The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[shortgrass]

KNOWING where the food comes from at the supermarket is the biggest reason why I'm raising chickens for meat and eggs, tending a garden, and planting a fruit orchard.  Mega farming practices have NO respect for the soil, or even for the life it is meant to sustain.  

Saw part of a documentary recently that outlined the fact that some of the many varieties of corn that are grown in Mexico have been contaminated by American GMO.  Seems we donated some of our GMO corn to some feeding programs, and the farmers, being the frugal people that they are... held back some of the seed and planted it.  Sad thing is, a lot of the genetic diversity for future corn breeding programs comes out of Mexico.  GMO has such far reaching issues that we are barely scratching the surface of what it's capable of doing.  And, the US prefers a head in the sand approach.

Pollen drift. Contaminated seed supplies, the frugal farmers, like myself, who try to save seed, and I can't save it if there's pollen drift. The organic corn is isolated MILES away from the conventional crops, just because of that. Include needing to literally sterilize tractors and trucks to haul it for fear of cross contamination... It can be a nightmare for sure... I test plot a lot of different things; one of my main plots being a blue maize/Indian maize cross... Came out with some beautiful ears with intriguing colors, but my test plot is downwind from a GMO corn field. And I can SEE cross contamination in the offspring. I can't do anything but try more varieties that can resist the GMO pollen.

That's where the focus lies right now; working on varieties that would t even accept the pollen. Yay science? oh boy that's why my folks FORCED me to get some college lol

I saw something similar to that about 10 years ago. It talked about Mexico and Central America having over 28 native corn strains. They...being Monsanto...gave the farmers their GMO corn to plant. It has created problems with the native corn. The children were having a high number of genetic disformity from what they were assuming was the roundup that ran off into their water and bathing areas. The roundup ready GMO corn also has a patent on it. Any corn containing it's DNA can be sued for...hence, the backing of small farmers into litigation when their crops were contaminated by RR GMO Corn. 

I am with you all on the small farm, almost exculsively Organic, with the chickens being part of my master plan ecosystem.  

The mega farmers create a huge issue for the soil. But, if they did not evolve into this Commercial farming they may be extinct. American farmers are on the largest growing list for extinction...

That makes me sad, an extinction list.. I don't like to think about it its because it is HARD to work 24/7 without some faith that it's worth it SOMEWHERE along the line... That's why out if 18 cousins all raised on ranches, 4 of us remain. That IS hard odds

Monsanto is spending millions in their lobbying to fight attempts to label GMOs in the US. Many other countries have banned GMOs.
https://ecowatch.com/2015/08/26/monsanto-control-food-system/
At least we should know what is in our food. Then each person can choose. After seeing how "cage free" chickens live, I am happy I am raising my hens and can give them organic food. I am trying to be a better gardener...lol. So much to learn.

Anyhow, I avoid corn, soy, beets and canola unless they are organic.

I truly believe that I don't need to worry about what's going to happen with the GMOs.... Sure, its bad for small farmers, and its caused mass suicides in 3rd world countries,.. The chemicals etc... I just can't fret it too much. Aside from keeping it away from my seed, and my ground, all I can do us notice how everything has its time. Animals go extinct, new ones replace them. Polio may be defeated but now we have HIV...Species adapt and change. They akways will. The Amaranth that is now round up resistant is choking out the GMO corn and cotton in southern states. That tells me that GMO is not going to last long before its taken over by plants and microbes that have MUTATED in response to our fiddling with it. Much like chemical wormers and antibiotics, soon useless and overtaken by that wonderful "cylce of life". I kinda hope I'm still around when I witness the death of Monsanto

My city brother & family came for a visit, I told his son (13) about the roundup thing and that's why we grow our own corn. Later in the week, I offered to buy corn (too early for ours). He said "gross - no". Gotta love a kid with a brain.

My kids lol... My mom got upset because one day, she was making hamburgers... And she called to chew me out that the girls refused to eat the hamburgers because I told them that hamburger buns have rubber in them.... I laughed SO hard! I had to clarify for her that it was MCDONALDS hamburger buns that I told the girls had rubber in them! She was livid that I would do that ( my folks still butt heads with me on non GMO and organic venues sometimes)... But my only defense was," do you see my kids all fat and zombified on McDonalds fries? No? It's because they KNOW what's in it!"

teach those kids. They're our future

 

[shortgrass]

Shorthrass, I appreciate your insight too!

Thank you so much! Helping sling younguns like you makes my day when I feel pretty used for our corn lol

I like weird hicks, and different ways of doing things, what a boring world it would be if we all did things the same, I am learning more from people like you than the conventional people, I do know where our food comes from, today and thirty years ago, it has really changed from family farms and animals treated with dignity to factory farms churning out animals like they're inert. So sad, all for the want of cheap food to cram in our mouths so we can all be fat.

