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

[ajlynco]

Thanks Jim, I thought I'd plant a box of forage for the girlsat the same time I plant my garden beds...just something for them to forage through.
Quote:

 

[Ridgerunner]

Quote:
I've done something similar to keep chickens from destroying my strawberry beds. Look at what materials you have available, but I took two 8 foot long 2x6's, cut them into 3' and 5' sections, screwed a box together 3' wide and 5'-3" long, and covered it with 3' wide chicken wire. Small enough to move easily and not a whole lot of wasted material.

 

[Oregon Blues]

[[[.....How do we attract crows?....]]]]

I don't want crows. They will kill baby chicks and steal eggs. They steal fruit from the trees and raid the veggie garden. It's easier to protect the poultry than it is to net all the trees and cover the entire vegetable garden.

Not to mention, they will steal any small shiny objects that catch their eye, so be careful what you leave sitting out.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:

They will stomp them to death if they dont back off, but you have to be careful because they pretty much don't like canines of any kind, the family dog has to be introduced carefully. They also will keep feral dogs away. Even my horse all two thousand pounds of her will Stomp a front foot or kick at a dog that messes with her.

http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/livestock/sheep/facts/donkey2.htm
http://www.solacefarm.com/protection.php

deb

 

[bobbi-j]

kathyinmo Got it! Thank you so much!

 

[GreenGoddess]

Quote:
We can and are planning on it but right now since I am not selling eggs or chicks (due to lack of both), it's just not in the budget... We never really had a problem with dogs because I've popped quite a few of them with my BB gun and after a time or two, they don't come back... Unfortunately, in the last two months, the dog population has grown thanks to a few neighbors that leave their gates open or have dogs that are able to leap over their 5' fence with no problems.. I've not been able to catch them because they don't like people as as soon as I open the door, they run... I'll get them eventually! I've got a batch of eggs in the bator now so I will be able to afford it in the next month or so... Hatch chicks and selling eggs pays for everything I need to do with the coops, runs, chickens, etc...

I honestly never really had a problem until I cleaned out the fridge after Thanksgiving and although there was nothing but bones left, the dogs could smell them and were trying to dig into the pens... They didn't succeed but it was enough to put me on alert... Once I took the bones out, the dogs haven't tried to get into the runs since... That's why I was so concerned about blood from culling... I figured, if they could smell bones that were picked clean of ANY meat, they could surely smell blood....

Goddess

 

[GreenGoddess]

Quote:
I never did understand that... When I first started researching about composting, I kept reading not to put animal products in it but animals will degrade into the ground (or compost) and put minerals and vitamins back into the ground.. Glad to know I can...

Goddess

 

[bobbi-j]

Goddess - Now I understand your concern. You will find electric fence to be your best friend. I personally don't have it around my coop and run, but we have used it around our sweetcorn patch to keep the coons and deer out. Otherwise the deer are nipping it off as soon as it starts coming up, and the darn coons wait until the day before it's ready to pick, then go in that night and destroy the whole thing. It wouldn't be so bad if they only took an ear or two, but they'll knock it all down and take a bite or two out of each ear. Sorry to digress. I like that you pay for your coop and run materials as you can by selling your eggs and chicks. What kind of eggs are you hatching?

I think the idea of keeping animal products out of your compost was to cut down attracting animals that would eat the meat, bones, etc. and poop in your compost, possibly spreading disease and parasites.

 

[GreenGoddess]

Quote:
I would most likely either give the remains back to the chickens (Hey! Free protein, right?) as long as there are no illnesses.. Or maybe give some to my dogs too...

As for using "culling" instead of "killing", I guess that's one habit this site got me into.. I feel that "culling" is an all around word.. I can either "cull" by selling or giving chickens away so they are no longer in my flock or I can "cull" them by dispatching and/or processing... Either way, you are "culling" the bird to get rid of it...

Goddess

 

[GreenGoddess]

Quote:
Unfortunately, no woods on my land.. I wish there was! My land is in a subdivision that used to be covered in crops.. I live in "the sandhills" of NC, and it is well named.. My yard is nothing but sand, weeds and wheat straw... The grass we have is mostly this stuff that has THICK runners (like a strawberry plant does) that look like chicken toes in texture... It's sometimes impossible to get through without post hole diggers or a VERY sharp shovel! Even then, sometimes it takes a while to break the top layer up.. Once you get down to about 1 1/2 ft, it's red clay....

The good thing about it, I've never had to give my chickens any type of grit since they live on a ton of it! LOL

Goddess