I guess what I was trying to say there was pretty much there's nothing actually natural about keeping chickens. We selectively bred them so far away from whatever their wild origins were there really is no genuine natural way of keeping them. Whatever keeps a particular flock happy and healthy and producing well is what that person should continue to do. For me, my birds have an enclosed draft free raised coop and a lower area, also enclosed in plastic with roosts but the front open. An enclosed run and an open yard to choose from. They have a bowl of FF in the morning (well, 2 actually) and a compost pile to play in now. In warmer weather they've got grass random weeds and my flower gardens to choose from as well. They have all of these options open to them all day long, weather permitting, and can come and go freely and do what feels right to them. I try not to coop them up or force them out of their shelter but let them choose what they want do trusting their instincts to guide them.That's for each person to decide for him or herself on flock tending. If your methods have stood the test of time and suit you, produce healthy flocks and good production and you don't have to worry about illness in your paradigm, then whatever you are doing is obviously the "best" for you and your chickens.
The threads and posts here are offered up for consideration and for learning if one would want to learn. They are in no way a "one way to do this" type of thing and they can be taken as good or left as bad as each person sees fit.
I,personally, don't feel that chickens descended from wild jungle fowl but were specifically designed to work in conjunction with humans to produce food, as were some other types of fowl. That's why chickens lay all year round~give or take~and wild turkeys lay a clutch or two in the spring. They were designed as food producing partners for humans and as such have a distinct and very different life than wild fowl, but still close enough that their digestion systems are very similar as are the way they utilize energy throughout the seasons. Available food sources are only augmented by their close association with humans in a domestic capacity and in a real life situation, our food varies in nutrition by seasons also...humans did not always have the world trade, fruits and veggies out of season, etc. that they now have and food was very seasonal, and as such, so were the feed supply of our domestic animals.
I like the way that God designed my chickens and I don't mess with it too much and just try to act like a good steward. It's not for everyone...but it is for me. It's stood the test of a long time, it works for all the breeds I favor, and it suits my life while keeping all my chickens healthy and producing well for many years. Is natural always best? For me it is.
You'll have to decide that for yourself.
If somebody else's birds thrive better for them being fully enclosed with strictly monitored feedings, lights on timers, etc. then that's what's for them. It's all dependent on what your situation is, what your resources are and how much time and thinking power you have or are willing to put towards your birds' well being. I see people around throwing out all kinds of numbers and calculating their birds' nutrition down to the calorie, fat gram, and protein gram. If I tried to do that, my brain would liquify and start dribbling out my ears. DX But if it works for them, more power to them. Everybody's got a different approach to keeping chickens I'm discovering. And what works for one may not work exactly for someone else. All we can do is look around, absorb what we can and see what works for us.
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