Raising Chickens
Many city folk dream of raising a few chickens in the backyard for
the farm fresh eggs. Well, it can be done and it isn't too
complicated.
A small flock of chickens can become a great living compost pile.
And with new understandings of the superiority of grass-fed organic
animal products, including higher Omega-3 fatty acids coming from
the eggs of such animals, free range chickens are showing up again
on organic small farms, backyard mini-farms, and even urban lots.
Chicken tractors are lightweight bottomless portable pens that fit
over garden beds. They can be moved through pathways that need
clearing and areas where the growing is complete for the season.
Wherever the chickens are moved, they eat pests, pest larvae and
pest eggs, and weed seeds. They aerate and churn topsoil, rip old
garden residue to shreds, and fertilize with their manure, all while
dining on an optimal free meal. The chicken tractor can become a
sort of moving compost pile, also. If the chickens’ diet it
supplemented with two popular organic gardening substances: seaweed
(such as kelp) and diatomaceous earth, their manure will also add
vital trace elements to the soil and their health will improve even
further.
The chicken tractor idea was made popular by the book,
Chicken
Tractor: The Gardener’s Guide to Happy Hens and Healthy Soil by Andy
Lee, Good Earth Publications. This book gives details on care,
feeding and the building of a variety of simple chicken tractors.
How many chickens for a backyard? Chickens have flocking instincts,
and enjoy being with members of their own kind. Three can live
happily in a smaller area. For fertile eggs it’s suggested one
rooster to every eight to twelve hens. If you can only keep three or
four, it's best to just have laying hens. Do not keep one male with
just one or two females together in a closed in area, he’ll ‘wear
them out’ (I won’t go into any more detail). Also, while some
roosters are quite docile, they can suddenly tap into their inherent
fighting instincts, plus, they have sharp spurs for fighting on
their legs. This is not a good idea around homes and neighborhoods
with children (or even adults, for that matter). If a chick grows
into a rooster that becomes a beloved pet, check with a vet about
caponizing him and removing the spurs. Your vet may not be familiar
with this procedure. In the olden days, and somewhat still, it was
done to roosters to cause them to be less active, more docile, and
become larger for future butchering. It was usually done with sharp
tools right on the farm. If a vet is willing and skilled, it could
be done humanely, although it was usually done to the males at a
young age.
Barbara Adams Author: Micro Eco-Farming: Prospering from Backyard to
Small Acreage in Partnership with the Earth (New World Publishing)
http://www.MicroEcoFarming.com
Books on Raising Chickens:
