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

[therapydoglady]

I am so sorry that this is such a rare commodity these days!

 

[Clay Mudd]

Then when I saw this particular feed had no animal by-products in it. Well, Chickens aren't vegetarians. I want my feed to have animal by-products, fish meal, whathaveyou in it.

That's something that cracks me up about the Purina label and ads (some of the others are just as bad). First they brag about how it's "FREE of all animal proteins and fats for healthy, happy birds. ", then they say it's "Enhanced with lysine and methionine to give birds the healthy nutrients they need to produce plenty of tasty eggs." Hey, guess what, guys? Animal protein is a great place to get lysine and methionine! Not to mention that the synthetic methionine makes their "all natural" claim seem kind of goofy.

And the happiest I've seen my birds has been when they were fighting over a frog or some meat scraps. Besides, you haven't laughed until you've seen a fluffy Orpington running around with a rib bone.

to Bee
It's the soil. Whether you're talking livestock, chickens, gardens, even something that is to me rather a silly thing to worry about, a pretty lawn. It's the soil you need to be healthy. All else will follow.

This times a million!

 

[galanie]

That's something that cracks me up about the Purina label and ads (some of the others are just as bad). First they brag about how it's "FREE of all animal proteins and fats for healthy, happy birds. ", then they say it's "Enhanced with lysine and methionine to give birds the healthy nutrients they need to produce plenty of tasty eggs." Hey, guess what, guys?  Animal protein is a great place to get lysine and methionine!  Not to mention that the synthetic methionine makes their "all natural" claim seem kind of goofy.

And the happiest I've seen my birds has been when they were fighting over a frog or some meat scraps. Besides, you haven't laughed until you've seen a fluffy Orpington running around with a rib bone.

That. Is exactly what turned me off completely with Purina foods. First, they wouldn't eat it. Second, it's not locally made. Then, I read that. For me, NO THANKS.

 

[Erin~TheChickenLover]

When you say that you "ruined" your soil, I'm curious as to why it is such a desperate situation? Are your chickens dying from it? I ask because I do an awful amount of gardening and I garden in some pretty darn poor situations and I can make a soil work for me. I would assume that you can make your chickens soil work for them. I just don't understand how these master composters are not able to work out for your needs?

The soil is not hurting my chickens, I would never let that happen. The chickens were on that same ground for about 5 or 6 years before I started free ranging them. Even though I cleaned out the pens regularly, it took a tole. I'm sure that this soil could work for the chickens but it would not be ideal for them or me. We live in the woods, with only a few sunny spots. Until this year, we were unable to grow a garden. We had to clear out a spot to get enough sun to grow our tomato and pepper plants. Since we didn't have a garden, we were not composting the poo. We are now.

 

[Erin~TheChickenLover]

to Bee
It's the soil. Whether you're talking livestock, chickens, gardens, even something that is to me rather a silly thing to worry about, a pretty lawn. It's the soil you need to be healthy. All else will follow.
Edit: I'm not saying people need ugly weedy lawns. Just that it's so simple to have at least a decent city yard, it's just silly to overthink and worry so much about it as I see people doing.

It's not simple for me to grow a yard. We have the poorest soil here I've ever seen. And to make matters worse, there are too many trees to get good sunlight. We've tried 5 different types of grass in the past decade and even bought some fancy burmuda grass. We brought in lime and other minerals, and spread hay. That didn't work at all. 1 of many reasons I'm moving in a few years.

 

[Ridgerunner]

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I am so sorry that this is such a rare commodity these days!

Sure seems that way, doesn't it. But if you don't have any experience, what do you base common sense on?

I grew up on a farm with plow horses (no tractor for us), beef cows, a milk cow (yes, I can milk a cow), and chickens. Had a goat for a short while (Dad did not like it) and we had ducks for a few years. I can build a shelter or take care of those animals without too much research, planning, or thought. I'm confident I could manage many other animals, but I'd want to do a bit of research on animals I'm not familiar with before I did too much. I don't know what a llama eats so I can't make a decision on that based on my common sense, which to me means being able to apply your experience.

When I left the farm, went to college, went to the army, then lived in the city, I had to relearn some things at each stop. My common sense based on my background did not always work. I'm still amazed at how some people think. It just makes no sense to me but to them it is logical. That applies to a couple of staff sergeants as much as some people I met in the city or at college. I had one staff sergeant tell me I made a big mistake when I joined his unit. They found out that if they gave me something to do, I'd do it, do it then, and do it right. That's why I got all those extra dirty details. He was dead serious and thought he was doing me a big favor telling me this little secret. I did not tell him that I already knew that and was not going to become a goof-off just to get out of a little extra work. I was not raised that way.

A whole lot of people on this forum have absolutely no experience with any kind of animals except maybe one of those lap dogs kept in the house in the city. What can they use to base their common sense on concerning chickens? How can they know if a comment on this forum has any basis in reality?

I try to keep that in mind when I respond to posts on this forum. With some people you can't get their attention even if you hit them over the head with a 2x4. Their minds just can't wrap around something that is second nature to me. But occasionally you get that person that is actually willing to listen and learn. And on that rare occasion you see the person that believed a lot of the hogwash on this forum and saw with their own eyes that it was not right. They were able to use common sense once they got the experience they needed.

 

[galanie]

It's not simple for me to grow a yard. We have the poorest soil here I've ever seen. And to make matters worse, there are too many trees to get good sunlight. We've tried 5 different types of grass in the past decade and even bought some fancy burmuda grass. We brought in lime and other minerals, and spread hay. That didn't work at all. 1 of many reasons I'm moving in a few years. 

It is true that no matter how great the soil is, grass won't grow without sunlight. If even burmuda wouldn't grow, then nothing at all will, as you have discovered. With enough sun, I stand by my statement that it's simple. Mow. That's the biggest secret. Now, I'm done hijacking this thread and making it about lawns lol.

 

[SweetSilver]

@

 

[therapydoglady]

your common sense is what should keep you from blindly entering in to some endeavor..."Gee! If I want to keep some chickens in the back yard...maybe I ought to read some things about them and learn how to take care of them. Hmmmm. Maybe they need a roof over their heads... Gosh! I wonder what a chicken eats?..." That's common sense at work.

 

[stonykill]

your common sense is what should keep you from blindly entering in to some endeavor..."Gee! If I want to keep some chickens in the back yard...maybe I ought to read some things about them and learn how to take care of them. Hmmmm. Maybe they need a roof over their heads... Gosh! I wonder what a chicken eats?..." That's common sense at work.

one would think. But the net is full of so much BAD information on keeping chickens that it is probably a difficult task for someone who wasn't brought up either on farms or around farms. Lets look to Facebook for a second. The LARGEST chicken page is by 3 women who combines before this year owned less than 3 dozen chickens. all are relocated city girls. The main woman strongly DISCOURAGES broody's because she "read once" that broody chicks aren't as friendly. And because she "once" hatched chicks in an incubator and had a 100% hatch. And then goes on talking like that is the norm. I could go on and on, but I think my point is made. Much of what can be read, especially on the internet is just plain bad information. That is what makes this thread so important.