Backyard Poultry: The Ogden Publications Magazine for Small-Flock Keepers

Profile updated November 2026

Backyard Poultry is a bimonthly magazine for people who keep small flocks of chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and other fowl. It is owned and operated by Ogden Publications of Topeka, Kansas, alongside its sister title Countryside, and its June/July 2026 issue was Volume 21, Number 3, placing its start in the mid-2000s.

History of Backyard Poultry

Backyard Poultry was created as a companion to Countryside, the long-running homesteading magazine, and has been published for more than two decades; its 2026 issues carry Volume 21. It grew with the backyard flock movement, as suburban and urban households discovered fresh eggs, heritage breeds and the pleasures of keeping a few hens.

The magazine is now part of Ogden Publications, the Topeka-based magazine arm of the family-owned Ogden Newspapers, Inc., of Wheeling, West Virginia. Ogden's print portfolio also includes Mother Earth News, GRIT, Farm Collector, Motorcycle Classics and Countryside, and its online properties include Goat Journal, Community Chickens, Capper's Farmer and Keeping Backyard Bees.

Under Ogden, Backyard Poultry shares a website, BackyardPoultry.IAmCountryside.com, with the Countryside family of titles, and its issues are also offered as digital and all-access subscriptions.

Backyard Poultry Today

Backyard Poultry publishes six issues a year in print and digital. The June/July 2026 issue included features on showing waterfowl, internet poultry-buying scams, Jersey Giant chickens as meat birds, therapy chickens, chickens in pop culture, raising ducks versus ducklings, 2026 USDA rule changes and external parasite control.

Regular departments include breed profiles, such as the Polish Green-Legged Partridge fowl, seasonal recipes from contributors including Rita Heikenfeld, and a recipe from the editor herself.

What Backyard Poultry Is Publishing Now

Breeds and species

Chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and rarer fowl, with a breed profile in every issue.

Health and rules

Parasite control, biosecurity, avian disease and federal rule changes that affect small-flock owners.

Flock life

Showing birds, meat birds, eggs, coops, buying advice and recipes from the backyard kitchen.

Backyard Poultry Editors and Staff

The June/July 2026 masthead lists:

• Audra Trosper - Editor-in-Chief
• Samantha Ingersoll - Publication Designer
• Emily Clanton - Audience Engagement
• Karmin Garrison - Copy Editor
• Cheryl K. Smith - Copy Editor
• Patrice Lewis - Contributor

The masthead lists editor@backyardpoultrymag.com for editorial correspondence.

Who Reads Backyard Poultry

Readers are small-flock keepers across the country: families with a few laying hens, 4-H exhibitors, waterfowl fanciers and homesteaders raising meat birds. Many sell eggs or birds locally, part of the direct-marketing economy measured by the 2022 Census of Agriculture, which found 116,617 farms with $3.3 billion in direct sales.

Backyard Poultry Sources and Agriculture Authority Links

• Backyard Poultry, June/July 2026 - a full recent issue with masthead.
• Ogden Publications: About us - the publisher and its titles.
• Cornell University Library: Backyard Revival - an exhibit on American heritage poultry.
• USDA NASS: 2022 Census of Agriculture - family farms and direct sales.
• USDA ERS: Animal product receipts - poultry and eggs in U.S. agriculture.

Backyard Poultry FAQ

Who publishes Backyard Poultry?

Ogden Publications, Inc., of Topeka, Kansas, part of Ogden Newspapers.

Who edits Backyard Poultry?

Audra Trosper is editor-in-chief.

How often is Backyard Poultry published?

Bimonthly, six issues a year, in print and digital.

Does Backyard Poultry cover ducks and geese?

Yes. It covers chickens, waterfowl, turkeys and other small-flock poultry.

Two decades in, Backyard Poultry remains a practical, friendly guide for anyone raising birds at home.