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

[stonykill]

feel the need to step in, even though I have only raised chickens for 7 years. Started as a "hobby". fresh eggs for the family, with 6 RIR's. That spiralled way out of control in a good way. More reds, then Sumatra's, then more large breeds. At some point, the chickens became self sufficient. No out of pocket expenses. No immunizations. I hatch my own birds from hens that have survived at least 2 winters. Unheated coops. Free range. No loss of birds to the cold. None due to cold weather. Yeah, I lost birds. predators , natural causes. Poor purchases from hatcheries that resulted in birds dying at a young age. Live and learn. Learn is the key word.
But I'm getting off topic.
Last year we butchered a few roosters. This year I'm going to incubate several times and eat all of the roosters. Hens will be ours. Sumatra's I sell their eggs for hatching, sell day/week olds and eat their eggs as well. This year the meat will be just for us. Next year I hope to sell meat as well as eggs.

Hobby. No. small farm. Yes. I could go on, but I'll sit back and learn more from the "old timers' who I have the deepest respect for.

 

[bestpractice]

feel the need to step in, even though I have only raised chickens for 7 years. Started as a "hobby". fresh eggs for the family, with 6 RIR's. That spiralled way out of control in a good way. More reds, then Sumatra's, then more large breeds. At some point, the chickens became self sufficient. No out of pocket expenses. No immunizations. I hatch my own birds from hens that have survived at least 2 winters. Unheated coops. Free range. No loss of birds to the cold. None due to cold weather. Yeah, I lost birds. predators , natural causes. Poor purchases from hatcheries that resulted in birds dying at a young age. Live and learn. Learn is the key word.
But I'm getting off topic.
Last year we butchered a few roosters. This year I'm going to incubate several times and eat all of the roosters. Hens will be ours. Sumatra's I sell their eggs for hatching, sell day/week olds and eat their eggs as well. This year the meat will be just for us. Next year I hope to sell meat as well as eggs.

Hobby. No. small farm. Yes. I could go on, but I'll sit back and learn more from the "old timers' who I have the deepest respect for.

I respect their experience as OT's too. I'm guessing that the differences here are semantics -- Small farm would indicate a profit, supplemental income. Are you keeping books? If so, congratulations on your income making venture! That is information I would like more of, information I can sink my teeth into. I KNOW organic poultry and eggs can be profitable, and healthier.

 

[bestpractice]

I'm still trying to get through earlier posts, but as I'm reading I get pulled back to the end. If there are posts in the thread that you think may be beneficial please, feel free to copy them here.

 

[stonykill]

I respect their experience as OT's too. I'm guessing that the differences here are semantics -- Small farm would indicate a profit, supplemental income. Are you keeping books? If so, congratulations on your income making venture! That is information I would like more of, information I can sink my teeth into. I KNOW organic poultry and eggs can be profitable, and healthier.

here is what I know from local Old timers. You can't run a large scale farm without runnig a big debt. You NEED to lose money to get govt subsidies to survive. This is info form locals running farms for 50 years or more.
A business keeps books. This goes without saying
Organic "can" be healthier??????? It IS healthier. IF you know the farm. And KNOW how the birds are raised.
Small farm can also be a full time income. I'm not there ......yet
I'm going to read all 200 plus pages of this thread. This IS the future. Times are tough, and going to get way worse before they get better. America needs small farms.

 

[bj taylor]

fascinating posts. even those who are disagreeing w/each other have good information. i really like Fred's brooder trailer and the three lights. i'm a very little operation & i brooded in the garage in a converted rabbit hutch. if i had used two lights (not room for three - but three is better) i would have gotten much better sleep this past month as a new chicken keeper. i was so afraid the bulb would fail & i would wake up to dead chicks.
my little guys are in the coop now & they climb on the roosts and nesting boxes. i hope they don't jump too far & hurt their legs. they roost on a pole about 4" above the floor. the heat is directed toward one end & they move along that pole depending on temp. several still sleep in a pile on the floor. i'm amazed at how adventurous some of them are.
i'm dreading the day when i have to cull. i know the day will come, but i've never killed an animal intentionally - it's very daunting.

