Jtcitrus here.
The wife and i just aquired a over 3 acres of heavily wooded land northeast of Houston, Texas. We'll be building soon, and the first thing we're doing (once the herb and vegetable garden is in) is chickens. Mostly free range, dual purpose hens. Been doing some reading, and I'm very interested in Heritage breeds: Delaware, Buckeye, etc.
Our 1st order concern: Child friendly: we've got 2 very young children, with at least one more planned for the future (its on the spreadsheet)
Our 2nd order concern: good forager. I want these chickens to work for a living (this is 'merica dadgumit)
And of course 'Hardiness' is of prime importance.
The vision: over the next 10 years I'd like to convert the acreage into an orchard (hitting up the county extension fruit tree sale every year) with every kind of fruit and nut that can be reliably produced here. I'll be digging out a pond, stocking it, getting (just a few) ducks and geese. Might even do some Pond Aquaponics and rabbits. The end game: have everything done up so that if I choose to, in 10 years I could silvopasture my poultry and a few Gulf Coast Sheep throughout my orchard. That's how long I think it would take to sufficiently terraform enough of the area to be suitable for producing lambs.
... but first things first: Chickens. You have to be gluten free to consume more eggs than we do, and I love the prospect of "Chicken-tilling" and some of the natural bug control that will come with it.
I know enough to know that I'm going to have to learn a lot as I go (book learnin' only goes so far). I've browsed the threads several times and look forward to interacting!
Cheers,
jtcitrus
The wife and i just aquired a over 3 acres of heavily wooded land northeast of Houston, Texas. We'll be building soon, and the first thing we're doing (once the herb and vegetable garden is in) is chickens. Mostly free range, dual purpose hens. Been doing some reading, and I'm very interested in Heritage breeds: Delaware, Buckeye, etc.
Our 1st order concern: Child friendly: we've got 2 very young children, with at least one more planned for the future (its on the spreadsheet)
Our 2nd order concern: good forager. I want these chickens to work for a living (this is 'merica dadgumit)
And of course 'Hardiness' is of prime importance.
The vision: over the next 10 years I'd like to convert the acreage into an orchard (hitting up the county extension fruit tree sale every year) with every kind of fruit and nut that can be reliably produced here. I'll be digging out a pond, stocking it, getting (just a few) ducks and geese. Might even do some Pond Aquaponics and rabbits. The end game: have everything done up so that if I choose to, in 10 years I could silvopasture my poultry and a few Gulf Coast Sheep throughout my orchard. That's how long I think it would take to sufficiently terraform enough of the area to be suitable for producing lambs.
... but first things first: Chickens. You have to be gluten free to consume more eggs than we do, and I love the prospect of "Chicken-tilling" and some of the natural bug control that will come with it.
I know enough to know that I'm going to have to learn a lot as I go (book learnin' only goes so far). I've browsed the threads several times and look forward to interacting!
Cheers,
jtcitrus
