Austin, Texas — Austin-based Funny Farm Industries and Mother Earth News, the longest-running publication dedicated to sustainable lifestyles, introduce an expanded version of Pickin’ Chicken for iOS, their complete, illustrated guide to more than 82 different breeds and 163 varieties of chickens. Included are 19 search categories, rare and heritage breeds, more than 140 new photos, a glossary of terms, a list of resources, and tips on chicken care.
For a limited time, the app will be available at a spring sale download price of $1.99. The new version will be available Friday, March 2.
The app launch is geared toward the novice by asking, “Why do you want chickens?” Navigation through a quick set of questions will bring the user to a results screen on the “Picked Chicks.”
Each search result listing includes a thumbnail photo, the breed name, heritage, icons for egg size and color, and the weight at harvest time. Selecting any of the breed listings brings up a summary, including the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy’s Endangered status for the breed, and a detailed entry on that particular breed of chicken. The breed profile includes full screen photos with zoom abilities and access to an additional online chicken photo gallery.
The more experienced chickenist can drill down to the app’s extensive searching capabilities in the “Eggspert” screen. Now offering 19 different searching features, including for those harvesting chickens for the table, the “Eggspert” search function adds: Breed Name or Origin; Standard or Bantam; Temperament; Climate; Flavor Recognition; Weight Range; Comb Type; Housing Suitability; Heritage; Free Range; Forager; Sex Linked; Broody; and American Poultry Association (APA) recognition.
The app uniquely shows a wide array of breeds, their varieties, and photos of different age and gender chickens. For instance, the breed of Old English Game shows 11 different varieties, including Silver Duckwing, White, Lemon Blue, Spangled, and many others.
Feature Highlights:
• Search for chickens using a friendly question and answer approach
• Pinpoint eggspert search for the power chickenist
• Alphabetical browsing of more than 82 breeds and their varieties
• Filtering on rare and heritage breeds
• Track your favorite breeds
• Detailed breed profiles
• More than 300 chicken photos with multiple varieties for many breeds
• Additional resources for chicken care and hatcheries to contact for your picked chicks
• The ability to enter the Mother Earth News Chicken Coop Raffle from within the app
Pickin’ Chicken also offers an editable favorites library, a browser function, a glossary of terms, educational resources, tips on chicken care, a link to upload the user’s own chicken photos, an integrated Twitter link, and an opportunity to subscribe to the company’s free newsletter.
“Spring is a great time to get started with chickens. We want to help by offering a spring sale price to help people get started with all the various breeds and varieties available,” says Funny Farm Industries’ President Michelle Hernandez.
Device Requirements:
– Apple iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad
– iOS 3.0 or later
– 9.9 MB
Pricing and Availability: Pickin’ Chicken 1.1.5 is available for a limited time at $1.99 (USD) through the App Store in the Reference category.
To purchase and download the new version of Pickin’ Chicken, head to the iTunes app store.
Deep in the heart of Austin, Texas, Funny Farm Industries is a privately funded company focusing on providing tools and resources for the urban farmer.
Mother Earth News is the Original Guide to Living Wisely. Topics include organic gardening, do-it-yourself projects, cutting energy costs, using renewable energy, green home building and rural living.
Ogden Publications Inc. is the leading information resource serving the sustainable living, rural lifestyle, farm memorabilia and classic motorcycle communities. Key brands include Mother Earth News, Natural Home & Garden, Utne Reader, CAPPER’s and GRIT. Ogden Publications also produces environmentally friendly housewares through Natural Home Products LLC, and provides insurance and financial services through its Capper’s Insurance Service division.