I like you shortgrass, I too am familiar, with being picked on.

I like you too! We keep bumping into each other lol its nice to know I'm not the only misunderstood soul on here

 

[shortgrass]

So I am very excited I got a rototiller for free all it needs is a throttle cable and I'm set I always had a garden for all my house hold veggie needs but I am going bigger much bigger enough for my mom's mems sisters and my house hold needs. My question is what would you all suggest as a winter cop for the soil we alway did winter wheat but I was wonder what other options are out there? Also I was wondering how to turn a back field that hasn't been touched in years into a grazing pasture for my ducks and chickens and what to sow in that area? Should I till the back field and start fresh or is there an easier way?

Speney! Nice to meet you

Look into Austian Winter peas.... I usually do wintervrye for some forage and green manure, but I split my plot in half and did winter peas. They're up already before the rye and I'm looking forward to seeing how the chooks like them. They are wonderful for cattle, so why not?

As far as your untilled field, I would leave it untilled and spread some old bales of straw, corn stalk, alfalfa, whatever you can find, and clean out the coop on it. Let it sit all winter and then direct seed into the compost. No till, that's what I'm battling the DH with

I think no till will benefit that soil way better than tearing it up. The seed you choose next spring should break up that top layer, and the taproots will pull nutrients down deeper for you, without YOU ever having to lift a shovel

 

[hellbender]

I like weird hicks, and different ways of doing things, what a boring world it would be if we all did things the same, I am learning more from people like you than the conventional people, I do know where our food comes from, today and thirty years ago, it has really changed from family farms and animals treated with dignity to factory farms churning out animals like they're inert. So sad, all for the want of cheap food to cram in our mouths so we can all be fat.

I like you shortgrass, I too am familiar, with being picked on.

You've been picked on? Why, just because you have turned your house into a free-for-all dog kennel???
Just Kidding...I remember our little 'talk'...

 

[lazy gardener]

So I am very excited I got a rototiller for free all it needs is a throttle cable and I'm set I always had a garden for all my house hold veggie needs but I am going bigger much bigger enough for my mom's mems sisters and my house hold needs. My question is what would you all suggest as a winter cop for the soil we alway did winter wheat but I was wonder what other options are out there? Also I was wondering how to turn a back field that hasn't been touched in years into a grazing pasture for my ducks and chickens and what to sow in that area? Should I till the back field and start fresh or is there an easier way?

Congrats on the tiller. Is it a front or rear tine? (rear tine is much easier on the body) The only time I use my tiller is if I'm busting up sod to expand the garden, or plant a new spot, then... depending on the size, I still prefer my garden fork. As far as your pasture, the plant diversity that probably is there is a good thing, compared to a monoculture if you tilled the whole thing and then re-seeded (even with a pasture mix) I like SG's suggestion about getting some compostable matter on the field, and let it settle in over the winter. Then, you can overseed with what ever you want to grow there. I wonder if any of the clovers would be a good option: good protein, attracts beneficial insects. It's getting to be a bit late for cover cropping, but IMO, if you want to cover crop, planting something... anything is better than planting nothing. I'd go with Winter Rye at this late stage in the game, but realize that you will be working hard to incorporate it into the soil in the spring. Annual rye grass would be a nice option, but it might be a bit late for that. That produces nice cover, totally winter kills, so you're left with a nice bed of mulch in the spring. I'm sure SG has plenty of ideas, and far more experience with cover cropping than I do. Finally, with winter coming on, I have some suggested reading for you: Lasagna Gardening by Patricia Lanza. ANY of the gardening books by Ruth Stout: The No Work Gardening Book, Gardening Without Work, How to Have a Garden Without Having an Aching Back. And, if you want to maximize the use of your new tiller: Joy of Gardening by Dick Raymond. I've followed in Ruth Stout's footsteps for more than 25 years. That's why I'm called Lazy Gardener! I'm recently expanding and working on an orchard following the Back to Eden concept (Do a google search for a video), and am already seeing huge benefit there with my horrible soil conditions. Planning to convert at least SOME of the garden to BTE this fall.

Speney! Nice to meet you

Look into Austian Winter peas.... I usually do wintervrye for some forage and green manure, but I split my plot in half and did winter peas. They're up already before the rye and I'm looking forward to seeing how the chooks like them. They are wonderful for cattle, so why not?

