The Old Folks Home

[Cynthia12]

What is this they are walking on? It looks to be soft?

 

[ozexpat]

What is this they are walking on? It looks to be soft?

its a plastic chicken "wire" I use it on all my coops because of rust

 

[drumstick diva]

OZexpat my goodness Motsa is getting to be a "large boned girl," isn't she? Laying in the stream she looks so nice and slim, Maybe I could find a nearby stream and stay in there most of the day. Nothing else is working. She has a gentle expression - is she?

 

[ozexpat]

OZexpat my goodness Motsa is getting to be a "large boned girl," isn't she? Laying in the stream she looks so nice and slim, Maybe I could find a nearby stream and stay in there most of the day. Nothing else is working. She has a gentle expression - is she?

She does have a nice and gentle look about her. She has actually filled out a bit. She will be a big girl

 

[superchemicalgirl]

OZexpat my goodness Motsa is getting to be a "large boned girl," isn't she? Laying in the stream she looks so nice and slim, Maybe I could find a nearby stream and stay in there most of the day. Nothing else is working. She has a gentle expression - is she?

I'm amazed how nice and warm it looks there. I was breaking about a half inch of ice out of the waterers this morning (it is about 18 degrees). The only water I want to be lounging in is the super hot bath water after I come inside after an hour of outdoor chores.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I remember processing three 200 lb hogs at home when I was a kid. There was 4 adults and some older children. We started early on a cold morning and by evening the sausage were stuffed and hung in the smokehouse along with the hams and bacon and the lard was rendered in the washpot. We kids were so stuffed we were sick from eating those hot cracklin's. And everyone was pleased and exhausted. The next morning we had brains and eggs scrambled for breakfast.

I remember those days.
A good life.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I used to be sad about hunting, back when I was a vegetarian. Now I've come to grips with the fact that meat is tasty, and that we're meant to eat it, just not over do it. However, I'm much more okay with something that lived a great life and had 2 minutes of horror, versus something that was "factory farmed" and had an entire lifetime of horror. I generally don't eat any meat that I haven't raised and butchered myself - I make exceptions for things BF or his family have hunted.

I went to visit my parents in Virginia a few years ago and they took me out to breakfast at a place that had brains on the menu. I had never seen that before. They took it off the menu recently with the prion disease increase.

Good points. Working in the industry, I saw some(try hundreds of thousands) animals that never knew what it was like to live the way their species originally evolved.
And yes we're omnivores.

I soo agree with what you have said here about meat. It is here for us, but in moderation. Mostly good for us in the winter when we can't grow veggies..but..that was back in the day...now we have our grocery stores. Still, I don't eat much meat even during the winter. I love how you reminded us of the difference in store bought, and the hunted. I've seen some pretty sad things with the Dairy farms, the cattle farms, and of course the chicken farms. Such a long miserable life for so many of them. There are some farmers that are great with their farms, but a lot that could care less.

The only thing I have room to raise for meat is chicken - also a new ordinance that only allow chickens.
There is a farm about 2 miles up the road from me that has organic, grass fed, grass finished angus. Their pastures are so lush and the cattle have a wonderful life and I love eating them.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

OH I'm sure I could be hatching. I've had chicks in the house for several winters. I would just like a winter without them in the house ! lol What size barn do you use-- I remember the goat shed but not the chicken coops. DO you give them a heat lamp to use??

I have a group that has been out since the late summer and they still pack into a corner and don't use the second roost if the first roost is full.

I must be doing something wrong.

This is the house I raise chicks in winter spring and fall.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Ice on every bucket here too at 27 degrees. Second cold morning, but more ice as thehigh temp yesterday wasn't very high.

Quote: Looks cozy. I worry about the lamp going out. Pros and cons to every method, right?

 

[Wisher1000]

I have an 8x8 brooder room in my coop. It is not insulated and has wire covered window openings that stay open all year. When I brood chicks there in the winter, I burn two lamps about two feet apart, It helps me sleep at night knowing that it is unlikely that both bulbs would blow at the same time.