia
How to recognize when it may be time to let a bird go, make that difficult decision responsibly, and prepare for the emotional reality of euthanasia.
Financial Considerations
A realistic look at what chickens cost to keep, including the initial setup, regular expenses, and costs beginners may not realize are coming.
