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

[ChickChickChicky]

Al, thanks for your input on dual purpose birds. My take is that something that is dual purpose is not going to give stellar performance in EITHER category, maybe just passable performance (???) That said, I think that the old-timey heritage birds are gorgeous and are a fit for a lifestyle that isn't hell-bent on production. I got into chickens after my husband passed away, as something to "take care of". I like to garden, chicken poop is good for gardens, etc. Knew NOTHING about chickens but decided I had to have them, so approached it in my usual nerd way and started reading everything I could. I started in Oct 2011 with 6 adult hens (all hatchery stock I'm sure) but they all laid pretty well. Earlier this summer I built a 2nd, larger coop and was up to 16 birds, but lost 3 to the awful heat we had. I am SO SO thankful to all of you oldtimers who are sharing your knowledge. I honestly don't eat many eggs, I sell almost all of them which just covers the feed. I do like to eat chicken, though, so am considering trying my hand at meaties this spring. You all have helped me to decide in my mind's eye which of the hens I have now will be butchered to make room for a couple of new layers and possibly some meat birds. I know that I probably won't get enough meat for a pot of soup off the birds I end up butchering (mostly production reds), but hey they laid GINORMOUS eggs nearly every single day. My 2 Welsummers will likely go as well, because they are SO nervous, noisy, and pretty unpredictable in their laying (but beautiful birds, and eggs when they do lay). The best layers for me have been the production reds and the 2 Black Copper Marans I have left. I have one BA who's a pretty good layer and one of the prettiest. I would LOVE to have enough room (and money) to get into seriously raising and showing a few of the heritage breeds, those that have caught my eye so far are Buckeye, Delaware, RIR, Cornish, White Rock, and believe it or not the Black Copper Marans.

By the way, Al, I had to tell you about this chicken breast I saw the chef's grilling at one of the places I work. That breast was darn near as big as a turkey breast. The chefs were all saying that they wouldn't eat it because it probably came from some mutant chicken that had been force fed hormones or something. I looked at it and thought about your giant Cornish

 

[galanie]

Al, thanks for your input on dual purpose birds. My take is that something that is dual purpose is not going to give stellar performance in EITHER category, maybe just passable performance (???) That said, I think that the old-timey heritage birds are gorgeous and are a fit for a lifestyle that isn't hell-bent on production. I got into chickens after my husband passed away, as something to "take care of". I like to garden, chicken poop is good for gardens, etc. Knew NOTHING about chickens but decided I had to have them, so approached it in my usual nerd way and started reading everything I could.

I didn't consciously want something "to take care of" but it turns out that's exactly what I needed. I got into it for the poop. I don't even ever eat eggs! But I do use them in baking so I have a few egg customers. My gardens though no longer need store bought fertilizer. I think the feed is cheaper than the fertilizer was and the other side benefits are priceless.

 

[al6517]

Great post, as usual, Al.

Love it when you get on a roll. I'm doing an unofficial polling on my other thread right now about why people got into chickens and what their goals were at the time, what breeds they currently possess. Most people reply that they got into chickens to feed their family healthier foods.

That is the number one story on this forum and every other that I have read. About 80% of these wanting them to feed their family have no intention of ever killing one of their chickens for that food source, they hope to just get the eggs from them instead. Here's where the fun begins..and also the sadness.

They choose breeds that are high production and some that are known to lay well but still look good(coop candy). The high producers lay like a salad shooter for a bit because they are getting the richest diet ever to be had(hand cooked meals, no less), have a light shoved up their butt all winter to keep them warm and make them lay.... and then have reproductive issues, health issues, etc. Sad story number one. They didn't cull the bird and eat it~thus NOT providing more food for the family~and they let it die a bad death.

Sad story number two. The coop candy BO, Wyandotte, silky, fuzzy, creepy, geeky..whatever bird is not fit for laying, may or may not have enough meat on it to eat, and will also die a bad death because no one will at least utilize the meat for the family's food supply.

