The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[armorfirelady]

Ugh Leah's mom.....all that info reminds me of my dr appt and all the things I shouldn't be eating.........I'm luckily then but need to cutout a lot of stuff to feel better. He thinks might even be MSG overload since I rarely cook for just me.....even less in summer when I'm to busy outside lol. Made me think of my hens again and layer feed ......

Justine enjoy your flowers.....diathinsnare one of my favorite and just bought some more for garden I am redoing today. Spent a small fortune at lowes but I know I will love the garden when its done. Plus all I buy is perennials so less work

Loving the chick pics.......back outside I go union break is over and I love the temps in the 80s

 

[lalaland]

They already love the pile of dirt Vicki I just need it moved so the grass under it can grow back.

The chickens seem to like mountains of things.. I have a compost mountain that is 20 years old at least.. this property was used as a horse carriage trail 20 years ago, and it's a mountain of composted horse manure. It's very rich in worms, but the trees have rooted in it, so it's hard to dig up in places. We just got a tiller, so I'm going to attempt to. The soil looks amazing.

We also just ordered our dump truck of screened organic topsoil for our garden beds. We are building the raised boxes tonight. Tomorrow I took the day off work so we can finish it up and add the soil/compost. I have a bunch of perennials I bought to give the rock garden some colour. Perennials are okay planted before last chance of frost right? I think so..

Its a beautiful rock garden, especially with the hens and duck! Since your nursery had the perennials outside, I'm thinking you are good to go re planting. I noticed in your pic of the new driveway (yay!) a tree branch in the foreground budding red.... spring is wonderful.

Exciting that the barn is going up, the month will go fast!

 

[armorfirelady]

I decided to make the girls evening & dump the rest of the peat moss I had left over from working the garden in their pasture..........chickens are so easily pleased & simple

And all those darn dandelions I pulled out of the garden went in their coop tasty bedtime snack

 

[stonykill]

I decided to make the girls evening & dump the rest of the peat moss I had left over from working the garden in their pasture..........chickens are so easily pleased & simple

And all those darn dandelions I pulled out of the garden went in their coop

tasty bedtime snack

dandelion salad, tasty human snack. We eat it raw in salad and blanch and freeze it and use it as spinach. Delicious !

 

[armorfirelady]

I'm not much of veggie person lol dandelions I have tried and didn't like. And yes I am the person with a 50x30 veggie garden ........I like certain ones and my family others so I grow for everyone........including the chickens so they have a good stash for winter

 

[stonykill]

I'm not much of veggie person lol dandelions I have tried and didn't like. And yes I am the person with a 50x30 veggie garden ........I like certain ones and my family others so I grow for everyone........including the chickens so they have a good stash for winter

they are best right now. They get bitter as the year progresses.

dandelion, violet leaves and flowers, red clover blossoms,mustard grass leaves, fresh scrambled eggs, a little wild onion grass and a dash of dressing. Good spring breakfast.

Boiled up 1st year burdock stalk with a little butter and garlic...mmmmmmmm, a tasty part of lunch.

dandelion leaf and violet leaf sun tea. Gives me lots of energy and tastes great.

 

[armorfirelady]

Sounds good......I wish that when I was younger I tried more different things. I just started eating asparagus a couple years ago lol life would be much simpler if I ate more of what grows for free lol

 

[Leahs Mom]

Okay...I don't have a lot of time in the next few days, but I thought I'd put this one link that has several studies and reading material linked out of it. Of course this is in respect to humans, but there are also several studies with dogs, cats and even chickens! This is one of the "modern ailments" that has risen since the consumption of soy, wheat, various legume seeds and processed vegetable oils began to be "marketed" as healthy. So much of the health of the nation has gone downhill since that time and it's really being directed back to some of these practices and abandoning the "traditional" foods, cooking methods, fermentation, etc.

http://www.ketogenic-diet-resource.com/fatty-liver-disease.html



(Okay...I need to get off the soapbox and go to bed.

)

 

[lalaland]

I've only had burdock root, not the stalk. Am waiting for spring to come so I can harvest nettles, best spring dish ever! Dandelion leaves are just barely starting here - up here the dandelion leaves are pretty small. I remember years ago in Kentucky picking dandelion leaves for salon for my aunt, and in my memory, they were much bigger, more the size of a large bluejay feather.

Violet leaves - I haven't tried that.

And what is wild onion?

 

[armorfirelady]

Wow great info LM!! Thank you. I'd love to get some of those links to read more about it!

Okay...I don't have a lot of time in the next few days, but I thought I'd put this one link that has several studies and reading material linked out of it.  Of course this is in respect to humans, but there are also several studies with dogs, cats and even chickens!  This is one of the "modern ailments" that has risen since the consumption of soy, wheat, various legume seeds and processed vegetable oils began to be "marketed" as healthy.  So much of the health of the nation has gone downhill since that time and it's really being directed back to some of these practices and abandoning the "traditional" foods, cooking methods, fermentation, etc. 

http://www.ketogenic-diet-resource.com/fatty-liver-disease.html



(Okay...I need to get off the soapbox and go to bed. 

)

Thank you......it seems even doctors are changing their way on this as well, I found it very enlightening that drs are staring to warn Pts about this as well