West Virginia Flock Talk

[Beekissed]

Well then WE need YOU

lol

When they ask me to be a guest speaker, I'll show.

 

[EledaWV]

If you have an idea for a workshop, class, chat, whatever, please pm me! If this goes well we'd like to set up another.

 

[enola]

Bee, this is your chance to bring "real chicken keeping" back to WV !

 

[Beekissed]

If you have an idea for a workshop, class, chat, whatever, please pm me! If this goes well we'd like to set up another.

I've got all kinds of ideas for workshops but I'm doubting the crowd you are catering to would go for it....an all natural approach to poultry management and husbandry~no meds, culling for desirable traits... and I mean killing and eating the bird, not "rehoming", internal biosecurity measures instead of external ones, deep litter, fermented feeds, free ranging effectively, using the family dog for a chicken dog, processing, etc.

If you ever get any interest in these areas, give me a shout....I can talk all day about those things.

Bee, this is your chance to bring "real chicken keeping" back to WV !

That would require someone be interested in "real chicken keeping" and that ain't happenin'. Folks want to keep chickens like they read about in the Storey Guide...if they read at all.

 

[EledaWV]

I've got all kinds of ideas for workshops but I'm doubting the crowd you are catering to would go for it....an all natural approach to poultry management and husbandry~no meds, culling for desirable traits... and I mean killing and eating the bird, not "rehoming", internal biosecurity measures instead of external ones, deep litter, fermented feeds, free ranging effectively, using the family dog for a chicken dog, processing, etc.  

If you ever get any interest in these areas, give me a shout....I can talk all day about those things.  


That would require someone be interested in "real chicken keeping" and that ain't happenin'.  Folks want to keep chickens like they read about in the Storey Guide...if they read at all. 

The only crowd I'm catering to wants to keep chickens
I'd hope you'll go to the page and look through some of the folks posts before you write us off completely. I really started the page to find some people to talk chicken with; I couldn't find many resources outside Google and the feed stores in the area, and apparently I wasn't the only one! Since I live in an urban setting, I want to find a way to incorporate the "old school" princoples of farming you mentioned into the restrictions presented by city life. I'm just happy so many people (for whatever their reasons) are interested in keeping chickens.
I'm personally interested in developing a farm to food pantry connection, as I've met many people with extra eggs/produce/meat who would donate if they knew where; also involved with (hopefully) getting a mobile processing unit for the small farmers in the area, enabling them to reduce costs & sell their meat legally.
I'm getting long winded, sorry everyone! There's definitely a group processing plan in the works, also, if youd like to do a talk on all those things you mentioned, maybe we could set up a time next month? Take care & thx for your feedback!

 

[hokiechickadee]

So I`m late to the party but I moved to WV (Kanawha County) a few years ago and I am interested in raising chicks for the first time for eggs, and then culling them for meat once their production tapers off, although I am sure I will end up with a few favorites I might keep around. I am having a hard time finding local resources (grain mills or breeders) so if you know of any reputable places I can turn to please let me know!

 

[Roan]

Morgantown area checking in! I actually live outside Fairview but Morgantown is the closest big town near us.

I live in the country and love it except during the big snows. Lol We live up an "ol' holler road" but at least it's graveled unlike one of our neighboring hollows which really has not much more than a couple rutty tracks to get to the 6 or 7 families that live out there.

Anyway, my bro and I just started raising chickens two years ago. We've bought chicks and hatched our own from bators and broodies. We've been toying with the idea of selling eggs but mostly, our extra eggs have been scrambled, shell and all, and fed back the the chicken for the protein and calcium.

We believe in free-ranging our flock because it's enjoyable to see them out and about. Often times, I just go outside, grab a chair that dad and I made and sit out under the ol' shade tree so I can watch the flock do their thing. We do cull our birds when production starts to go down since it becomes less productive to keep feeding them and we can always use the meat.

We also employ the deep litter method.

Our philosophy is "These birds did not ask to be born in captivity, we forced them to be. Therefore, we have a moral obligation to ensure that they are well cared for and get to enjoy life as much as possible for the few years that they are in our care."

 

[Beekissed]

I agree! What kind of birds do you keep?

 

[torilovessmiles]

Our philosophy is "These birds did not ask to be born in captivity, we forced them to be. Therefore, we have a moral obligation to ensure that they are well cared for and get to enjoy life as much as possible for the few years that they are in our care."

Agree! We just built a new coop for my normally free-ranging 7 birds. I'm slowly getting them use to being locked up, as they will have to be during heavy snow. They are not happy The main reason we have our own birds is because we do not like factory farming, so we really want our girls (and guy) to be well treated and run around as they please!
Perks of living in the country

Livin' it up in Fayette County

 

[Beekissed]

Mine hate confinement as well. So much so, that when I attempted to pen one particular heirloom WR hen for breeding with the male she generally went nuts, started pacing all day and looking for a way out and then stopped laying altogether, which kind of defeats the purpose of penned breeding situations. As soon as I turned her loose she went back to laying, so now I'm trying to figure out just how one is to do specific breeding over a wild, free range flock of birds without having to incubate a lot of mutts and culls.