A keen taste for brown eggs - Jeremy Hobson offers some suggestions for the perfect addition to the breakfast table

"WHAT'S in a name? That which we call a rose: By any other name would smell as sweet" has, it must be admitted, a far finer ring to it, than has, "What's in a colour? That which we call an egg: By any other colour would taste the same".

Ten good reasons to keep hens - Francine Raymond lists the benefits she derives from her flock of free-range poultry I KEEP a small flock of six to eight Buff Orpingtons hens, plus a cockerel and a couple of bantams. They are allowed total free-range in my two-thirds of an acre garden, where I grow a few flowers for pleasure and for cutting, but concentrate mainly on a wide variety of fruit, vegetables, nuts, and herbs.Reader comments (2)

Solution to red mite menace? - R S Pyne advocates the use of deadly diatoms which lead to death by dessication

A KNOCK at the door heralds Ceredigion's answer to Del Boy. Huw advertises his services as a handyman on the village notice board with printed business cards that say "So Call." Still at school but already a master of the hard-sell technique.

Poultry purchasing pointers - Jeremy Hobson explains that it might make sense to buy late autumn stock IN addition to selling surplus birds at shows, poultry clubs often organize sales and auctions. If you see one being held in the early spring, you can be sure that the majority of birds on offer will be around a year old and in peak condition for breeding or just ready for a long life of egg laying.

Sebrights – a breed apart - The making of a very British bird – dating back to 1800 – is explained by Ian Kay THIS article was written before Ian passed away and it is his family's wish that we continue with this series of articles that he wrote for Smallholder.

Vampire has taste for chicken THERE is one major problem in poultry which is very serious but always seems to be neglected or not spoken of and this is a problem mite infestation. Unless you have actually experienced the havoc and devastation it causes, it is very hard to understand how devastating its effect actually is upon poultry.Reader comments (2)

Tread cautiously, read wisely I DON'T like using the expression "run before you can walk" as we all have to start somewhere, but in poultry keeping, in particular, it is very easy to get carried away with enthusiasm and end up with a garden full of back-to-back chicken runs, each containing a different breed chosen as a result of the heart ruling the head.

What is a True Bantam? This article was written before Ian passed away and it is his families wish that we continue with this series of articles that he wrote for Smallholder. I WOULD like to start by clarifying the term 'True bantam'; the definition of which is that they have no large counterpart of the same breed. Breeds that exist in both large and small versions are called 'Miniature Fowl', unfortunately many people still refer to them as Bantams. Examples of these breeds are Orpingtons, Rhode Island Reds, Wyandottes, etc. whereupon True bantams are Pekins, Nankins, Japanese and Belgians. Also two that we are covering this month; Dutch and Rosecomb.

So what's on the menu? THE vitality and performance of poultry will rely heavily on the feed intake and contribute towards good health.

Fine feathers make fine birds - Francine Raymond looks at ways to help your chickens throught their moult A DESPERATE email from a Henkeepers' Association member in Morocco on the subject of ingrowing feathers on the wing joints of a very elderly, but much loved cockerel, sent me scurrying to my library of equally elderly poultry reference books. Further investigation offered nothing on the subject to give consolation to the Moroccan ex-pat (any suggestions?) but got me thinking about plumage, especially as I look out of my window onto a garden full of pretty, discarded feathers.

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