Meanwhile much money has been spent on $1200 coops, Ft. Knox defenses from neighborhood dogs(and their own), and tons of organic feed....OF COURSE they are going to want something to show for it! Eggs are the only dividend they got from this whole disaster. Eggs and a few bad hatches under a silky or fuzzy or grizzle, or from a cheap incubator, that maybe resulted in one or two normal chicks.

I know that is a harsh assessment as well but I've read this story over and over and over on BYC, FB, sister sites of BYC...you name it, everyone wants the eggs. The eggs. Not the meat. Hardly ever do they want the meat....so there, Al, is why the egg laying is so very important.

Now...stop getting me fired up! Yer a bad influence...I hadn't spouted off for quite some time.

LOL yeah right and I am supposed to let that be................ heheheheheee now BEE.

You are right though how can people not see through that ruse, just by virtue of the shear volume of post that say the same thing. Sure we are definitly going to get some post from those who will say oh mine are pet's but I do cull

yeah sure you do LOL. I also love it when folks like you have mentioned say they want a healthier food supply for their family, then realize as they should have before they got birds that there isn't snowballs chance in haites that they can process little sally. So why don't people try processing before so they can indeed see if they can do it, as they should themselfs whether they can or they can't. sad very sad for the bird indeed. I for one am not her to console people, and say OHH Iam sorry for your loss, or give you misguided words of encouragement because you couldn't do the dead, I am here to rap you on the top of the head with my knuckles because you weren't prepared and now the bird you say you love so much is the one who suffers. That's why I am here and why folks continue to frequent our thread of crotchtey old farts with a little brains.

 

[al6517]

Al, thanks for your input on dual purpose birds. My take is that something that is dual purpose is not going to give stellar performance in EITHER category, maybe just passable performance (???) That said, I think that the old-timey heritage birds are gorgeous and are a fit for a lifestyle that isn't hell-bent on production. I got into chickens after my husband passed away, as something to "take care of". I like to garden, chicken poop is good for gardens, etc. Knew NOTHING about chickens but decided I had to have them, so approached it in my usual nerd way and started reading everything I could. I started in Oct 2011 with 6 adult hens (all hatchery stock I'm sure) but they all laid pretty well. Earlier this summer I built a 2nd, larger coop and was up to 16 birds, but lost 3 to the awful heat we had. I am SO SO thankful to all of you oldtimers who are sharing your knowledge. I honestly don't eat many eggs, I sell almost all of them which just covers the feed. I do like to eat chicken, though, so am considering trying my hand at meaties this spring. You all have helped me to decide in my mind's eye which of the hens I have now will be butchered to make room for a couple of new layers and possibly some meat birds. I know that I probably won't get enough meat for a pot of soup off the birds I end up butchering (mostly production reds), but hey they laid GINORMOUS eggs nearly every single day. My 2 Welsummers will likely go as well, because they are SO nervous, noisy, and pretty unpredictable in their laying (but beautiful birds, and eggs when they do lay). The best layers for me have been the production reds and the 2 Black Copper Marans I have left. I have one BA who's a pretty good layer and one of the prettiest. I would LOVE to have enough room (and money) to get into seriously raising and showing a few of the heritage breeds, those that have caught my eye so far are Buckeye, Delaware, RIR, Cornish, White Rock, and believe it or not the Black Copper Marans.

By the way, Al, I had to tell you about this chicken breast I saw the chef's grilling at one of the places I work. That breast was darn near as big as a turkey breast. The chefs were all saying that they wouldn't eat it because it probably came from some mutant chicken that had been force fed hormones or something. I looked at it and thought about your giant Cornish

I think you are probably the exception to the rule as you seem to have the right attitude understanding and direction, best of all your sticking to your guns and doing it right, that in itself is a testement to your steadfastness.

 

[galanie]

LOL yeah right and I am supposed to let that be................ heheheheheee now BEE.

