The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[ki4got]

Quote:
yeah, we hardly ever freeze solid for more than a day or 3... if we did, mud might not be as much of an issue. but just last week we had nearly 3" of rain in one day! everything turned to squish, hubby couldn't even get his car up the driveway because of the mud and ruts the rain caused... let alone the driveway near the house!

 

[Leahs Mom]

ok... here's an off the wall question that has nothing to do with chickens (except they eat the left overs...)

I've got a nice pork roast, wanting to do a potroast with it, but not sure what seasonings to use... the last beef roast I did I used salt, pepper, bay leaf & a garlic blend seasoning, beef base and then added some cloves of crushed garlic, onion potatoes carrots and celery and cooked it for about 12 hours on low...

for the pork roast, would I do the same thing you think? or would I use different seasonings?

I mix the dry seasonings and use it like a rub on the meat before braising, then add water to clean the pan and add the rest of the ingredients... that last roast was probably the best I've ever made, I just don't want to screw up the pork one. LOL

I'm prob. not the one to answer this but... I think you could make it the way you say.

The best pork roasts I ever remember doing I used a packet of onion soup mix as a seasoning, and lots of fresh onions and black pepper.

When I wanted a creamier gravy I added a white sauce (or cond. mushroom soup...I use a white sauce made with milk to substitute for canned cream soups and put in a bit of boullion base to flavor it. The onion soup mix will suffice in this case.)

 

[ki4got]

Quote:
well, I remember thinking when I mixed the beef base in with it, it smelled like French onion, so I guess that's the right thing. LOL

 

[cockoftherock]

Im new here Reading some post. Is there a school of thot to the life cycle of earthworm chickens and blackhead in turkeys. I understand that wild birds can be invectors⸮ANY advice plz

 

[fenwickchic]

Ahhh, I'm so sorry about your mom and dad. I have a 92 year old dad with dementia who fell and is in rehab, followed by my feisty 87 yr old mom who mistook her brake for the accelerator and took out two cars and a gas line in the underground garage of the senior co-op where they live. she is going to rehab today. thankfully I have 4 brothers and sisters because we are all running trying to deal with everything and visit them to boot.

My roosters have red going up their legs, I think it is hormones. Can't remember if we saw pics of your rooster's legs or not.

My jr rooster does attack me. Started when he thought I was harassing a hen (was picking her up and she was screaming bloody murder). We pretty much have a truce, when he gets rambunctious I grab him and carry him around.

my featherpickers are confirmed pickers, came to me that way after they spent that first year of their life in a guy's suburban bedroom. THey haven't lost the habit.

good luck with your family!

edited to add about that greek yogurt: usually fruited yogurts have lots of added sugar and no live cultures. If that is true of the yogurt you are using, you might want to switch to plain yogurt with the live cultures. You can always add fresh fruit for a treat for them if you want....

lala,
Sorry about your parents too. Four phone calls today from mom and dad over a doc appointment and I ended up with a darned anxiety attack. And I thought teenagers were bad!! I have two sisters, but one is in TX so can't help. The other works full-time and has smaller children. She's helping as much as she can.
What I really wanted to tell you was that I am using plain greek yogurt and adding fresh blueberries. Sorry if it sounded like I was using the flavored/sugared fruit type. I'm glad you replied so that no one thinks it's o.k. to use flavored yogurt because of my comment. thanks!
Also, thank you so very, very much about his legs possibly being hormones. He is mating with the girls quite a bit, so sounds reasonable. I'll try to get a picture though so you can compare to yours.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:
well, I remember thinking when I mixed the beef base in with it, it smelled like French onion, so I guess that's the right thing. LOL

I hope I don't lead you wrong!!!!

 

[armorfirelady]

Leah's mom here is my stair raisers that I am going to make step herb garden for the hens. I only got the leg supports on it & set wood on the stairs to give you an idea of my plan.

I still need to measure the length of the coop so I can have it fit across the end of the coop with a cutout where pop door is. It will be dual purpose then. Covered door with them having the whole length for shade/rain protection and grow herbs for the girls. Once I get the length I can make the herb boxes for on the the stairs. I am going to use the ion/tiger wood my friend got for free. It's insect & rot resistant so hopefully will last a long time. I will need to make covers for over the plants till they get big enough that the girls can't destroy them. Well not as fast at least

And I will need to put lattice wood at one end so the girls don't use the stairs as an escape route

 

[Leahs Mom]

Im new here Reading some post. Is there a school of thot to the life cycle of earthworm chickens and blackhead in turkeys. I understand that wild birds can be invectors⸮ANY advice plz

Hello!
I don't have the info you are looking for but I'd be interested to see if Aoxa has any info.

