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

[Lollipop]

Quote:
"Freezer Camp" is also a way to talk about your plans for your extra roos in front of underage children who would scream and faint away if they knew you were going to KILL IT and EAT IT.

I "process" my birds when talking to adults and send them to "Freezer camp" when there are children around. (Other people's kids....mine are all grown and most don't eat meat...sigh)

Cass, I respect your opinion as I should. I have a slightly different view. I believe children that are exposed to real life farm situations are much more prepared for real life than those that are sheltered. When an adult deals with facts of life and states it as such to youngsters, they adopt the same outlook and are not as easily crushed by death of chickens, cows, even loved humans. They don`t need counseling when they lose a friend at school. Death is common not only on a farm, but in real life and can be easier on all concerned if it is dealth with out in the open and as a fact of life.......Pop

 

[Dead Rabbit]

raise them soft and they will always be soft. that goes for chickens, dogs, horses........and kids.

this world is full of soft chikins, soft dogs, soft horses, and softer kids. and it shore aint a grand place anymore.

 

[al6517]

Quote:
"Freezer Camp" is also a way to talk about your plans for your extra roos in front of underage children who would scream and faint away if they knew you were going to KILL IT and EAT IT.

I "process" my birds when talking to adults and send them to "Freezer camp" when there are children around. (Other people's kids....mine are all grown and most don't eat meat...sigh)

Cass, I respect your opinion as I should. I have a slightly different view. I believe children that are exposed to real life farm situations are much more prepared for real life than those that are sheltered. When an adult deals with facts of life and states it as such to youngsters, they adopt the same outlook and are not as easily crushed by death of chickens, cows, even loved humans. They don`t need counseling when they lose a friend at school. Death is common not only on a farm, but in real life and can be easier on all concerned if it is dealth with out in the open and as a fact of life.......Pop

You took the words right out of my mouth................... well said and as it should be. We hear so often that folks are disconnected by not knowing where their food comes from, and this is why !!!! sheltered children won't ever learn the ways of the world by being protected from the truth.

If you don't stand for something............... you stand for nothing.

 

[zrossk]

Quote:
The fact is that some people like to pamper their animals, including me.

 

[jvls1942]

Quote:
Cass, I respect your opinion as I should. I have a slightly different view. I believe children that are exposed to real life farm situations are much more prepared for real life than those that are sheltered. When an adult deals with facts of life and states it as such to youngsters, they adopt the same outlook and are not as easily crushed by death of chickens, cows, even loved humans. They don`t need counseling when they lose a friend at school. Death is common not only on a farm, but in real life and can be easier on all concerned if it is dealth with out in the open and as a fact of life.......Pop

You took the words right out of my mouth................... well said and as it should be. We hear so often that folks are disconnected by not knowing where their food comes from, and this is why !!!! sheltered children won't ever learn the ways of the world by being protected from the truth.

If you don't stand for something............... you stand for nothing.

I thought it was: If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything.. different parts of the country, perhaps ? wait !! we are both right ....

 

[al6517]

Quote:
You took the words right out of my mouth................... well said and as it should be. We hear so often that folks are disconnected by not knowing where their food comes from, and this is why !!!! sheltered children won't ever learn the ways of the world by being protected from the truth.

If you don't stand for something............... you stand for nothing.

I thought it was: If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything.. different parts of the country, perhaps ? wait !! we are both right ....

LOL yeah that's it.............. thanks for the reminder, old brain and not enough coffee, gimme a couple more hours LOL.

 

[Clay Mudd]

Quote:
I half-seriously told Mrs. Mudd the other day that farming teaches kids that two things are unavoidable: death and doodoo.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I think your attitude and how you approach it has the most to so with it. The words don't matter nearly as much as your attitude and how you handle it. If you freak out, they will. If you treat it as part of life, they will.

 

[Mommy 2 Wee Ones]

It does take more time, effort & money to start up & raise chicken, gardens & fruit trees. I am a 4th generation California, ancestors were farmers & ranchers. Have been use to either raising my own veggies & fruit trees in So. Cal, or at least going to the local Farmer's Market to get the fresh fruit & veggies. Now that we are in Texas, I have to relearn a different climate & growing season, what I can & can not grow, or what will & will not grow here in North Texas.

Because we now live in the country, I have more space and a chance to try different growing techniques to see what works best in my area. Because I am steward of my land, and caregivers of my animals, I will try to do what is best for both. But in the instance of last summer, when we had 110 deg + heat, I let my garden die, but did everything in my power to keep my chickens as comfortable as that could be in that heat. Would rather lose the garden and not the chickens.

I try to read up as much as I can on a project I am going to undertake, and weigh out both pro & con opinions before I make a decision as to what chickens I may purchase or what plants I may plant in my garden. There may be trial & error, and I will learn from this.

Just take what information is given here, and file it away in your mental filing cabinet. Tomorrow you may find something posted that sounds better than what you learner or read the day before. So then toss out the old stuff & insert the new. To each his or her own, but don't let this get into another issue like before. I do not want to log on tonight or tomorrow & find that this posting is gone, this time for good. I have enjoyed how the variety of topics have broadened and I have learned other things along the way, other than chicken rearing. As Bee posted in the very beginning, you can take it or leave it, and if you don't like what is posted, no one is forcing you to continue reading. If what is posted bothers you, PM the poster & take it up with them privately or contact the Moderator.

We all want to learn the best way to raise chickens, and it seems like the old ways have a lot more going for it, then all the newfangled PC ways that are being tossed around.

Pop Agree with you. But I do like the phrase "Freezer Camp" My 4 year old came home from Pre-K, about 3 weeks in, and while doing something, informed me that she had "Lost Her Brain". Come to find out, her teacher says this when the kids get a bit too goofy, and she is trying to do a lesson with them. Her thoughts fly out of her head, and she will tell the class she has lost her brain, and the kids will quiet down, and she can get back to her lesson.

My girls had to deal with 2 pet deaths, and a pet to the shelter in 8 months of living here. My 4 year old was 3 at the time, when we lost our 15 1/2 year old dog a week after moving to Texas. She saw the dog being put to sleep, and then came with me to pick up her ashes the next day. She just cried & told me how she did not want Vicky to be in the little box, that she wanted to have her back the way she was. I explained to her, how Vicky was getting older & was grumpy a lot of the time, and that her best friend Rudy Bear really missed her. It took about a month to get over the loss with out crying.
We then lost our 5 month old puppy just over a month ago, it was very sudden & both girls took it hard the first few days. But I sat down & explained to them how life works, and some people & animals can live for a very long time & others do not. It is how life is, and when they do go, we can remember them and that will keep them alive in our hearts.

 

[al6517]

Coming from California to N. Texas will require some major changes, CA vs TX is like oil & water LOL and not just the climate. I live in SW Ok so we live in the same hell hole weather wise and yes my garden crapped the bed as well this year with 110-115 for more than 90 day's without a drop of rain. In this part of the country we say.............. the DEVIL called he wants his weather back LOL. Perhaps I can help with some issues your going to struggle with and save you time, $$ and effort, I have been here for over 20 years and I still don't know why I let my wife talk me into living here LOL.