Organic chicken keeping

[galanie]

I SO hope plenty of more people give you even more good tips on what you describe in your post starting with Let's start over here.

I feel the same way and garden the same way. The difference between us is that I've been gardening that way for 30+ years. The bad thing is though, that I have a horrible fire ant infestation and nothing short of "non organic" chemicals will get rid of any of them. They have no natural predators and there is no "natural" way to run them off. Yes, I know DE is supposed to do the trick but they just walk through it and laugh at me. These are Texas fire ants

Anyhow, I have nothing of value to add as far as raising chickens, just want to encourage those to do to post!

 

[bobbi-j]

bobbi-j was not very elegant in describing how to deal with pathogens and parasites
​

No, I wasn't, but then I've never been accused of being elegant before, so nothing new there.

I can honestly say that I've never noticed lice, mites, or worms on or in my chickens. This summer I lost one to what may have been internal egg laying (diagnosed by members of BYC after I described the situation). I've also occasionally had one drop dead for no obvious reasons. Granted, I don't pick them up and examine them every day so I may miss something now and then. I guess I just don't overthink my chicken raising. (Maybe I don't "think" it enough.)​

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
In respect to doability, biological limitations of systems must be addressed. Production of chickens will be limited not only by parasites and like, but also by landscapes productivity of forages chickens can eat and make use of. Not all plants and animals potentially consumed by chickens are equal.

Pure specilation: Grinding may activate or deactivate enzymes or other phytochemicals that would not have time to do so if activated by grinding action of gizzard.

 

[Kassaundra]

Quote:
In respect to doability, biological limitations of systems must be addressed. Production of chickens will be limited not only by parasites and like, but also by landscapes productivity of forages chickens can eat and make use of. Not all plants and animals potentially consumed by chickens are equal.

Pure specilation: Grinding may activate or deactivate enzymes or other phytochemicals that would not have time to do so if activated by grinding action of gizzard.

I am not sure, that's why I put in parenthesis behind it that I read that. I'm not even sure I believe they have any effect of parasites whatsoever, but they certainly won't hurt a chicken, and I'm sure are healthy snacks for chicken as well as human.

 

[Kassaundra]

Quote:
Oh, I'd love to see photos of your garden/chicken set up! We have a large organic garden. The chickens are housed in a building that was already on our property, not by the garden at all. I would love to have the coop integrated with the garden. We do have 6 hens in our garden hoop house at the moment, but that is a temporary quarantine area for some new hens that we purchased.

Here are a couple of pics I already had here on BYC, these were early in this years growing season, hopefully they will be clear enough to get the idea.

This is an overview. The coop is the center and there are 8 gardens encircling (radiating) out, each fenced off. The pallets are just temporary gates, most have been replaced, and all will be. There is a wire fence that I can put up or take down next to the coop at each garden run, just a square piece of fence w/ a couple of pieces of wire to hold it up it doesn't need to be sturdy just to keep the chickens from going in that area.

Here is a garden spot just prior to allowing the chickens in to prepare it for planting.

Here is one they have made ready, they were shut out of this one just after this pic was taken and planted out.

This was my first year to have this up and going and I had an amazing garden even though we had a record breaking heat / drought year. (I did water and have the water bills to prove it though)

 

[buckabucka]

Wow! looks great. I need to get my chickens out there working!

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
Oh, I'd love to see photos of your garden/chicken set up! We have a large organic garden. The chickens are housed in a building that was already on our property, not by the garden at all. I would love to have the coop integrated with the garden. We do have 6 hens in our garden hoop house at the moment, but that is a temporary quarantine area for some new hens that we purchased.

Here are a couple of pics I already had here on BYC, these were early in this years growing season, hopefully they will be clear enough to get the idea.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/66877_dsc_0025.jpg
This is an overview. The coop is the center and there are 8 gardens encircling (radiating) out, each fenced off. The pallets are just temporary gates, most have been replaced, and all will be. There is a wire fence that I can put up or take down next to the coop at each garden run, just a square piece of fence w/ a couple of pieces of wire to hold it up it doesn't need to be sturdy just to keep the chickens from going in that area.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/66877_dsc_0021.jpg
Here is a garden spot just prior to allowing the chickens in to prepare it for planting.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/66877_dsc_0020.jpg
Here is one they have made ready, they were shut out of this one just after this pic was taken and planted out.

