How to become self-sufficient (kinda) with chickens.

[The Zoo]

Quote:
What we have to do when we don't have a barn!

I kept my chicks in a box in my upstairs guest bathroom till the coop was done. Needless to say the bathroom got scrubbed when they moved out.

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

Quote:
edited for space...

I definately agree with the community issue.
I am very lucky in that I have moved to a community that encourages this sort of thing (barter, self sufficiency, helping each other out...) However, I moved from a community in which merely making eye contact was seen as a threat in some cases. It was almost a case of too many rats in the sinking ship, every man (woman, child) for themself. It wasn't the same over the entire city, I suppose, but in our neighborhood/area it was pretty bad. (weekly - sometimes three a week - shootings, mostly by teens in gangs shooting other teens).

I feel badly for folks who may still be stuck in situational housing such as that. I have already told my children that if it all goes to pot, get here, whether they can contact us or not, get here with or without us saying "come on down".

I can see the probability of the next "terror attack" being centered around our power grid or our communications. One more reason to buy local and support your local (neighbors) farms and businesses.

Terrorists aside, with the way the economy is going, who is going to be able to afford all the exotic things we buy/eat/consume now? I know that I won't be able to.

Heck, just a few weeks back hubby fixed the neighbors tractor in exchange for a calf. I swap eggs for produce with another neighbor.
Being part of a community doesn't mean you have to "hang out with" these folks 24/7 - it means that you know you can count on them to A) be there when you need them B) accept your help when they need it and you want to help them C) let you have your privacy and not get their panties in a wad over the small stuff (and vice versa).

When hubby did hay this spring, no less than two different neighbors stopped at dif times to help him out, because he was trying to fix the mower. They were "just passing by, noticed ya had some trouble".

Are there "bad" folks where I live - heck yeah, they are everywhere - but here, they are the minority rather than the Norm.

If I had not moved, I do not know what I would have done for "community support".

meri

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

Quote:
I think that's where I began too

I recall in 5th grade we had a "Pioneer Days" at our school and we really got into the whole thing, we had costumes, they had folks come in to show us (and let us try) old time skills - I got to stuff sausage, I thought that was the coolest thing!!

My first job ever was at a Historical Park - I worked there for two summers, and would have worked for free if they'd have let me move into one of those houses on the property

They only opened and "inhabited" the houses during events, not year round. But it was a wonderful place anyway (still is).

I had the full set of books, (little house) but I'm not sure if I still do, or if they got sacrificed in the move - I'll have to go looking for them, now. I have to say, though, I much preferred the Big Woods book the best out of all of them.

meri

 

[angelib1]

Quote:
I second (The Backyard Homestead, By Carleen Madigan)

 

[LittleFeat]

The Omnivore's Delemma by Michael Pollan.
I read it (listened to on mp3) right after Animal, Veg., <Miracle and found lots of great info....similar to Animal, Veg....

 

[OrpingtonManor]

Yep, I'm looking for things that improve the way I live my life now, not in a catastrophic event setting. It's not that I don't agree with those of you who say the survivors will have to hunker down, etc, etc, but I won't be one of those people. My nature is completely counter to that way of being. I will die and starve with the masses, because I will give away my food at the drop of a hat.

I'm here on this thread to improve how I treat the planet now; how I feed my chickens now; how I interact and barter with my neighbors now.

My one neighbor was skeptical of even my compost bin when I first moved here. She worried about rodents and smell. Now that there is none of that, she wants to know how I deal with the chicken bedding. Do I compost it? What do I use the compost for? Have I found a way to complete the cycle right here on my property? So, my way of living has become food for thought for my neighbor. Maybe she will join me one day. In the meantime, I offer her eggs, which she hasn't taken....yet.

 

[The Zoo]

I agree Orp - and anything I can teach to those around me is only a good thing.
I may be the 'interesting' friend or family member with my organic garden, hens, canning and preserving and desire for self-sufficiency but I've actually found most people are kind of jealous and wish they could do it themselves (they can they just don't know it yet).

 

[Wifezilla]

I will die and starve with the masses, because I will give away my food at the drop of a hat.

Nothing wrong with sharing, but I wont just hand my stuff over to whoever. Anyone who wants to EARN food, I am more than happy to give honest work to.

Want one of my ducks? Lets bargain. I need a new axe handle. Can you carve wood? If not, do you have some beef or produce? What about some seeds? What will make us both glad to have entered the transaction.

I am totally in to win/win.

Now, someone DEMANDS my stuff, tries to steal my stuff, or otherwise feels they are entitled to my stuff? Well...I have a compost pile too

 

[OrpingtonManor]

Quote:
Nothing wrong with sharing, but I wont just hand my stuff over to whoever. Anyone who wants to EARN food, I am more than happy to give honest work to.

Want one of my ducks? Lets bargain. I need a new axe handle. Can you carve wood? If not, do you have some beef or produce? What about some seeds? What will make us both glad to have entered the transaction.

I am totally in to win/win.

Now, someone DEMANDS my stuff, tries to steal my stuff, or otherwise feels they are entitled to my stuff? Well...I have a compost pile too

ETA - In today's society, I agree with you. Great way to be, to barter. I was talking about that dreaded dooomsday scenario. I would have a hard time eating while someone else starved. But bartering, even then, is a great plan.

 

[lleighmay]

I bought the book on root cellars this year (Root Cellaring- Natural Cold Storage of Fruits and Vegetables, ISBN 978-0-88266-703-4). I haven't had the chance to try out their advice yet but will be shortly. It's very informative and well-written. Based on what I've read I recommend this book. I'm already building shelves and bins so I'll be ready this fall (I got leftover pallets from where I work and broke them apart for the lumber- the cost will be negligible even if I have to buy some timbers for support posts). My small farmstead came with a root cellar but the book has a section on how to make your own or store your food in various other areas without digging to China. It also has information on how to store a variety of vegetables (more than you would think). I didn't get to put my garden in this year for a number of reasons (including the lack of time to complete a goat prison to contain my Houdini wether Earl before growing season was completely over) but I plan to pick up veggies and fruits from our orchard, the farmer's market, and friends with an overabundance (they will also be storing things in my cellar). Now that Earl is in jail (except when he's out doing his job of brush-cutting) I'm having a large garden plowed in a couple of weeks so I can put in fall crops (greens, garlic) and cover crops and compost chicken and cow manure directly in the garden for a fresh start early in the spring. A lot of what I'm planning to keep this season is for the chickens (pumpkins, cabbages, greens, fruit) and next year when I do my garden all bets are off for what may go in there according to the book. An older neighbor told me his mom even kept tomatoes (wrapped in newspaper before last frost) well into late winter. He also told me his grandma stored eggs down there to save space in her refrigerator. I'm planning to invest in a remote thermometer/humidity meter in the next few weeks so I can monitor temps- it all makes sense to me and no sense not using modern technology while it's readily available to have a baseline of how things go in case technology is no longer available.