The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[stonykill]

garden plots. 1 row gets patty pans and I forgot to mention pumpkins for the chickens. I plant them also.

 

[stonykill]

What are patty pan's?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pattypan_squash

 

[armorfirelady]

Mumsy- I agree with you. I would rather give them the herbs that will benefit them daily then wait till they are ill.

But I also know that everyone has their own ways of doing things & I respect that as well.

Stony- to me gardening is relaxing and not a chore. Its very relaxing to work the garden with my ipod on and just relax. Especially after a long cold winter. While I do grumble when it comes to weeding I do have it almost down to a science on so as it doesn't become a pain for me to do. And the resulting bounty is very satisfying to me knowing I did it myself and have fresh veggies for myself & family to enjoy.

The chickens just give me a reason to enlarge the garden. And its much cheaper to purchase a $1.95 packet of 100 seeds of cucumbers than pay $1.50 for a package of 3 cukes that are soft and have no taste. Besides other family members will use some of the veggies I bought for the chickens as well.

 

[delisha]

ahhh grandma squash..thank you. I have pickeled that..another good thing to ferment!

 

[farmerfogg]

If you "Quote" this post, and add your name and pick to it,,we can keep track of the voting. This is of course, if you want to weigh in on such an important,, earth shattering vote! So far we have Bulldogma- Welcome Wagon Melabella- Welcome Wagon Mumsy-Welcome Wagon Jockeyeba-Welcome Wagon sorry if I missed anyone...

Farmerfogg - welcome wagon

 

[Toast n Jelly]

Quote:
So sorry to hear of eveyone's losses

. I have an elderly dog that is almost there and will also feel the loss after 16 or so years with her.

 

[off-grid hen]

Definitely agree with the good husbandry and feeding in such a way that strengthens immune systems - and makes their system inhospitable.    What you say makes good sense. 

I think what Offgrid was saying is that when the plants are available fresh, they free-feed what they perceive they need and is a little hesitant to add the antiseptic herbs every day as a matter of course.  Also to use at times of stress as well. 

I've been looking for ways to keep some of the herbs growing fresh so they can graze them whenever they want rather than having them in the "everyday feed".  Perhaps it's not practical during the winter.

This is exactly what I meant. The benefits of herbs are much of the time nutritional. I wasn't clear on my view on this, I guess. I would feed oregano for the nutritional benefits, not because they are naturally antibiotic. That may be an added bonus though. (Maybe i misinterpreted other people's intentions regarding herbs with antibiotic properties?) I don't "save it for when they need it", as I don't treat illnesses. If birds are getting good nutrition, and they a still getting ill, it's time to examine other husbandry practices- which I feel makes this come full circle with the gnarly bunch thread. I think we all have similar intentions. We may handle illnesses differently, but the general principles are similar. It's like human nutrition. A well-balanced diet and exercise prevents most ills.

 

[Toast n Jelly]

Quote: I hang whole veggies like broccoli, cauliflour and cabbage in the coop for winter fun and it dosen't last vey long, they inhale it!

 

[Toast n Jelly]

the extent I go to for planting for my chickens is patty pan squash. I always buy last years seeds. $2 of seeds (2 packets) provides at least 100 patty pan squash. Most likely more. We eat all we can stand to eat, and the chickens get the rest. Easy peasy. I have enough to do keeping the homestead up, earning a living, taking care of critters etc. Not knocking anyone who plants herbs. Trust me. My sister makes her living with herbs. I'm more of a "pick the wild edibles" kind of guy

Do you have a large fenced in garden? I'm thinking that my chickens would love the new shoots and I don't have a very large garden. Last growing season I grew squash and patty pans.

Whoops just saw the pics of your garden...wow I could grow a whole buncha stuff there lol! Do you get a lot of animals visiting your garden?

 

[Mumsy]

Mumsy- I agree with you. I would rather give them the herbs that will benefit them daily then wait till they are ill.

But I also know that everyone has their own ways of doing things & I respect that as well.

Stony- to me gardening is relaxing and not a chore. Its very relaxing to work the garden with my ipod on and just relax. Especially after a long cold winter. While I do grumble when it comes to weeding I do have it almost down to a science on so as it doesn't become a pain for me to do. And the resulting bounty is very satisfying to me knowing I did it myself and have fresh veggies for myself & family to enjoy.

The chickens just give me a reason to enlarge the garden. And its much cheaper to purchase a $1.95 packet of 100 seeds of cucumbers than pay $1.50 for a package of 3 cukes that are soft and have no taste. Besides other family members will use some of the veggies I bought for the chickens as well.

It has been my experience in years past that by the time you notice illness and worms in a bird, it is often too late to do anything. The damage is done and that bird will no longer be a thriving, producing, and thrifty member of the flock.

I garden for people food but a potager garden is more than that. Fruit trees, strawberry rows, berry bushes of all sorts, flowers, herbs, vegetatives of all sorts. I can, freeze, dry, and store in root cellar all extra. This summer I will be selling extra at the local farmers tilth for some extra $. I don't grow anything especially for the chickens. They are the beneficiaries of the fruit on the ground, cleanings and the gleanings. When they get turned into the garden at the end of fall, they can help themselves to what ever is available. They are out there right now doing a real thourough job stirring the straw mulch in the rows. I also see vegetable gardening as relaxing. I never till. I use raised beds and intensive mound system. I can push my arm into my beds up to my elbows with out using tools.
I do what Stony does too with regards to buying seeds at the end of the year when they are discounted. I put many of them in zip lock bags and freeze them. I do the same with saved seeds from the heritage things.