As far as your untilled field, I would leave it untilled and spread some old bales of straw, corn stalk, alfalfa, whatever you can find, and clean out the coop on it. Let it sit all winter and then direct seed into the compost. No till, that's what I'm battling the DH with

I think no till will benefit that soil way better than tearing it up. The seed you choose next spring should break up that top layer, and the taproots will pull nutrients down deeper for you, without YOU ever having to lift a shovel

Let me guess: DH has a nice big tiller, and likes those ribbons of nice dark naked soil? I'm with you on the no till. IMO, naked soil is not a good thing. It needs to be covered with something, anything! Be it mulch, cover crop or garden crops.

 

[shortgrass]

Let me guess:  DH has a nice big tiller, and likes those ribbons of nice dark naked soil?  I'm with you on the no till.  IMO, naked soil is not a good thing.  It needs to be covered with something, anything!  Be it mulch, cover crop or garden crops.  

ROFL you should change your name to SMART gardener!

He doesn't just have a tiller. He has a BOBCAT with a tiller attachment....

I used to till...24/7 it seemed... Follows the pattern if tilling the fields, right? My grandma gave me my first tiller when I got married... I used it til it died, then got another... I tilled ACRES with that, then I would load it up and head over to moms and till her ACRES too...

Then one day, I was tilling her garden spot, where she'd been battling bindweed for year's.. (Back story here, bear with me lol)...I had just given up, my plot in my tiny yard in a town was overrun with it, so I had stopped tilling and tossed a bag of oats on it in frustration... And I had no bindweed the next spring. Epiphany!!!!

I stopped what I was doing, said "this is stupid, we're just reseeding bindweed," loaded my tiller up, and went home and sold it.

She still battles bindweed, and I still end up over there running her tiller for her, but I'm not weeding THAT

Then I met the new DH... And the bobcat... Oh boy I've had to literally fence off areas to keep him from having access to them... We negotiate lol; he has his till spots where he can till and pack it down and then watch the topsoil and all those microbes and nutrients blow away in our 40 mph Colorado winds... And my spots get "lasagna-ed" and things grow rampant and all I have to pull are the weeds that blow over from HIS side, and my topsoil stays put

I'm a no till advocate, for sure

 

[slordaz]

Our first year with some new things: Well garden is done for the year here in Idaho and this is the results we got from doing the circle garden , no tiller used lol, and the fuzz balls we started raising.

The weather didn't cooperate to well, it needed bi-polar meds I think. at the start we thought the water was going in it from the ditch so it started off with a drought because we didn't check after we saw some going in. Then it froze every time we turned around.

The tomatoes, carrots, snap peas, buttercup squash, the trees and berries all did really well and made it, The chickens are now having a hay day out there as they were allowed access. Make sure if you add buttercup squash to only put on plant in the circular garden if it's small cause they are very aggressive growers, boxed in the zucchini and we only got one but they are excellent protectors of the other plants we did not have to go out and cover up the garden when a random freeze came along.

We have all but the RIR's laying. Crazy flock, most all wanna go half broody and community brood which doesn't work well. We don't have an incubator so used a wash mitt and another towel over that that we wet once a day, heating pad on low and put in the bathroom we will see if this works in 5 days, when we candled them they were growing fine]

The flock did really good about staying out of the garden as they were given fruits and veggies as treats and didn't get them if they got into the garden.

still can't figure out why randomly we are loosing eggs once in awhile though, had to give away some surprise roosters and one of the drakes. Hens are spoiled rotten, 12 laying boxes and they only wanna use 2 so there's always a line at them

The egg layers seem to do really well on cold mornings with their favorite treat oatmeal with garlic and cayenne pepper, no artificial light but there is one we can use if we need to check on things in the dark.

We used straw bales and made em caves they think that is fun play ground lol


now time for winter preparation.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

You've been picked on?  Why, just because you have turned your house into a free-for-all dog kennel???  
Just Kidding...I remember our little 'talk'...

I didn't consider our talks as being picked on, I grew up as the only girl with four brothers, though I did hold my own, on this website, I would reference the people who answer goat questions, they don't like when you tell them alfalfa is a poor diet choice for goats, or that I raise mine on milk replacer.

And yes I do like my dogs.

 

[Leahs Mom]

We don't have an incubator so used a wash mitt and another towel over that that we wet once a day, heating pad on low and put in the bathroom we will see if this works in 5 days, when we candled them they were growing fine]



We used straw bales and made em caves they think that is fun play ground lol

@slordaz
Will be watching to see if the "incubator" works. Can you keep us updated...and show some photos of what you did?

How 'bout some photos of the straw bale caves too?

 

[hellbender]

I didn't consider our talks as being picked on, I grew up as the only girl with four brothers, though I did hold my own, on this website, I would reference the people who answer goat questions, they don't like when you tell them alfalfa is a poor diet choice for goats, or that I raise mine on milk replacer.

And yes I do like my dogs.