Our Animals

How do you find a good breeder? How do you feed chicks that will become layers? Is your rooster shooting blanks? NZ Lifestyle Block editor Nadene Hall and poultry expert Sue Clarke answer your questions.

You can use lights to extend your hen’s working year. We look at how to design a lighting programme that can give you more eggs without harming your hens.

She’s famous as one of NZ’s most popular romance writers, but Danielle Hawkins' other job is always calling her. Sometimes, from the washing basket in the living room.

In the final stages of pregnancy, a good diet is of utmost importance.

When your lambs are due to give birth it pays to be prepared.

While chicken care is fairly simple – a good coop, good food, somewhere to roam – birds can have curious health and behavioural issues. NZ Lifestyle Block editor Nadene Hall answers your curly questions.

The most effective methods for keeping poultry healthy are all about prevention.

We've collated the best hen stories on our site — everything a poultry owner needs to know on how to manage their birds, from coop design, weird- looking eggs to feeding and breeding.

Chicks, pullets and adults all have specific feed requirements.

The bird brain needs careful management to keep life peaceful.

Hint: Good egg production often boils down to a high-quality diet.

If you have the grass, buying calves and grazing them on is the best way to fill the freezer with lots of lovely beef.

Our expert finds the world of poultry is filled with myths, legends and garlic cure-alls.

A mushroom expert’s observation may help save the world’s bees.

We can put on a jacket or a sunhat, turn on the air-con or add another log on the fire. But all your stock can do is move in or out of shelter.

A record number of NZ beekeepers have taken part in the annual survey of bee health, losses, and beekeeping practices.

The hay paddock has some ungainly inhabitants, quite unlike their elegant parents.

Some tried-and-true coop features will make your life much easier.

A historic angus cattle stud takes winter by the horns with a seasonal celebration.

A guide to everything that happens in the digestive system after a hen gobbles up its meal.

Alpaca fan Britt Coker is sure the llamas have led the alpacas astray.

Mooney’s Furriers in Dunedin can turn a home-caught possum or rabbit skin into a gorgeous soft furnishing.

A serious pest of avocado trees has been found in NZ for the first time.

Looking ahead to winter and summer is a smart move for the mid-autumn checklist.

The poultry diet tends to look bland to humans, but adding ‘treats’ to it can work against you.

The most fatal disease in turkeys is passed on by chickens, which can make the hen house a deadly place for your gobblers

There is one particularly nasty parasite that can cause symptoms which are often confused with a respiratory infection.

Seasons are everything for productivity, so kick start the month with this autumn checklist.

Why you need to be on the lookout for this tiny, destructive invader.

On a road trip to the Golden Shears in the new Holden Colorado, Kelly Gillbanks discovers it takes a lot of guts and determination to be a top shearer. It’s a good thing she’s driving the truck of champions.

Chicken is the cheapest meat you can buy, but a home-grown roast can be well worth the effort.

Why the right feed is the difference between life and death for your chickens.

It’s not fertiliser, and the cause is probably looking at you.

More hot, dry weather is forecast and that’s going to have ongoing implications for your livestock, especially if you are relying on supplements.