This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 24th, 2009 at 10:19am and is filed under Local, ranch life, Meat, Agriculture, Farming, Food Production. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
We’ve had chickens at our ranch going on three years now. I think I’m only beginning to appreciate their value to us. We got them initially to help control the grasshoppers and flies around our ranch cabin. We thought we’d get a few “yard eggs” and maybe have some extra to sell. Now, we’re planning to expand our flock by 100 hens, and have chickens follow our herd as we rotate them through the fields. The main economic benefit is still likely to be from the pest control, but egg demand is sky-rocketing, too.
At the moment, I only live at the ranch on weekends and school holidays, so I’m stuck in a suburban neighborhood during the week. I miss my chickens when I’m in town. Every time I throw food into the garbage or even put it into the compost barrel, I think about them. Our chickens eat virtually everything we don’t. Between the dog and the chickens, not much goes to waste at the ranch.
The chickens have become my boys’ main chore out at the ranch. They take pride in gathering the eggs each day, feeding them and helping keep the nest boxes freshly stocked with hay. Our latest batch of hens are Ameraucaunas, which tend to like to lay their eggs in places other than their nest boxes. So every day is like an Easter Egg hunt, especially since this breed lays green-blue eggs of varying hues.
And the taste of the eggs is out of this world! The deep golden yolks have a better nutritional profile as well.
The hens have also become an integral part of our gardening. Besides keeping insects down, we have learned that if we turn the soil a few weeks before we plant, the chickens will do a great job nipping all the little weeds that sprout and our garden is much more weed-free. They love the grubs we turn over too. I’ve got one black hen that comes running every time I head to the garden, in the hope she’ll get grubs or discarded greens. The flip side is that we’ve established a running battle with the flock to keep then out of the garden once it’s planted, but I’ve gotten pretty handy with a roll of chicken wire and some pliers.
NPR’s Morning Edition this morning reported the economy has more people looking to raising a few backyard chickens and more cities passing ordinances allowing small urban flocks.
If you’re interested in getting started, you can find plenty of help on the internet: Backyard Chickens.com is a great place to start. Mother Earth News printed a good series a few years ago, too.
February 24th, 2009 at 11:49am
i think i want some chicken love. sounds great! thanks, sara!
February 26th, 2009 at 8:19am
Yes chickens eggs are a great demand now. Chickens are cheap and easy to maintain. I am feeding my chickens with commercial chicken food and the chickens have become fat and healthy now. I wish you good luck and thanks for posting.
February 10th, 2010 at 9:07am
Hi everyone, thanks to author for nice post and useful tips. I personally love chicks and found them very useful in many way organic eggs, easy care and even just cuddle them and you feel better.
Regards
Colin