 

[stonykill]

fascinating posts. even those who are disagreeing w/each other have good information. i really like Fred's brooder trailer and the three lights. i'm a very little operation & i brooded in the garage in a converted rabbit hutch. if i had used two lights (not room for three - but three is better) i would have gotten much better sleep this past month as a new chicken keeper. i was so afraid the bulb would fail & i would wake up to dead chicks.
my little guys are in the coop now & they climb on the roosts and nesting boxes. i hope they don't jump too far & hurt their legs. they roost on a pole about 4" above the floor. the heat is directed toward one end & they move along that pole depending on temp. several still sleep in a pile on the floor. i'm amazed at how adventurous some of them are.
i'm dreading the day when i have to cull. i know the day will come, but i've never killed an animal intentionally - it's very daunting.

it isn't bad to cull. The 1st time you will dread it, but it really isn't bad at all. I also love that trailer/brooder.

 

[bobbi-j]

fascinating posts. even those who are disagreeing w/each other have good information. i really like Fred's brooder trailer and the three lights. i'm a very little operation & i brooded in the garage in a converted rabbit hutch. if i had used two lights (not room for three - but three is better) i would have gotten much better sleep this past month as a new chicken keeper. i was so afraid the bulb would fail & i would wake up to dead chicks.
my little guys are in the coop now & they climb on the roosts and nesting boxes. i hope they don't jump too far & hurt their legs. they roost on a pole about 4" above the floor. the heat is directed toward one end & they move along that pole depending on temp. several still sleep in a pile on the floor. i'm amazed at how adventurous some of them are.
i'm dreading the day when i have to cull. i know the day will come, but i've never killed an animal intentionally - it's very daunting.

Are you planning on butchering them? Or thinking of the possibility of having to put one down due to injury or illness? Or thinking that someday you may need to thin the flock? Cull does not necessarily mean kill . If you are talking about thinning your flock eventually, there are many ways to cull - give them away, sell them, kill them for meat. If you are raising them for meat, and you know butchering day is going to come, maybe start reading in the Meat Birds section now so you have good ideas on how to do it before the time comes. Even if you're thinking you may have to put one down for some reason or another, start reading now so when the time comes, you're prepared.

 

[bestpractice]

I know a person who has had chickens for over 20 years !!!!!

And it is not me

My husband is 62. He started collecting eggs from our chicken house (the chicken house grandpa built) as a very young boy. On our farm there have been chickens, crops, hogs, sheep, cows, orchards, gardens, and horses for over 100 years. This is the definition of "self sustaining" agriculture; this is "heritage". I don't imagine farm history, because I'm blessed to wake up to it every morning. As a young girl I dreamed of living this life. God answers prayers.

 

[bestpractice]

here is what I know from local Old timers. You can't run a large scale farm without runnig a big debt. You NEED to lose money to get govt subsidies to survive. This is info form locals running farms for 50 years or more.
A business keeps books. This goes without saying
Organic "can" be healthier??????? It IS healthier. IF you know the farm. And KNOW how the birds are raised.
Small farm can also be a full time income. I'm not there ......yet
I'm going to read all 200 plus pages of this thread. This IS the future. Times are tough, and going to get way worse before they get better. America needs small farms.

Hi Stony. Our farm was paid for 75 years ago and hasn't carried a mortgage since that time. Please look at the SARES grants if you are truly interested in self sustaining agriculture, including chickens. There are grants for every type of operation; small, large, low income, minority, education (OT's who make a profit could benefit here); it is doubtful that poor business planning will get you a grant. I know small farmers (2-5 acres) who are receiving grants. So, some OT's may know this, others may not.

I just want to add that subsidies exist but not for the reasons you stated. I call all corporate subsidies "corporate welfare". The reason farming is subsidized is to keep the world food market prices balanced. Feeding the world is a very complicated matter -- much too complicated for a discussion in BYC -- but it does make interesting research if you are interested in economics and food supplies.

 

[bestpractice]

Okay, so maybe we do agree on the basic premise of this thread. That is, this thread leans toward the hobby side.

And that's what, IMHO, makes it so valuable. Most of the posts here do lean toward the hobby side -- and there's nothing wrong with that.

Not to say that utilitarian chicken raising isn't fun -- it's just a different emphasis.