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

[al6517]

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.

Aaaaaand we have a keeper in this one OT's............ my kinda Gal, I like to buy mine fake diamonds and used Cadillacs LOL, no not realy but I wish heheheheee. Iam happy that Satan's first wife is now my 1st is not a gold digger, but I wish I could give her the gold mine.

 

[Gypsi]

Al and Bee and Galanie -
I do love this thread. I have virtually dropped off BYC but this thread keeps pulling me back in. I processed 3 of my birds last fall, but I just skinned them, not a lot of time to figure out how to get the feathers off. Ordered more birds this spring (black australorps for their heat tolerance), but a weasel found my young birds and when I moved them found the old ones. I went from 19 (5 adult hens, 14 chicks) to 5 (2 adult hens, 3 chicks) before I got all the openings small enough to keep the weasel out. My dogs are pets and companions, I don't make them guard the back yard every night.

Anyway, I have determined that the best cheapest way to come up with dual purpose birds is to talk my retired friend into throwing some eggs in an incubator from her flock and her retired neighbor's down the road. Hens that are semi-free-ranged are virtually too tough to eat but they do make pretty decent chicken jerky for my dogs. And as chicken jerky they no longer consume food. I eat a heck of a lot more eggs than I do chicken, they being much faster to cook in the morning.

Now, any tips on getting my goat bred so I can get some goats milk?

 

[Beekissed]

Al and Bee and Galanie -
I do love this thread. I have virtually dropped off BYC but this thread keeps pulling me back in. I processed 3 of my birds last fall, but I just skinned them, not a lot of time to figure out how to get the feathers off. Ordered more birds this spring (black australorps for their heat tolerance), but a weasel found my young birds and when I moved them found the old ones. I went from 19 (5 adult hens, 14 chicks) to 5 (2 adult hens, 3 chicks) before I got all the openings small enough to keep the weasel out. My dogs are pets and companions, I don't make them guard the back yard every night.

Anyway, I have determined that the best cheapest way to come up with dual purpose birds is to talk my retired friend into throwing some eggs in an incubator from her flock and her retired neighbor's down the road. Hens that are semi-free-ranged are virtually too tough to eat but they do make pretty decent chicken jerky for my dogs. And as chicken jerky they no longer consume food. I eat a heck of a lot more eggs than I do chicken, they being much faster to cook in the morning.

Now, any tips on getting my goat bred so I can get some goats milk?

My free range chickens are not too tough to eat. Maybe you are cooking them wrong? They simply have the best flavor of any chicken one can get...anywhere. You should advertise them for stewing hens in the locals, someone will buy them off of you...many people out there really love the flavor of a stewing hen.

The only way any dog of mine gets a chicken is if he is part of the solution to keeping them alive.

No tips on the goat....can't stand goats. Baaaah.

 

[champer]

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 steadfast



I think there are many more folks with that attitude, but they don't post as often, probably because they read and research and toss out those ideas that seem wacky and quickly decide it just isn't worth the effort to post an opposing point of view. So they don't have much of a presence here.

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
Me too, Chicky. I agree with Al...you gots potential. I'm exactly the same way.

My boys asked my mother and I what we wanted for Christmas. I told them I wanted insulated farm boots~really needing a new pair~and the ol' Bat wants an electric chainsaw sharpener we saw on Amazon. That's it. We have few wants or needs...but what every real woman needs is good gum boots and a way to keep the chainsaw sharp when you are in a hurry to get back to work.

 

[delisha]

Al and Bee and Galanie -
I do love this thread. I have virtually dropped off BYC but this thread keeps pulling me back in. I processed 3 of my birds last fall, but I just skinned them, not a lot of time to figure out how to get the feathers off. Ordered more birds this spring (black australorps for their heat tolerance), but a weasel found my young birds and when I moved them found the old ones. I went from 19 (5 adult hens, 14 chicks) to 5 (2 adult hens, 3 chicks) before I got all the openings small enough to keep the weasel out. My dogs are pets and companions, I don't make them guard the back yard every night.

Anyway, I have determined that the best cheapest way to come up with dual purpose birds is to talk my retired friend into throwing some eggs in an incubator from her flock and her retired neighbor's down the road. Hens that are semi-free-ranged are virtually too tough to eat but they do make pretty decent chicken jerky for my dogs. And as chicken jerky they no longer consume food. I eat a heck of a lot more eggs than I do chicken, they being much faster to cook in the morning.

Now, any tips on getting my goat bred so I can get some goats milk?

You can do what my DH did for getting his goats bred. Put them in my brand new Dodge hatchback and haul them 100 miles (better than his truck on gas was his answer, and he had to make sure it was a safe car for me to drive)

Call you local 4h group, they will point you in the right direction. (it is a bit late for breeding so you better hurry)

 

[Gypsi]

My free range chickens are not too tough to eat. Maybe you are cooking them wrong? They simply have the best flavor of any chicken one can get...anywhere. You should advertise them for stewing hens in the locals, someone will buy them off of you...many people out there really love the flavor of a stewing hen.

The only way any dog of mine gets a chicken is if he is part of the solution to keeping them alive.

No tips on the goat....can't stand goats. Baaaah.

How OLD are your free range chickens? The ones I culled were 18 months to 2 years. I'm allergic to cows milk, so I finally got a darned goat.
And my dogs protect me from human coyotes, that gets them chicken jerky. I live at the edge of a large metropolitan area. My small dog weighs 55 lbs.

 

[ChickChickChicky]

Aaaaaand we have a keeper in this one OT's............ my kinda Gal, I like to buy mine fake diamonds and used Cadillacs LOL, no not realy but I wish heheheheee. Iam happy that Satan's first wife is now my 1st is not a gold digger, but I wish I could give her the gold mine.

Just like all you big ol mean sounding men, there is a little ball of "soft spot" way deep down there.

 

[JeffOeuf]

...r~and the ol' Bat wants an electric chainsaw sharpener we saw on Amazon. ...

Now, Bee, you're walking in my woods. Surely someone as frugal as you wouldn't buy a fancy electric doohickee to do the job of a $2.49 file?

Every time you fill the tank, file the chain, and you'll never have to grind it.

 

[ChickChickChicky]

Aaaaaand we have a keeper in this one OT's............ my kinda Gal, I like to buy mine fake diamonds and used Cadillacs LOL, no not realy but I wish heheheheee. Iam happy that Satan's first wife is now my 1st is not a gold digger, but I wish I could give her the gold mine.

Don't get me wrong, I VERY much have champagne tastes, but alas a beer budget.... things that sparkle DO catch my eye, but I've never required them for happiness.