Welcome to my Chicken Corner.

All my chicken content and poultry information is linked here for easy navigation.

You’ll find trusted, real-life guidance here, based on hands-on experience with chickens and life on a North Dakota homestead.

From choosing the right chicken breeds to keeping your flock healthy, productive, and laying well through every season.

Chicken topics!

Chicken

Breeds & Breed Guides

Chicken Breeds for

Colorful Egg

Chicken

Egg Production

Posts on feed, coops and care

Chicken

Feed, Treats & Nutrition

Hot & cold

Seasonal Chicken Care

topics on Chicken

Coop Care & Flock Management

Chicken health & Bantams

For food

Meat Birds & Dual-Purpose Chickens

Chicken

Health & Parasites

Mini Chickens

Bantam Chickens

Ducks and quail

Coming soon

Keeping Ducks

Duck

Breeds & Breed Guides

Coming soon

Quail

Raising chickens is one of the most rewarding parts of homesteading.

Whether you’re just starting with a small backyard flock or you’ve been keeping chickens for years, my goal is to help you build a setup that’s healthy, practical, and sustainable.

Behind the blog

Hi, I’m Esther Donohue,

Thanks for joining me! I live in North Dakota with my family, where chickens roam the yard, food is made from scratch, and learning happens every day. I’m a homesteader, food truck owner, and culinary teacher who believes you don’t have to do everything to be a homesteader; you just have to start where you are.

Here on The Phat Hen, I share practical chicken care, food preservation, foraging, and from-scratch cooking, along with the real-life lessons that come with raising food, raising kids, and building a more self-sufficient life one season at a time.

More about Esther