I'm all for people doing thier own thing. As for myself, when I first started raising chickens/turkeys/ducks/peafowl I tried every kind of feed, and ratios in the book. Medications in the water, and feed, etc and every remedy for the different issues I encountered. The trouble was because I was new I had no opinion and was reading everyone else's and had no clue which one to follow. I didn't have a forum like this one to find info.
So after much trial and error and TONS of frustration and pulling out my hair I decided to go 100% free range. The only thing I fed them was cracked corn on occasion in the winter, and left out water even though they drank a lot from the creek that ran through my property. I also would throw out oyster shells from time to time. The result was the healthy and happy birds. I didn't even hatch any eggs. I let the hens do it and let them raise them. Keep in mind that I lived on 5 acres that was surrounded on three sides by woods. So bugs of all kinds were abundant as well as garter snakes. The hens layed consistently all year long.
Now I'm not saying this is the best thing for everyone, or their set up and property. I'm just saying it was right for me. Just like mixing a million things in feed might be the right thing for others. The point is that everyone has thier own opinions, but the minute people start telling them how wrong they are in a not nice way is when people stop posting. Don't get me wrong I think it's great to educate someone if they are doing something that isn't beneficial or may do harm. But for one person to criticize another just for the sake of criticizing helps no one and only serves to run people away.
Believe you me I know what it is to deal with " newbies" in other areas ( I've been a breeder and exhibitor of Great Danes for 17yrs) but I also haven't forgotten what it was like to BE a newbie either, and I think people forget that. No one is born an expert in anything, and everything in life is a continual learning process. But the minute a person thinks they know it all or have no more to learn they need to step back and examine things.
JMHO as a person new to this site. Education doesn't = criticism. By the same token though, those who are new should always try and learn from those more experienced. The quickest way to upset or offend someone who has been " in the trenches" for years is to be a know it all and instant expert. The smartest thing someone that's new to anything can do is to ask questions and learn from other peoples mistakes.
I hope no one is offended by my post. Please take in in the spirit it was intended which was just an observation from one who has been on both sides of the newbie/experienced fence.
Rebekah
