I noticed my roo Lenny is very protective of the ladies, makes sure everyone eats. Calls them over, brings them treats. Steps in when squabbling should momentarily break out, as my ladies are spread out age wise.
I'm wanting to do an essential oil extraction if anyone local has anything fresh like lavender, thyme, rosemary, yarrow, blue tansy, German chamomile etc. Heliscryum (spelling?) Would be awesome, as I dabble in aromatherapy and holistic healing. I try to be as organic/biodynamic as possible. Just using sevin dust, dewormer are very difficult for me to do, but as I'm new to chickens it's been a learning experience.
On another part of my property in the early spring I was thinking of doing meat birds. I hear by the time it comes to process them you want to kill them on the fast growing breeds. Is this anyone's experience?
After the first round of meat birds I might try one more fast growing breed before switching to the bresse or dominiques. Other suggestions for meat birds? Or I might could do 2 hogs/pork. I'm trying to do the urban homesteading thing on a small .5 acre scale. But our property is set up really well for it, or at least shaping up to get there. Adding beehives possibly sooner than spring.
This is my first year brushing off a long illness/hospitalizations, and life and happiness and living not just surviving are very important to me....
We have a lot of herbs that we use medicinally as well, here is what we have - Spilanthes, German Chamomile, Valerian, Burdock, Yarrow, Calendula, Clary Sage, Wormwood, mints (Chocolate, Spearmint, peppermint), lemon balm, hops, Lavender, Rosemary and I am sure I have forgotten a couple, Anyway, I can discuss with bf and see which he is willing to give up. The Rosemary, Lavender, Clary Sage, Calendula are all 1st year planting, the rest is 2 years. I also dabble in holistic healing, salves, lotions, tinctures, hydrosols, etc. When we got the chicks we did butt checks every night, wiping their booties, if they were irritated, we used a Calendula Salve that I made and that really helped.
Funny we are doing the homesteading thing as well, just getting started really with the additions of the chickens,veggie gardens and bee's. I will be canning this fall, we have 16 tomatoe plants that are ridiculous, but that is what we wanted. Come from a long line of canners and I am hoping to carry on this tradition.
This to is my 2nd year of brushing off long illnesses/2 neck fusions and I could not agree more with living, loving, being happy and living intentionally are very important to me. I was very ill and not healthy, taking over 10 different pharma crappy meds, like you said I was just trying to survive,I wasn't really living. I made the conscious choice to live, which meant getting off the crappy meds, using medical marijuana to help, I also began juicing after I was diagnosed with a bleeding ulcer. Juicing changed my life, been green juicing for about 2 years and I can't live without it. I also lost 25 pounds in the process. Just in the past 6 months I finally got the ok for yoga from my surgeon. At my 8 month post op appointment after my second fusion (levels) my x-rays showed a solid fusion,I credit the micronutrients for the juicing (kale, specifically) for a quick fusion. After the first surgery I was not fused until 1 1/2 years later. I am not in the process of coming off my nerve medication, as I have been on it four 4 years andi need to see how much damage to my nerves there really is. The med basically interrupts the pain signal from the body to the brain. You can still be having pain in your body,you just don't know it. It seems like to allows you to do more and possibly furthering the damage to your body.
On the Roo front, ours are not so kind yet to the girls, they don't take them food,if anything I have seen them chase girls off of food. That being said they are 4 months and starting to come into their hormones, I am sure once they are amorous with the females their behaviors will change.
On the meat bird questions, hopefully MTN will jump in as she is doing meat birds.
. I think the issue is the hens fair better when their are more to share the love so to speak. It cuts down on the saddle sores. From what I have read, I am no chicken whisperer by any means. Maybe one day, lol.
