Garden Guru--I have ducks on a pond, and I do get to harvest the eggs. At least, until the fox got all but one of my ducks... long, sad story posted elsewhere on this forum.

Anyway, the trick is to train them to come in at night into a shelter. Do this from ducklings and they get used to it. They lay their eggs in the morning--usually around the water bucket, lol--and go out to the pond while you gather up the (sometimes damp but excellent flavored) eggs.

Still, the consensus here seems to be that chickens are easier than ducks (I've never done chickens, so I wouldn't know), so perhaps they're an easier first choice.

Heather

quote:

Originally posted by greenish thumb:
Sorry - not sure if I should have posted here or in club.

Do you raise chickens for eggs or meat?

No, but am thinking about it.

I mentioned chickens to my wife and she was not interested. This year we are learning about growing garden food as our big adventure into 'improving' our self sufficiency. It is very hard to be really self sufficient nowadays, but we can improve ourselves in this area.

We live on 1/2 acre in an urban suburbs. We thought about rabbits but they are too cute to kill. Of course most of this planning is due to peak oil concerns down the road. Although it would be nice to have some home grown meat, irrespective of peak oil, but the chickens would still be grain fed and not exactly 100% nature fed and free roaming.

Could you even raise chickens on 1/2 acre without buying grain? What would they eat other than grain on our small plot of land?

After all, the grain has to be delivered by truck And we have to get to the store to pick up the grain and it all rests on the soon to be broken back of crude oil.

The world we have created sucks down 84,000,000 barrels of crude a day...it can't hold out forever.

Book and DVD list


Beyond Civilization: humanity's next great adventure
by Quinn, Daniel

Beyond Oil: the view from Hubbert's Peak
by Deffeyes, Kenneth S.
http://www.princeton.edu/hubbert/

Bowling Alone: the collapse and revival of American community
by Putnam, Robert D.

Collapse
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collapse_(book

The Coming Economic Collapse - how you can thrive when oil costs $200 a barrel
by Leeb, Stephen

Crossing the Rubicon: the decline of the American empire at the end of the age of oil
by Ruppert, Michael C.

A Crude Awakening - the oil crash
Lava Productions AG, Switzerland DVD
http://www.oilcrashmovie.com/

Dancing at Armageddon: Survivalism and Chaos in Modern Times
by Richard G. Mitchell Jr

The End of Suburbia - oil depletion and the collapse of the American dream
by Greene, Gregory DVD
Don't miss the commentary. Lots of Canadian prejudice against the US as well as snobbery, but very worthwhile behind the scene info.
http://www.endofsuburbia.com/

High Noon for Natural Gas: the new energy crisis
by Darley, Julian
http://www.highnoon.ws/

The Long Emergency: surviving the converging catastrophes of the twenty-first century
by Kunstler, James Howard

Oil Apocalypse
History channel DVD

The Oil Depletion Protocol : a plan to avert oil wars, terrorism and economic collapse
by Heinberg, Richard

Peak Oil Survival: preparation for life after gridcrash
by McBay, Aric

Powerdown: options and actions for a post-carbon world
by Heinberg, Richard

Resource Wars: the new landscape of global conflict
by Klare, Michael T
http://www.amazon.com/Resource-Wars-Landscape-Conflict-...uction/dp/0805055762

A Thousand Barrels a Second: the coming oil break point and the challenges facing an energy dependent world
by Tertzakian, Peter

Twilight in the Desert: the coming Saudi oil shock and the world economy
by Simmons, Matthew R.
Well written book examining 12 of the key Saudi oil fields.

Who Killed the Electric Car?
Sony Pictures Classics release
http://www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledtheelectriccar/

Zoom:the global race to fuel the car of the future
by Iain Carson and Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran.

quote:

Originally posted by HeatherHead:
Garden Guru--I have ducks on a pond, and I do get to harvest the eggs. At least, until the fox got all but one of my ducks... long, sad story posted elsewhere on this forum.

