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Thread: Raising Chickens-Is it worth it? FYI

  1. #21

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    I love raising chickens! I have 2 big roosters that are like pet dogs. Whats not to like. I have eggs, meat and fertilizer for my garden.


  2. #22
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    Hey, there. How about roosting over at the Introduction section? Here's a template for you.

    http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...ead.php?t=7813
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  3. #23
    reclinite automaton canid's Avatar
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    a friend of mine got around city ordinance for her half dozen or so hens by naming them and spending time interacting with them. they would come when she called; a couple of them seemed to know their own names, and when the city guy saw that, he had a hard time claiming they weren't legitimately pets.
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    REAL'Men have Geese, not sissy chickens. Attack Geese is the answer.

  5. #25
    Senior Member NightShade's Avatar
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    I grew up on a small farm... We raised laying and meat hens.... Definetly worth it!
    As a side note.... We also raised pigs and turkeys ( along with near everything else ).....
    While I have grown to accept store bought chicken, I still can't eat store-bought turkey or bacon.... Gotta go visit mom and dad for the good stuff...
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  6. #26

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    We only get turkey at the turkey farm two towns over. Fresh, free range. The wait in line at Thanksgiving is an event, not a chore. Other times, it's call-ahead or get a frozen one depending on the season.

    Those things in the grocery store that impersonate turkeys literally make me ill. All that stuff they put in them to make them idiot-proof to cook. Bad scene.

    Nightshade, a place called Balance Rock Farm has some really good farm-smoked bacon. It's out in Berlin I believe.
    Last edited by LowKey; 10-08-2010 at 11:22 PM.

  7. #27
    Senior Member NightShade's Avatar
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    Thanks LowKey... I'll hafta check that out! Not too far and I really can't eat the stuff out of the grocery store... Last 2 years my parents haven't raised pigs .... Though they have been talkin about starting it again next year.
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  8. #28
    Senior Member flandersander's Avatar
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    I know it's an old thread, but I'm contamplating raising chickens this winter. The link in the first post doesn't work for me. Does it work for anybody else?

  9. #29
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    ITs a great hobby and I have 50 birds to prove it.
    They are kind a pain but mostly will support them selves especially during the spring and summer

  10. #30
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    With the way the world economy is going, I expect many zoning rules to be changed or ignored with many more people taking up raising chicjens to help sustain themselves. I have a fair sized chicken flock. Well worth having around. The eggs help feed me and a number of other families, plus, any extra roosters go into the pot (more food). My chickens are free-range, and I only throw them food scraps. Great fertilizer for my garden, and they have helped keep the garden pests way down. I see no cons in keeping chickens, especially if I don't incorperate any of the commercial big agri-business practices. Better to keep it simple.

  11. #31
    Not a Mod finallyME's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Winnie View Post
    Well I know my girls pay for themselves, a sack of feed lasts about 5 months at £7.00 a sack. They also have a handful of mixed corn as a treat and in the winter a few ounces of sunflower seeds once a week to boost the protein levels. At £3.00 (minimum) for a dozen free range eggs in the shops, it's a no brainer. I use the excess eggs as barter items and I sometimes sell 1/2 doz here and there. BUT try telling Jennifer chickens only lay for 3 years, she's six years old and still lays 4 eggs a week so I think that statement is busted!
    Hey Winnie, I got a question for you, or anyone who wants to answer. How often do you rotate your layers?
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    I get chicks in the spring and after about 9 months they start laying. I don't get rid of the older hens but it seems that in the spring I have 20-25 chickens and they kinda dwindle down to around 10 by fall or winter. I have alot of hawks and owls and coyotes and at one point a bobcat that come to the buffet. The older hens are tough to eat and are only good for soup and such.

    The older hens slow down laying although I have one who didn't lay at all last year and this year I get an egg a day, she's 4 or 5.

  13. #33
    Senior Member nell67's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by finallyME View Post
    Hey Winnie, I got a question for you, or anyone who wants to answer. How often do you rotate your layers?
    I usually keep mine for 2 years,and then rotate them out (errrrm,put'em in the freezer) always get a few new ones each year although last year I lost most of mine to a darn 'coon,oh and I always have one who thinks herself human,and follows me around whenever I am out and about,she escaped the 'coon last year,and will be here until she dies.

    Her name is Gertie,and her predecessor was named Bertha Barebutt,yea she just showed up here one day with now feathers,and her butt is the only place she never regrew them
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  14. #34
    Junior Member Dink's Avatar
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    As long as I can remember I have had chickens...all the way back to being a little kid. I gave my last flock to my new neighbors as I am moving to a slightly larger farm. They give me all the eggs I want, since I did the same for them before I gave them the birds. But as soon as I get the new chicken house up, I will have another flock. Being single I like to have about 10-14 hens & a good rose comb rooster-brown or green eggers only. I also have a setup for raising and butchering 30-50 cornish cross every year plus whatever I hatch to sell or butcher. Between the eggs, manure, hackle feathers for fishing lures and new chicks...all for selling or trading...my birds have always more than paid for themselves.

    I rotate mine out at about 3-4 years old unless they are still producing pretty good...and that depends a lot on the breed or cross breed.
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  15. #35

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    Buddy keeps about 20 chickens which keeps his family, his (small) town, and me in more eggs than we all use. Plus once a month we have a chicken and beer dinner!

  16. #36
    Resident Wildman Wildthang's Avatar
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    I think I'm getting some chickens this spring. What are the best kind for eggs? I doubt if we ever get to eat them because the girls will make pets out of them and would freakout if I thought about eating them! So I just want maybe 4 hens to lay eggs!

  17. #37
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    Talk to Nell and Winnie. They are the chicken (er...girls) gurus.
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  18. #38
    Senior Member nell67's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wildthang View Post
    I think I'm getting some chickens this spring. What are the best kind for eggs? I doubt if we ever get to eat them because the girls will make pets out of them and would freakout if I thought about eating them! So I just want maybe 4 hens to lay eggs!
    Any of them really except for Cornish cross,which are bred solely for the table,and bantams (small breed=very small egg) Road Island reds are popular,as are Barred rock (old breed) or even go for Ameraucana -
    Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.yea those are blue/green eggs,and no they have not been color manipulated!pretty chickens (yes,she has a beard!) and pretty eggs.
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  19. #39
    Senior Member Winnie's Avatar
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    If you just want layers and nothing fancy, then go for one of the hybrids. If you want a pretty chick there are loads of breeds to choose from. I'm fond of Marans myself, but they aren't the best of layers. I have Light Sussex and a hybrid. All lay well and give endless joy. Even through the winter they don't let me down. They take it in turns to lay an egg a day!
    I don't rotate mine out. They are pets as well as providing eggs. Dizzy is 5 years old this year and is still laying. I know Nell does, but I think she has a more commercial set-up.
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  20. #40

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    Don't forget we have all thsis information:

    http://www.wilderness-survival.net/raising-chickens/

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