As consumer interest in heritage-breed meats grows, more companies are looking to get in on the market—especially when it comes to chicken. Expand your understanding of food systems as a Civil Eats ...

Though all chickens are descended from the red junglefowl (Gallus gallus), in the course of human history different climate and selective breeding have produced a vast selection of shapes, sizes and ...

Heritage chicken and cattle breeds are generally better suited to small-scale homesteads than many modern livestock breeds. Their tendency to be dual- or even triple-purpose breeds is a noted plus for ...

Boasting impossibly long legs, small firm breasts and minimal fat, heritage chickens are like the runway models of the poultry world. They cost a lot of money and require special treatment. So why ...

Shannin Rettig enjoys raising all types of chickens. She especially loves seeing the different-colored eggs they produce. Along with the standard white and brown, her heritage birds lay dark brown-, ...

Expand your understanding of food systems as a Civil Eats member. Enjoy unlimited access to our groundbreaking reporting, engage with experts, and connect with a community of changemakers. “The ...

LINDSBORG — When Matt Hemmer was a kid, he would help his dad with the cattle on their family farm in North Dakota. But when Hemmer turned 11, his dad sold the land and moved to Kansas to start a ...

Not all turkeys are headed for Thanksgiving tables. Tom, all 20-plus pounds of him, will spend the holiday strutting around a pen he shares with several breeding hens. Other turkeys in a nearby pen ...

BARRED PLYMOUTH ROCK: A fowl with a striking black-and-white feather pattern, the Barred Rock is yellow-skinned and lays brown eggs. It is the first breed to be exhibited in a poultry show. It was ...