Hello everyone, THANKS so much for the thread. I'm not an Old Timer, but at this long enough to see the wisdom in the advice.
After 7 years of chicken keeping in MA, last month I finally butchered my first 3 birds. It was very freeing, and I agree:
wyododge wrote: 1. The only way to fully appreciate livestock is to kill, butcher and eat them.
And I have already learned so much about chicken bodies and body types just from this one experience.
I already 100% agreed with this:
wyododge wrote: 3. Dirt makes for healthy chickens, get them in it early.
6. Bacteria was possibly the first life form created on this earth. You would probably be wiser to embrace it than to fight it.
I use a cold frame for chick vacations whenever the weather isn't horrible. Chicken grit also helps, but it doesn't have the flora that the ground does. Living foods like yogurt, probiotics.
Please tell me how you sweeten water? It does sound smart (for humans as well?).
wyododge wrote: 5. The greatest thing about lakes and streams is mother nature has had an opportunity to sweeten the water. You would be well advised to let her do the same to the water your chickens get.
A few years back, one of my chickens took a big drink of water and shook her head and all her water ended up in my mouth. An old timer friend said: "keep ur mouth shut!"
wyododge wrote: 7. You aint lived till you've had your mouth filled with fresh cow manure
I did disagree back a few pages about skinning the 12 roosters and not plucking. I'm surprised at this advice--to me it is very new-fangled. It is an abomination to waste home-raised food!
A rooster doesn't have much fat to give, but that chicken skin contains life-giving fats and nutrients and belongs in the stock pot. Even worse--if you are throwing out organs. Try making a delicious pate with the hearts and livers--salt it well and serve it on crackers. These are concentrated foods maintain a robust farmer!
I've been gardening for 35 years, and my gardening made a quantum leap when I began keeping chickens. A mixed farm should be everyone's goal.
I like to raise and dry smaller, multi-head "moulin rouge" sunflowers for my chickens. The deers bother them less than grey stripe. Save a few heads for yourself and plant them again next year for free. I also did very well with flint corn for me and the chickens this year. Flint isn't half as popular with the bug pests as sweet corn is, though I will be fencing the deer out of it next year. In fall I mulch my beds with manure hay straight from the coop. (I'm a lazy farmer).
My first coop was a little chicken tractor. Makes a great breeding pen when you move up to a real coop. My real coop floor is stone dust and we like it very much. Stone dust also makes gardens grow (remineralizes the soil). I need to top it up this year, it does disappear over time.
Renee