Covid-panic-induced chicken keeping?

[SegiDream]

How could a place like that no longer be in existence. I guess the grocery store could take all the business. If so what a shame.
We are growing things that we know will be plentiful and harvest well like green beans carrots cucumbers tomatoes. Nothing fancy just good we will have on hand. If you are not comfortable with canning look into the freezer method. That is what my Grandma does and her corn is the best. You still have to blanch the food. But from what I understand it’s a lot easier to do and store.
I went down a back road by accident one day and ran across a road side stand that was just awesome. I became so inspired by the simplicity and convenience that it would be for it’s fellow neighbors that I knew that day I wanted to do it. But Covid really pushed it into high gear. These are the pictures of the stand.

We lost the market because of a spiral effect less traffic and less farmers, to the point that it sat empty and it was turned it into a homeless shelter. At least it went to a good cause.

That stand is adorable! Love the fresh colors and does look very versatile. The one I mentioned was a waist height raised garden bed with a removable green house top, very simple.

I'm trying to grow plants we'll eat and try to stagger the planting times. I've thought about doing a string trellis for peppers. The garden's about to get tilled and then I can plant. Never thought I'd be excited for that haha. Starting with dwarf ocra, bush beans, tomatoes, next row is red & green bell peppers, cucumber, cantaloupe.. trying to keep companion planting in mind too. I have some radish, spinach, cabbage, kale and some pole beans(oh boy!) growing in a container garden.. totally planted wrong but they're doing surprisingly well. Thought about transplanting some wild daffodils and wild onions around the perimeter... Thank you for the tip about freezing! Might have to talk hubby into a small stand alone freezer lol

 

[rosemarythyme]

I went down a back road by accident one day and ran across a road side stand that was just awesome. I became so inspired by the simplicity and convenience that it would be for it’s fellow neighbors that I knew that day I wanted to do it. But Covid really pushed it into high gear. These are the pictures of the stand.

What a beautiful and simple set up!

 

[RachelNorth]

My husband and I are getting chicks on Friday but have planned on getting them and researched owning chickens since we moved into our house 2 years ago. We decided to get them now because my husband’s been off work (and has another 4 weeks off) and my hours are reduced so we’ll be home for the most part when they’re in the brooder and we’ve also had time to work on building our coop. I don’t know if we would have gotten chicks this year if we were both working our regular hours but for us the decision to go forward with getting chicks didn’t have anything to with concerns over egg or meat availability. While the eggs are an added bonus they will be part of our family. I hope people aren’t really just getting them without doing adequate research and preparation because they’re nervous about what’s going on. I’m sure other people are in similar situations as my family and hopefully they also have good intentions and are prepared.

 

[Ruthster55]

The irony for us is that our chickens started getting broody in March and April when COVID has been on. I believe they started getting confident to reproduce after some major yard security improvements we did last year. I doubt it has to do with me being here all the time, but it's a possibility.

We have had chickens since 2014 here. We had a broody hen and chicks back in 2015 but nothing since then. Dogs were constantly breaking through the flimsy fence we inherited from the previous property owner.

To all the new chicken keepers: never underestimate predators, especially dogs and raccoons!! To have a good flock, they need to be in a very secure area, especially the chicks.

 

[plaidpantsuit]

Ditto, I was going to start fresh on our new land next year. So I just went ahead a little earlier than planned. It's a tad inconvenient but I wasn't about to let the toilet paper fiasco strike again, and never get the chicks I planned for. Plus, now there's more time for coop upgrades!
Hopefully, all the panicky Karens will get addicted to chickens, too, then we'll all end up with food closer to home.

 

[MROO]

it looks like it went to the dogs also! everyone wants a dog now!
I raise at least 25 Cornish cross meat birds every year. I keep 10-15 layers for eggs. been doing that since I got out of the service in 1992.

The people wanting dogs and cats has been a boon for the shelters. Some people adopted, some are just fostering. If even a fraction of the fosters get kept, that's a big help. The ones that go back to the shelters when people go back to work will have had some training and some home experience that will - hopefully - help them find their forever homes.

And this isn't just pet-loving, hopeful speculation. A few weeks ago, in an effort to make a difference for a local shelter, my family took on a pair of feral cats. One was an outright adoption, while the other was strictly a foster that we hoped to turn into an adoptable pet. DS is such an efficient Cat Whisperer that both ferals are now well on their way to being spoiled lap warmers. The "foster," in particular, has made HUGE leaps forward. In fact, he's now so lovable that he's officially labeled as a "Foster Fail." We're keeping him, too!

 

[GhislaineDel]

I just set a batch of chicken eggs for the first time today. Our plan was to wait until next year to get chickens since we had a plan to spend 2 months traveling this summer at the US National Parks. Well, Covid means we aren't going on that trip so we bumped up the chicken plan.

We are hardly newbies to poultry raising as we have had ducks, quail, and/or guineas for the last 10 years. We are well equiped to care for them we are just new to chickens.

 

[Lamontelle4]

I am not sure if I am right, but I’ve begun to see an increase in the number of people buying chicks who are woefully unprepared to care for chickens in the long run. They seem to be worried about not having access to eggs or meat for a few weeks so they make a huge monetary investment and buy animals when they don’t actually want to take on the massive lifestyle change of chicken keeping.
This is a years-long investment and they’re doing it for a few weeks of worry? I worry for the level of care the animals are receiving based on the reason for their purchase.

looks like this year I won’t be rescuing any left over chicks from my local farm supply store. The store at the end of the season will sometimes have a couple older chicks left over that they have a hard time selling so I just get a discount for them. This year I won’t be doing that I guess. Hopefully people will actually take care of the chickens and not neglect them. Because that would be terrible.

 

[ColoradoCarol]

I have always wanted chickens, but really didn't seriously consider it until some friends and and a family member started raising them a few years ago. We asked tons of questions and learned a lot. I have been lurking here at BYC for awhile now, reading and learning. We plan to start our small flock next spring. We started drawing out our coop plans recently and plan to start building it in the next couple of weeks. I will start buying supplies (waterers, feeder, etc) this year as well so we are fully prepared come next spring. While I have to admit it was tempting to run out and buy a pre-built coop and chicks during this whole covid thing, I knew we, and more importantly, the chickens would be better off with a plan. I really appreciate all of the wonderful info on here from all of you experienced chicken owners! I'm glad we didn't get sucked in to the whole panic buying thing. We are actually having fun planning and learning!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I have always wanted chickens, but really didn't seriously consider it until some friends and and a family member started raising them a few years ago. We asked tons of questions and learned a lot. I have been lurking here at BYC for awhile now, reading and learning. We plan to start our small flock next spring. We started drawing out our coop plans recently and plan to start building it in the next couple of weeks. I will start buying supplies (waterers, feeder, etc) this year as well so we are fully prepared come next spring. While I have to admit it was tempting to run out and buy a pre-built coop and chicks during this whole covid thing, I knew we, and more importantly, the chickens would be better off with a plan. I really appreciate all of the wonderful info on here from all of you experienced chicken owners! I'm glad we didn't get sucked in to the whole panic buying thing. We are actually having fun planning and learning!

You are already an awesome chicken keeper! ❤ You and your future flock will fare very well!