This was my first year to have this up and going and I had an amazing garden even though we had a record breaking heat / drought year. (I did water and have the water bills to prove it though)

Do you know what kinds of grass are present? How many square yards per bird? How many days between rotations.

 

[Tracydr]

Quote:
I do have desert fire ants here but I've dealt with TX fire ants when I lived in SW OK and I feel your pain. Not a lot that kills them. I think there is some sort of beneficial nematode or predator, something that a university is working on to kill them. I think whatever it is, I read that it's being introduced in the areas where the fire ant is dominant so at least something will start controlling them.
Be thankful if you only have fire ants and not Rasberry ants, those sound like a horrible nightmare. I've heard they are on the coastal areas of TX and Florida but probably won't move too far north.

 

[Kassaundra]

Quote:
Here are a couple of pics I already had here on BYC, these were early in this years growing season, hopefully they will be clear enough to get the idea.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/66877_dsc_0025.jpg
This is an overview. The coop is the center and there are 8 gardens encircling (radiating) out, each fenced off. The pallets are just temporary gates, most have been replaced, and all will be. There is a wire fence that I can put up or take down next to the coop at each garden run, just a square piece of fence w/ a couple of pieces of wire to hold it up it doesn't need to be sturdy just to keep the chickens from going in that area.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/66877_dsc_0021.jpg
Here is a garden spot just prior to allowing the chickens in to prepare it for planting.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/66877_dsc_0020.jpg
Here is one they have made ready, they were shut out of this one just after this pic was taken and planted out.

This was my first year to have this up and going and I had an amazing garden even though we had a record breaking heat / drought year. (I did water and have the water bills to prove it though)

Do you know what kinds of grass are present? How many square yards per bird? How many days between rotations.

Most of the grass is evil runner grass, the bane of my existence!!!! There is other grass, but I don't know what it is. Each garden spot is roughly 20 feet deep, at the narrow end are 3 feet wide and at the broad end 20 feet across. Right now I have 10 chickens per coop, but am thinking about upping it to 15 for this next year. Originally I had planned to rotate them through on a 3 week schedule for half the garden spots that I was going to plant in short term crops, then rotating through the other half of the garden spots (long term growing plants) during the non growing season. But that plan did not work for me, it was loosely based on Linda Woodrow's mandala gardening. My current method is more loose and less rigid time schedule until I get a couple of seasons down to understand the growing cycle better. I plan on planting the east most garden in the coolest temp crops (we have wicked hot summers) so it will be finished around June, so the chickens can go in the most shaded gardens in the summer. As each garden spot is finished at the end of the year it is opened and they are allowed to run in all the open gardens. Right now I still have harvesting gardens in a couple of the garden/ runs (radish, greens, turnip, carrots, beets, peas). I also plant stuff in each garden spot specifially for the chickens.

Both gardens are going to be enclosed in a "chicken moat" this coming year, I'm hoping this will eventually take care of my grass problem. That area I plan on having a larger flock (I plan on using for meat

) I also plan on planting fruit trees around each garden system, to benefit from the chicken fertilizer, garden water, and so the chickens can gleen the damaged, or over ripe fruit.

 

[galanie]

Quote:
I do have desert fire ants here but I've dealt with TX fire ants when I lived in SW OK and I feel your pain. Not a lot that kills them. I think there is some sort of beneficial nematode or predator, something that a university is working on to kill them. I think whatever it is, I read that it's being introduced in the areas where the fire ant is dominant so at least something will start controlling them.
Be thankful if you only have fire ants and not Rasberry ants, those sound like a horrible nightmare. I've heard they are on the coastal areas of TX and Florida but probably won't move too far north.

Coastal areas of TX? That's sort of where I am. Where did you read about them?

Edit: It seems they were first found around Houston, TX in 2002. Check my location. Yep. I'm not 100% positive that's what I have but what I'm reading and the videos of them look mighty familiar. Arghh.