The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Bulldogma]

oh boy have i gotten flack for this post

bruce h.

I think this experiment was a very valuable one. These are the conditions that industry egg layers and broilers live in from generation to generation. Losses / deaths have become the "norm" for those that run these companies and are simply planned for when they do the budget. It's a sad state, and millions of birds exist in these conditions.

I for one am glad you posted about this experiment. While many of us may feel sorry for the ones in your industrial setting, this serves to heighten awareness of "the industry standard" and what it means to millions of birds throughout the US (and many other countries) every day. The birds you used - the ones that survived - will live out the rest of their lives in a far better manner than those poor industry birds.

 

[starlingdaly]

oh boy have i gotten flack for this post i fully knew the consequences when i posted the findings of this experiment . i did this because i wanted to see first hand on the effects on proper and improper care of birds. i am around a lot of folks everyday who think well they are just birds who cares how they are kept. i knew of broiler houses and the egg laying industry. however 2ND hand. other than you tube ,Internet and someone told to do this sources how many folks really know first hand. yes there are some that do. however the majority do not have this knowledge first hand.
is it offensive to some? yes it is. it is not something i would do on any other basis. folks that know of me on this thread and other threads know of my husbandry practices . this was a test to see first hand knowledge of the effects of poor husbandry. i am sorry those birds died as well. now that i have the answers first hand i can explain to others in a more productive manner.
i am sorry for the offense taken by others . however education comes at a cost. so if i can show the effects to others, others may improve their practices.

for those of you who do not know me. i have helped many folks with their questions. i raise wonderful layers and breed heritage rhode island reds to the s.o.p.

bruce h.

I would love to use your experiment story to convince people to eat ethical eggs. I know plenty if people who eat commercial eggs because they are cheap but if I told them your personal story they would be appalled and hopefully make a few changes.

 

[countrygirl74]

 

[delisha]

I have a question for those of you feeding 1-3 cloves of garlic per chicken per day, where are you getting that amount of garlic from? How many chickens do you have? In my area garlic costs about $3.50 per pound. I can't grow enough yet for what we eat, and I don't think if I planted the whole place in garlic I could harvest enough for 20 - 40 birds (how many I keep depending on the season) that much garlic everyday of the year.

I do not feed that much. I try to plant 100 cloves a year. I usually end up buying garlic at the end of the year. I am using my last three bulbs. When I open a new bulb, I save out two cloves to plant for the following year.

Bruce, I knew you'd get some flack for that. While I do not agree with your experiment's necessity, I do not judge you for it. Nor do I think you are a mean or cruel person.

I do believe you have brought to light the consequences of over crowding and poor overall management. At least that much is to gain from this.

x2.

 

[bruceh]

I would love to use your experiment story to convince people to eat ethical eggs. I know plenty if people who eat commercial eggs because they are cheap but if I told them your personal story they would be appalled and hopefully make a few changes.

please let me know how i can help in any manner.
i am going to write a full report on this experiment on all aspects of the birds.

 

[starlingdaly]

please let me know how i can help  in any manner.
 i am going to write a full report on this experiment on all aspects of the birds.

Excellent! Please link the report when it is finished. I'm sure many people on here would be able to use the information for good!

 

[Leahs Mom]

I do not feed that much. I try to plant 100 cloves a year. I usually end up buying garlic at the end of the year. I am using my last three bulbs. When I open a new bulb, I save out two cloves to plant for the following year.

Del - How do you store the cloves you save back for planting? Do you lay them out to dry in any special way?

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:
Welcome. The author also has a website that has a lot of the articles in in. Lots of good information and I've never seen any other book that is even close to it in the practicality of the information. I've probably read at least 10 books on chickens, in addition to subscribing to one magazine on the topic, and Ussery's book is by far the best on the "natural" side of raising chickens.


Here is a link to the page on the web site that has the article links. You have to scroll all the way to the bottom to see the links.

http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Poultry.html

 

[stonykill]

Bruce it helps me. I have never been to a commercial chicken operation. I have often wondered if it working out so well for them, why do small operations take all of the extra steps. Not that I would ever not take good care of my animals. Now the extras just make more sense.
Also you lost somewhere around 30 birds ~ I have to think much larger numbers are lost in the commercial world since their numbers are so much larger. Perhaps the commercial farms should be coming under more scrutiny.

Stony ~ I tossed 5 of the sumatra eggs. 2 had started but stopped maybe day 3 or 4. The other 3 eggs were basically scrambled, I could not even tell the whites from the yolks. The rest look great. I'm hopping they are mainly females that are left. Do you have any hints for identifying which of the sumatra chicks are roos at an early age.

I wish I did. I can rarely tell the difference myself until they get 6 to 8 weeks old. Sometimes I guess...lucky. They are hard to sex

 

[Mumsy]

Originally Posted by Mumsy

It is all mixed into the fermented Turkey/Gamebird grower. Every day except for the Greek yogurt which is stirred in every other day. Garden produce offered free every day. Raw meat offered free choice twice or more a week when available.

In a three gallon bucket, maybe a gallon and a half of the Grower crumble or pellet. One to two heaping Tablespoons each of Cayenne, Garlic, and dried Oregano. Three or four Alfalfa cubes. One full cup of the yogurt. All the petals from a full Calendula blossom. A hanful of the BOSS, and maybe one whole crushed garlic bulb. Maybe five or six stems of fresh Oregano leaves removed from stems and minced. Depends what I have.

Mumsy--Do you mix this up daily or can it be made the night before?

Daily and night before. I stir in new after each feeding. The ferment juice at the bottom of the bucket gets poured over the top of the new water each night to keep the ferment going.
As the turkeys and HRIR flocks grow, coming up on twice daily. I'm at the point I need to start a second bucket. The HRIR chicks are twelve weeks old and still growing. The turkeys are seven weeks old and taking off. The Silkies and layers have settled down and their appetites have leveled off. The others have voracious appetites still.

About garlic: I planted 75 cloves in the garden this year and just started harvesting a bulb at a time. I'm going to double that planting in the fall. I pull them up and smash the whole bulb with a hammer and stir it into the mash along with the powdered. I was taking the time at first to peel and mince but nuts to that. Takes too long. Smash and stir is my method now. Like del, I must purchase garlic to keep up. I can get it at the farmers market cheap from local growers.