Anyway, the trick is to train them to come in at night into a shelter. Do this from ducklings and they get used to it. They lay their eggs in the morning--usually around the water bucket, lol--and go out to the pond while you gather up the (sometimes damp but excellent flavored) eggs.

Still, the consensus here seems to be that chickens are easier than ducks (I've never done chickens, so I wouldn't know), so perhaps they're an easier first choice.

Heather

A pond is a wonderful food source.

You can stock the pond with fish, get frogs from the pond to eat and shoot the wildlife that comes to the pond to drink or hangout. (in a SHTF survival scenario)

Yes, if you have a pond you are most lucky. Here is a fellow that just has a barrels to raise fish in!

http://www.tabletophomestead.org/Raising%20Fish%20In%20A%20Barrel.html


He is pretty skinny...don't know how much fish he gets out of his barrel?

[/QUOTE]

Could you even raise chickens on 1/2 acre without buying grain? What would they eat other than grain on our small plot of land?

My mom never bought any grain she only feed them scraps. She would also feed them chicken guts that come in the birds you buy at the store, and chicken skin. But this is not advisable because they could start pecking each other and kill or hurt their fellow chicken, although the ones we had never did this; although my father-in-law’s chickens did do this but they only ate grain, so who knows.

You could establish a farmers exchange.
Exchange the grain that you want.
I used to smell alfalfa in the store bought chicken feed.
I used to feed chopped weeds to my chickens for greens,
also oyster shells.
A balanced chicken feed would be fine.
I used to clip the chicken’s beak so that they
would not go after each other and their eggs,
also they had spectacles so they would not do the above.
About that rooster crowing at sunrise,
make sure you don’t turn on any lights or
expose them to lights in the middle of the night,
letting the rooster think it was sunrise.
Keeping the rooster in a dark room
might prevent this crowing early in the morning.
Buying chicks every year will replenish your
layers.

Good Luck,
bill in socal

quote:

Originally posted by odiemolina:


Could you even raise chickens on 1/2 acre without buying grain? What would they eat other than grain on our small plot of land?

My mom never bought any grain she only feed them scraps. She would also feed them chicken guts that come in the birds you buy at the store, and chicken skin. But this is not advisable because they could start pecking each other and kill or hurt their fellow chicken, although the ones we had never did this; although my father-in-law’s chickens did do this but they only ate grain, so who knows.

Thanks.

I never knew chickens ate meat?

But what do you do with the old chickens? How long to they produce eggs? How long do ducks produce eggs?

I am not into killing them even for meat...maybe my neighbor would do it?

quote:

Originally posted by odiemolina:
My mom never bought any grain she only feed them scraps. She would also feed them chicken guts that come in the birds you buy at the store, and chicken skin. But this is not advisable because they could start pecking each other and kill or hurt their fellow chicken, although the ones we had never did this; although my father-in-law’s chickens did do this but they only ate grain, so who knows.

Pecking is not the issue.

Feeding dead chicken to your own birds, especially store-bought dead chicken will also expose your birds to the antibiotics, hormones and antimicrobials that factory farms lace their birds with, especially in organs that seem to concentrate these chemicals.

Since Mad Cow Disease hit, the US has restricted some animal parts that may be used in animal feed, but factory farms may still render chicken carcasses and feed it back to their birds. (And the beef you buy still may have also dined on their own species.)

You also may be introducing diseases to your birds that they might otherwise avoid.

I haven't taken the time to look up the organic standards for raising poultry but feeding dead chicken isn't something I would expect to find as an approved practice. My advice is to not feed them their kin.

Wayne

Part of the new flock. Buff Chantecler chicks at about 11 days.



Wayne

OH Wayne!

They are dear babies! Love that pic!

Just admired that pic again! HaHa

Looks like the guy in the front could be the new and improved Buster! Yep, laughing and admiring! I want that front chick! He's too cute!