I I often hear newbies say:"I can't grow a garden because I have clay soil". To a seasoned gardener the problem really is that the soil is not properly "fed". Years of growing my own vegetable garden made me realize how important it is to add organic matters to the garden. So year after year I've bought compost from supply companies, fertilizers, and composted my own kitchen and garden scraps.
Longing for fresh eggs, we bought our own chickens this spring, and then it all hit me: I've got a gold mine for fertilizer! After just eight month of having the chickens, I realize that I will NOT need to buy any more compost or 16-16-16s for my garden! And the chickens practically compost everything for me, fast!
Here are some of the ins and outs that I found out about raising your own chickens...
The chicken coop:You will need some initial investment for raising chickens. You will need raccoon-proof chicken coop. My husband built a shed (12x9) for the chickens. He put a cyclone wire dog run in front of the door so the chickens have their "yard" during the day. I let them out to my garden around 3pm and they go back on their own by dark. I've seen someone re-purposed a plastic toddler playhouse for a chicken coop.
Selecting the right breed: A website I found has very good information on chicken breed (http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html). Check the reference carefully before deciding what you'd like to buy. Each breed has it's own unique characters. Go to a reputable feed store to purchase your chicks, or you may end up with more males than you have planned...not a good thing.
Roosters: Roosters are not a must in a flock, however they do keep things interesting. Our flock consists of 19 regular sized hens and 2 bantie roosters and a guinea hen. The banties are smaller chickens, about half the size of the hens. One of them is obviously a manager, he likes to keep the hens together and call them when there's food brought to the coop etc. etc... I like the bantie roosters, as they are not as rough on the hens as the big ones.
Input:Straws and chicken feeds, including oyster shells and chicken grits, kitchen and garden scraps
Out put: eggs (usually after 6 month) and mountains of fertilizer, not to mention the joy of watching your own chicken channel.
Egg production: Our 19 hens produce anywhere from 13-17 eggs per day. Plan your flock accordingly if you do not want so many eggs. Rhode Island Red (brown eggs) and White Leghorns (white eggs) are known for their egg laying abilities.
Culinary delights: Eggs make such a good cooking material. If you are concerned about the cholesterol, you can remove the yolks. But egg yolks contain lecithin, which is beneficial to reduce bad cholesterol from your body. Fresh scrambled eggs is the best! Since I have the abundance of eggs, I have the luxury of learning to make meringue cookies, lemon meringue pie, creme brulee, flan cake....and there are still more to explore!
Chickens are an integral part of gardening, not only do they produce fresh eggs for you, they make the circle of growing, eating and feeding the soil complete. It is such a life changing event that I commemorate the event as BC (Before Chickens) and AC (After Chickens).
1 comment:
I used to let my chickens wonder into the garden after everything was up and growing well. They seemed to take care of much of the insect problem. By nightfall they would be back in the coop, at which time I closed it up until morning. If you have a rooster please be mindful that they can be pretty noisy and irritating to neighbors if they're too close to someone's bedroom window (I speak from experience!). But oh, how I miss the eggs and the bug control. I've been thinking of getting some more. I'll check out the links you provided, Sue.
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