- Sep 26, 2015
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My thoughts exactly. It's true, things aren't the same at all. A late friend of mine who is dearly missed was 93 years old several years ago and told me that in all of his life, much of which was spent on a farm and then on a homestead and talking extensively with friends (many of which were the farmers in his agricultural county and kept large numbers of poultry), there was never a time this bad before. There are many reasons for this. One, antibiotic abuse that has led to 'superbugs'. Another, no one ever used these modern conventional 'feeds' that don't always disclose all of their ingredients and some contain blood and bone meal from diseased commercial/industrial animals which can lead to problems for the animals consuming such contaminated feed. And some of it is unintentionally caused by our own ignorance of important considerations that were once common knowledge to poultry keepers and breeders at the beginning of the last century. Basically, what it all boils down to is that the conventional way we've been breeding and raising poultry -- and yes, that painfully means some of us small flock owners too -- is not working. And as the wiser old-timers used to say, if something is not working that means something was wrong to begin with. I think we could all learn a lot from those who used to breed and keep healthy chickens successfully back then. That doesn't mean that you'll never encounter a challenging situation or health problem. What it does potentially mean, however, is that there would be far fewer incidents if things were done in a different manner, one following the laws of nature. Please try to understand that I do NOT mean any offense by this, I myself have had to make changes and continue to educate myself and improve. But to help us all along in our quest for information, here is some old-time breeding and raising advice I've found thus far:
The Complete Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable by Juliette de Bairacli Levy
http://books.google.com/books/about/The_Complete_Herbal_Handbook_for_Farm_an.html?id=Rni4QgAACAAJ
(The author, Juliette Levy, went to a British veterinary school but could not stomach the dissection of the animals there and went on to become famous in Europe for curing canine distemper during the epidemic in England and published a book on her findings in 1930. An accomplished author and a world-renowned herbalist, she was regarded highly by Sir Albert Howard, founder of the Soil Association and creator of modern day “organic” farming methods. She was also a fine breeder, her line of Afghan Hound dogs were sought after by royalty. She kept all types of poultry and raised chickens most of her life and there is some info on poultry in the book mentioned above.)
I think this next one is such an important book that it's worth repeating it's recommendation. It is shocking as to how many ailment could be prevented by proper coop design. The title is:
Fresh Air Poultry Houses
by Prince T. Woods, M.D.
And here's a sample chapter:
http://www.nortoncreekpress.com/wor...es_a/fresh-air-poultry-houses-sample-chapter/
The Livestock Conservancy has some really useful information you can download for free: https://livestockconservancy.org/index.php/resources
And for chickens in particular: http://livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/chicken-manual
I remember attending a workshop by 'Dr. McBug' at the first Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello and he was remembering how when he visited a chemical-free farm in China he asked the farmer where he learned that particular method he used so successfully to effectively control the pests that would otherwise have ruined his crops, WITHOUT insecticides; much to his surprise the Chinese farmer replied that he had learned that method from reading a USDA document written back in 1952(!). You see, the USDA used to have better advice back then, some of which might be found here: https://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/great-places-find-information-about-farming-alternatives
And there are organic, non-GMO feeds out there, some are even soy-free, corn-free or both. New Country Organics is highly recommended but there is enough demand for safer, alternative feeds that there are a number of more natural feeds available throughout the country, by mail-order if need be. Demand that your local feed store start carrying it if they don't already. This isn't a trend, it's a way of life - the way it used to be for thousands of years and the way it always should have been. Common sense dictates that you shouldn't feed sick animal remains to animals. Period. And everyone should have access to clean and safe food for their animals, it's our birthright. After all, a lot of us are going to be eating the eggs....
[DISCLAIMER: This posting exists as an informational and educational resource only. I do not provide medical or veterinarian advice nor do I offer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, or cures for any diseases or medical conditions. Please consult a health or veterinary professional for medical and veterinarian advice—do not consult my writings. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Remedies are not intended to treat, cure, prevent or mitigate disease. Only your body, or the body of an animal, can cure itself and prevent disease. I am not a medical or veterinarian professional or physician. Therefore, these writings are for informational and educational purposes only. ]
