Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!  

After seeing Nifty's poll on years of flock management, it seems there are enough old timers here to compile some good, old-fashioned and time-honored tricks of the trade....anyone care to share their philosophy on chickens and all things pertaining? 
 

Now then, I'd like to ask folks to be respectful of one another when the methods of husbandry aren't the same....naturally this is going to happen.

THREAD WARNING:  The old-timers are just that, nothing more and nothing less.  Their speech may be to the point, sassy, and no-nonsense~this does not mean they meant to offend you or each other.  This is just how old farmers talk. 

If you are very sensitive and offend easily, it may be time to turn your car around and head back to where the couches are soft and the music is soft and dreamy....this is where the rubber meets the road and only the strong survive.


****A suggestion has been made by a newbie that we all place our relative years of chicken husbandry next to our location on our profile....I think this is a good idea and will sort the wheat from the tares, so to speak.  Get yer years up there and show yer ages in doing so....we won't laugh...much.     ********   

Al, I'll put it like my mama always told me~They can take it or they can leave it!     Most of the chicken related books providing information these days are not written by generational chicken farmers, thus the information seems to be slanted towards the USDA approved method of husbandry.

Well...before the USDuh started manipulating the farming community as a whole, ordinary folks were learning by trial and error just what really works in the back yard and the back forty. 

This thread should be an interesting collection of hard-won knowledge, passed down wisdom and just downright, basic, how-to-keep-your-chickens-alive-and-producing information that could and should help circumvent confusion, myths, and bad advice garnered by the newer generation. 

Now, this doesn't mean the oldsters are still not learning and sifting new information for the worth therein...anyone raising animals are on a continuous learning curve if they wish to be successful.  I'm just saying that their learning curve is a little steeper and quicker with all the years of momentum behind it.