My personal thought (based on some extensive reading on issues of the immune system and various thoughts on the subject of building a strong immune system) ...on chickens eating worms, bugs, etc., is that it is something that they would do in their natural environment.

Bugs, birds, animals and their droppings, and all kinds of other various things in the environment can always have the possibility of carrying various diseases. However, if the chickens are healthy with a strong immune system they are designed to come into contact with all those things and thrive. It's when they are weakened by unnatural feed, over-crowding, indiscriminate, regular use of medications, various immunizations, wormers, constant "sanitation" of the environment, etc., that they become weakened and are unable to fight off the things that they'd be exposed to in nature on a regular basis.

This is one of those things that we are "re-learning" in human medicine. When children are exposed to the environment, allowed to get dirty, come in contact with germs, etc., it appears that they have a stronger immune system and are able to more easily deal with various illnesses. Those that have been "kept clean", not allowed to play, have to wash with antibacterial soap every time they come into contact with a little dirt or a piece of raw meat or....etc.... they are now realizing don't have the same kind of opportunities to strengthen their immune systems in quite the same way. Add the constant use of antibiotics - which has led to MRSA and other resistant strains, and we have a real problem on our hands.

Anyhow....
I firmly believe that we - and our animals - were created to thrive in a "natural environment". Part of that would be running out in the dirt and grass, eating worms, grasshoppers, plants and whatever else they can find. And in the process building strong immune systems. So I try my best to "mimic" as best as possible what they'd do if they were free.

Too bad I couldn't let them migrate further south this winter

(Okay...off the

)




Edited to add: I used the term "poor" or "unnatural" feed which in my thinking is any feed that is primarily plant based and includes soy and other legumes. So at some level all of our birds are compromised in the feed area unless we make a definite effort to balance it with animal/insect protein and lower the percentage of grain/legume type feeds. This, of course, is helped tremendously by their being allowed to range and eat a more natural diet including insects and plants they choose in the warm months at least. And that's why I mentioned letting them migrate south...because I have a hunch they would have started following the food to warmer climates a long time ago!!!

 

[Leahs Mom]

Leah's mom here is my stair raisers that I am going to make step herb garden for the hens. I only got the leg supports on it & set wood on the stairs to give you an idea of my plan.

I still need to measure the length of the coop so I can have it fit across the end of the coop with a cutout where pop door is. It will be dual purpose then. Covered door with them having the whole length for shade/rain protection and grow herbs for the girls. Once I get the length I can make the herb boxes for on the the stairs. I am going to use the ion/tiger wood my friend got for free. It's insect & rot resistant so hopefully will last a long time. I will need to make covers for over the plants till they get big enough that the girls can't destroy them. Well not as fast at least

And I will need to put lattice wood at one end so the girls don't use the stairs as an escape route

I can't wait to see how this looks when it's all set up!

My only concern as I look at is is how heavy it will be to move. But I think you are saying that the herb boxes will just sit on top of the stair framework... If I'm getting that right maybe you could use several shorter boxes so that they aren't so heavy??

And...take lots of photos! You'll have to post this on the DIY thread too

 

[fenwickchic]

ok... here's an off the wall question that has nothing to do with chickens (except they eat the left overs...)

I've got a nice pork roast, wanting to do a potroast with it, but not sure what seasonings to use... the last beef roast I did I used salt, pepper, bay leaf & a garlic blend seasoning, beef base and then added some cloves of crushed garlic, onion potatoes carrots and celery and cooked it for about 12 hours on low...

for the pork roast, would I do the same thing you think? or would I use different seasonings?

I mix the dry seasonings and use it like a rub on the meat before braising, then add water to clean the pan and add the rest of the ingredients... that last roast was probably the best I've ever made, I just don't want to screw up the pork one. LOL

o.k. Here's a great one for you (gives you different taste for the pork and even my picky daughter loved it):

Roast Pork with Rosemary

3 1/2-4 lbs pork roast
10 cloves peeled and mashed garlic
3 Tbsp. dried rosemary
1 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. coarse ground pepper
2 Tbsp. olive or salad oil (I used coconut)

Mix the garlic, rosemary, pepper and oil. Rub evenly over the meat. Let stand at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (I didn't do this since I cooked it a long time in my Sun Oven). Roast uncovered at 325 degrees F for 1 1/2 hours or until meat thermometer reaches 150 degrees F. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Roast 10-15 minutes longer until temperatures reaches 175 degrees F. Cover let rest 20 to 30 minutes before carving. (Again, I just put it in my sun oven in the late morning [during spring/summer] and I added red potatoes to it.) We all loved it. I used the same spices on a chicken in the crock pot but I put some of the spice underneath the skin so the flavor got into the meat. It was wonderful too. Of course you have to like rosemary!