You are right though how can people not see through that ruse, just by virtue of the shear volume of post that say the same thing. Sure we are definitly going to get some post from those who will say oh mine are pet's but I do cull  yeah sure you do LOL. I also love it when folks like you have mentioned say they want a healthier food supply for their family, then realize as they should have before they got birds that there isn't snowballs chance in haites that they can process little sally. So why don't people try processing before so they can indeed see if they can do it, as they should themselfs whether they can or they can't. sad very sad for the bird indeed. I for one am not her to console people, and say OHH Iam sorry for your loss, or give you misguided words of encouragement because you couldn't do the dead, I am here to rap you on the top of the head with my knuckles because you weren't prepared and now the bird you say you love so much is the one who suffers. That's why I am here and why folks continue to frequent our thread of crotchtey old farts with a little brains.

LOL! Yep, my core original group are pets. And I have culled one of them. The rest are just along for the ride. They think they are pets too, but they aren't. Getting ready to get rid of the easter eggers. I love colored eggs but they're just... I donno I don't really like them.

 

[Beekissed]

My thinking exactly hehehehehee, Oh and I'll give her a Dollar so she can buy something nice for herself LOL.

What a catch. It's a pity you are already taken, Al, cause a guy like you could sure sweep a gal off her feet with yer romantical ways. I'd have to hold onto my heart!

 

[al6517]

Another thing that infuiates me is the undying belief in the hatcheries delevery system LOL, how in the world can folks in all honesty believe in the truth of the fact.

They spend all their time researching, choosing their breed of choice, choosing the appropriate witch to order from. Then spend weeks on end getting all excited to the point of soiling themselfs at the thought of cute chickies, only for the hatchery to send a carboard box full of dead chicks. Traveling halfway across the country in different temprate zones often in air transport within none preasurized unheated cargo holds, from trucks and deserted weekend Post offices for 5 day's without water and only being a day old. Then do all that boo-hooing over the whole thing............... well !!!! why do you think you only paid $1.50 a chick, come on people, next time don't complain about the guy down the road who has chicks in the brooder or on the ground for sale, raised from quality stock and healthy and is only asking $5.00 or less per chick, yeah that's gonna break the bank I'm sure.

 

[al6517]

Quote:


heheheheheee you saw that did ya LOL, I am sooo bad sometimes, but worth the headache LOL.

 

[Beekissed]

Yes,Al...we think you are worth it. The Oscar the Grouch of the OT thread....wouldn't be the same without you here.

 

[ChickChickChicky]

My dirty little secret????? I have wanted, in fact burned with desire, to be a farmer ever since I can remember. As a female who grew up in the burbs and whose only exposure to farming was the occasional visits to my grandparent's farm (rat terrier dogs; fish out of the pond; and corn and soybeans only, no livestock) it's pretty weird, I know. At this point in my life I've decided that the chances of a farm are slim to none (unless I win the lottery!) so I better just get myself in gear and get as close to it as possible with what I have. I have a small suburban lot, but built both coops myself with 95% scrounged materials. My husband used to laugh at the "finds" I would drag home and said I should be called a "bag lady". I reminded him about all the great stuff such as the NEW wheelbarrow that only needed air in the tire, the set of NEW patio furniture that somebody with more money than sense set out when they got tired of it, etc. All I had to say was "honey, you know it could be worse... I could be one of those women who has to have Cadillacs and diamonds and furs.... instead give me $20, access to Craigslist, a full tank of gas and I'm happy as a pig in you-know-what". I indulged his love of television-watching (OMG, how can ANYONE watch the SAME movies and shows over and over and over and over) and he indulged my gardening (playing in the dirt, as he called it) I just told him that my gardening was as cathartic for me as TV watching was for him. If I ever DO win the lottery, would buy me a little farm and some livestock and set to building and growing things. I'd save back enough money to cover my rather spartan lifestyle til I died, get my daughter and grandson set so they could be comfortable, and give the rest away. It doesn't take much to make me happy.