Toby Reed Sutherland
Backyard Flock Editor
Toby Reed Sutherland is a practical-focused editor for small-scale backyard livestock raising. He keeps a small flock in his own residential backyard, rather than running a commercial farm. His field-guide-style articles cover coop building, daily feeding, health observation and neighborhood-friendly management. All his advice fits ordinary household backyards, avoiding large-scale farm-oriented techniques.
Articles by Toby Reed Sutherland
Raising Baby Chicks Week by Week: A 6-Week Care Plan
Use this six-week baby chick care plan for brooder heat, space, feed, health checks, outdoor time, and a safer move to the grow-out coop without guess
Raising Baby Chicks and Ducks Together: 5 Rules for a Dry Brooder
Learn how to raise chicks and ducklings together with five dry-brooder rules for heat, water, feed, bedding, separation, and outdoor timing for a smal
How Much Feed Per Chicken Per Day Free Range: Step by Step
Learn how much feed a free-range chicken needs each day, how to measure real flock intake, spot waste, and turn grams into a monthly budget.
Is Raising Backyard Chickens Worth It? Costs, Time, Limits
Is raising backyard chickens worth it? Price setup, feed, time, eggs, space, predators, and travel with a practical 30-day test before buying birds.
Chicken Predator Protection DIY: Wire, Locks, and Digging
Build safer backyard chicken predator protection DIY with hardware cloth, digging aprons, secure latches, covered runs, inspection steps, and cost gui
Best Predator Proof Chicken Coop: 5 Picks by Flock Size
Choose the best predator proof chicken coop for 3–12 hens with five flock-size picks, space targets, hardware-cloth checks, run upgrades, and a buying
How to Protect Poultry From Predators: 7 Steps for Beginners
Learn how to protect poultry from predators with seven practical steps for safer coops, stronger mesh, dig-proof runs, overhead cover, and weekly chec
Raising Baby Chicks With Their Mother: A 6-Week Guide
A practical six-week plan for raising baby chicks with their mother, from broody-hen setup and first-day checks to feed, weather, predators, and flock
Raising Baby Chicks Outside: Age, Temperatures and Setup
Raising baby chicks outside takes more than a birthday: use chick-height heat, dry shelter, secure mesh, and behavior checks from week one to the coop
How Much Feed for 20 Chickens Per Day? Measure It in 2 Steps
Learn how much feed 20 chickens need each day, then weigh leftovers for a real flock average. Includes formulas, bag math, and common waste checks.
How Much Layer Feed Per Chicken Per Day: A 4-Step Guide
Learn how much layer feed each chicken needs per day, weigh a flock ration, audit seven days, and adjust for waste, weather, treats, and age.
How Much Fermented Feed Per Chicken Per Day: Step-by-Step
How much fermented feed per chicken per day? Use dry-feed math, a three-day batch, safe checks, and a seven-day switch for your backyard flock.
Raising Backyard Chickens for the First Time: 7 Numbers to Know
Raising backyard chickens for the first time? Use seven practical numbers for flock size, coop space, run space, feed, water, brooder heat, and first
Disadvantages of Keeping Chickens: 9 Costs and Chores
Thinking about backyard chickens? See nine real disadvantages, from setup and feed costs to daily chores, predators, health care, noise, rules, and tr
Backyard Chicken Breeds: 9 Best Picks for Small Flocks
Compare 9 backyard chicken breeds by size, eggs, temperament, climate, feed needs, and small-run fit, then choose a practical three-hen plan for your
Chicken Run Predator Protection: 7 Fixes That Hold Up
Use seven practical chicken run predator protection fixes: hardware cloth, anti-dig barriers, roof cover, two-step latches, clean evenings, and storm
Chicken Coop Predator Protection: 7 Fixes That Matter
Build practical chicken coop predator protection with a 15-minute audit, 1/2-inch hardware cloth, a dig apron, secure latches, and a full run roof.
Best Chicken Predator Protection: 7 Picks and Who Needs Them
Compare seven chicken predator protection picks, from hardware cloth and dig aprons to latches, roofs, electric netting, and cameras for backyard floc
Raising Baby Chicks Indoors: A 4-Week Setup Guide for Your Home
Raising baby chicks indoors for four weeks: choose the room, set safe heat, budget supplies, manage bedding, and test outdoor readiness step by step.
Raising Baby Chicks in Summer: Brooder Temps by Week
Raising baby chicks in summer? Use this week-by-week brooder temperature guide, warm-zone layout, heat checks, and safe outdoor transition tips.
Raising Baby Chicks for Beginners: Your First 6 Weeks
Raising baby chicks for beginners: a six-week plan for brooder space, heat, feed, water, health checks, and a safe move outdoors.
Feeding Baby Chicks: What to Give From Day 1 to Week 6
Feeding baby chicks from day 1 to week 6: starter amounts, water, treats, grit, label checks, feed changes, and red flags for a small backyard flock.
How Much Feed Per Chicken Per Day for Laying Hens? Step by Step
Learn the 100–120 g starting range, weigh a flock for seven days, adjust for weather and waste, and turn daily feed into a monthly shopping plan.
How Much Feed Per Chicken Per Day Calculator: Step by Step
Use this chicken feed calculator to estimate daily grams, waste, bag needs, and cost for layers, pullets, or mixed flocks; then check seven days of le
How Much Feed Per Chick Per Day: A Week-by-Week Guide
Plan chick feed amounts by week: daily grams, flock math, waste checks, free-choice feeding, and warning signs of poor intake for backyard chicks.
Raising Backyard Chickens for Eggs: A Practical Starter Plan
Raising backyard chickens for eggs starts with four hens, secure housing, feed math, health checks, winter care, and a seven-day plan for your first y
Raising Backyard Chickens for Beginners: 7 Numbers to Know
Raising backyard chickens for beginners? Use seven planning numbers for space, feed, predator barriers, brooder heat, and the first-egg timeline.
Breeding Backyard Chickens: Rooster Ratios, Timing and Care
Plan breeding backyard chickens with a humane rooster ratio, fertile-egg timing, feed baseline, welfare checks, records, and a manageable first season
Chicken Predator Protection: Hardware Cloth vs Chicken Wire
Hardware cloth vs chicken wire for chicken predator protection: mesh size, gauge, where each belongs on a coop and run, dig-proof aprons and retrofit
Raising Baby Chicks: 95°F Week One, Then Drop 5°F Weekly
Start baby chicks at 95°F under the heat source, then drop 5°F weekly until they're feathered. The full week-by-week brooder schedule and what shifts
How Much Feed Per Chicken Per Day? Grams by Flock Size
Most adult laying hens eat about 100–150 grams of complete feed daily. Use flock-size math, a seven-day audit, and local bag prices to plan accurately
Incubation Calendar: Candling, Lockdown and Hatch Dates
Set an egg date and get the candling, lockdown and hatch dates for chickens, ducks, quail, turkeys, geese and guinea fowl.
Chicken Coop Size Calculator: Floor Space, Run, Roost and Nest Boxes
Work out coop floor area, run size, roost length and how many nest boxes a backyard flock needs — or how many birds a coop you already have can hold.
Raising Backyard Chickens: What 3-12 Hens Actually Cost You
What a backyard flock of 3-12 hens really costs: coop and run startup bands, feed math in grams per bird, hidden recurring costs, and a budget templat