How DOES My Mind Work?

May 08, 2010 01:24

Seriously, I'm in it and I have no idea ( Read more... )

zany ideas

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Comments 5

xianghua May 8 2010, 05:48:12 UTC
It is SO much fun! Go for it!

That said, while you CAN do 4 chickens in a tiny space, you've got to put a lot more time into cleaning them. If i had a tight space, I'd do either 2 production-bred hens (probably Buff Orpingtons, as they're more personable and easier to handle than most of the leghorn-variant breeds and americaunas) and give them as much room as possible. (With more space like I have now, I can get a reasonable number of eggs from more chickens- most of the heritage breesd aren't anywhere nearly as productive and their feed conversion ratio isn't as good- not that big of a deal if you just want the occasional egg, but if you are planning to make them your SOLE source of eggs, it's worht thinking about.)
Gina Spadafori has some great posts on Petconnection.com about her chickens that live in her small backyard in Sacramento.

And of course, Feathersite.com is TOO MUCH FUn for browsing weird chicken varieties.

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xianghua May 8 2010, 05:49:58 UTC
OH! And don't forget the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy site - http://www.albc-usa.org/

And I can't remember if you're veggie or not, but if you're not (nad you're not squeamish), raising your own meat chickens is also really low-input, green, and rewarding. And free-range, organically raised, I-know-what-it-ate-and-that-it-died-humanely chicken is WAY better tasting.

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brookiki May 8 2010, 07:08:44 UTC
Thanks for the info. I was worried that the space sounded a little small. I love animals and I think it would be really cool to have some around. My grandfather on my Mom's side (who died when I was five or six) kept chickens for eggs and made pets out of them. Overall, I really like the idea of doing it, both for the animal welfare reasons (I'd feel happier knowing the eggs came from happy chickens) and for health reasons (because the more I hear about where food comes from, the less I want to eat anything ever again).

I don't eat meat and I think even if I did, I'd have a hard time eating something I bonded with (and I would bond with it :)), but I totally agree that if I were going to eat it, knowing its history would be much better.

I'm still pretty on the fence about it and I need to do a lot more homework, but your post made it seem a lot more doable. Thanks for the links!

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xianghua May 8 2010, 13:35:24 UTC
It's interestingly easy NOT to bond with the meat breeds- they've got about as much personality as your average compost worms, unlike the layer breeds. :P (It's a moot point if you don't eat meat though- I've got carnivore pets though, and when I have more space, I intend to raise my own meat for them because I frankly can't afford humanely-sourced poultry for them in bulk. (I'm also probably predisposed NOT to bond with my food, since I'm basically the 5th generation of weekend rancher in my family who will eventually make a 'full time' job (note I did not say living) at it eventually ( ... )

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fayoreix2 May 8 2010, 06:05:33 UTC
...huevos.

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