Do any of you raise poultry of any kind?

[Anonymous 14]

Call me a redneck if you feel the need, but I’m curious if any of you raise your own chickens/turkeys/guineas/etc for eggs or meat.

My flock consists of Buff Orpington & Barred Rock chickens, 8 cornish cross meat birds and a hen & tom standard white turkeys. Also have 5 guineas..more for security as they make excellent alert animals. Loud as loud can be over anything foreign on the property.

I also am incubating the eggs I’m getting versus selling them or eating them to stock up my deep freeze and to get more eggs in the future. My loyal German Shorthair did a number on my chickens a few months back so I chose incubation instead of buying from the local farm store.

I’ve found this to be a very, very satisfying hobby. I do enjoy it so. Best part, it’s mostly free food if you discount cost for feed, but being a farmer, the corn is my own. Granted, feed does cost quite a bit of coin. I recommend purchasing it at your local farmers cooperative if able.

[OldBillParticipant]

Egg layers sound interesting, but I couldn’t raise pullets. Just don’t have the heart to do it.

I can’t hunt anymore either.

Do not date. Do not impregnate. Do not co-habitate. Above all, do not marry. Reclaim and never again surrender your personal sovereignty.

[Anonymous 42]

One chicken, two turkeys, my dogs killed all the chicks for my new flock last spring. (kicks dog)

[X11Spectator 4520]

Never raised chickens, in my area chickens bring rats, rats bring snakes, snakes me no like.

As I age I am finding it hard to eat meat. Factory farming is horrific. Most likely will become vegan.

Chickens are cool tho.

Geese apparently make good guardians.

[GregB0Participant]

Collected eggs during high school, also had seven guineas that protected two households, great uncle caught roosters and I helped team mates collect chickens annually for harvesting.

I still hate the smell of brute that we used to cover the ammonia smell so we could go to school.

Have several former Army Commanders who have started the backyard chicken farm concept.

One spent $7,000.00 on a coupe that we call the Taj MaCoupe. Unbelievable what he built into it.

Thanks for the great memories and good luck with da boids.

​"​My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.​" - Clarence Buddinton Kelland

[Anonymous 14]

OldBill wrote:

Egg layers sound interesting, but I couldn’t raise pullets. Just don’t have the heart to do it.

I can’t hunt anymore either.

Greetings OldBill. I can relate, believe me. I used to be a deer and turkey hunter. Can’t do it anymore. I’d much rather watch them, plus I have some major fractures in my entire spine from atv wrecklessness (used to own an ’87 Honda 250R bored & blueprinted).
Raising birds is different though. I recently butchered the extra roosters I had from a straight run order. Got a 3 to 1 pullet to rooster ratio which is rather unheard of. Ordered thru McMurray Hatchery and I highly recommend them to anyone. Good people there. I did have a difficult time with the butchering part, but thankfully, I have a neighbor whom helped me with that task. I had to MAN up though even with the help, but it was ok for me as far as handling it emotionally.
The eggs are totally worth it imo. All of mine are brown egg layers. Quite tasty and have even had a few double yolks.
Would you explain why it would be difficult for raising pullets? I want to make sure we are on the same page.

[GregB0Participant]

X11 wrote:

Never raised chickens, in my area chickens bring rats, rats bring snakes, snakes me no like.

As I age I am finding it hard to eat meat. Factory farming is horrific. Most likely will become vegan.

Chickens are cool tho.

Geese apparently make good guardians.

Geese are crazy guard birds, especially when there are several.

Jurassic Park raptors have nothing on them, except for teeth and claws.

​"​My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.​" - Clarence Buddinton Kelland

[Anonymous 14]

Anonymous wrote:

One chicken, two turkeys, my dogs killed all the chicks for my new flock last spring. (kicks dog)

Big T, we gotta love our dogs man. Hope you forgave him. Mine also got my Royal Palm Tom (was planning on using him to breed with my white hen for a cross).

[Anonymous 14]

X11 wrote:

Never raised chickens, in my area chickens bring rats, rats bring snakes, snakes me no like.

As I age I am finding it hard to eat meat. Factory farming is horrific. Most likely will become vegan.

Chickens are cool tho.

Geese apparently make good guardians.

I can totally relate to where you are coming from X11. Fwiw, I have a plethera of farm kitties that control the mice and moles. Black snakes are welcome of course as they eat mice, but I did catch a copperhead going into the machine shop 2 months back. Bit freaked out over that one. My problem with geese is they s~~~ everywhere. My guineas are confined as I am waiting for them to mature. Hoping to hatch their eggs. My so called farm cats decapitated 14/20 as they stuck their little heads thru the very little holes in the pen. Still a bit p~~~ed on that but I couldn’t blame my kitties, tis in their blood.

[Anonymous 14]

GregBO, I use peat moss in my coop and clean it out with a bleach down regularly. Spread the manured peat moss on my lawn and it is the greenest in my county. Bitch to mow it every 3 days though 😛

[OldBillParticipant]

GregB0 wrote:

Geese are crazy guard birds, especially when there are several.

Rome used them are guards/alarm systems for centuries. There was a flock of sacred geese in the Temple of Juno on Capitoline Hill for nearly 1000 years.

Legend has it they gave the alarm when the Gauls, who had occupied the lower city, tried to assault the final Roman defenses on the Capitoline.

Do not date. Do not impregnate. Do not co-habitate. Above all, do not marry. Reclaim and never again surrender your personal sovereignty.

[X11Spectator 4520]

As long as people do it as a personal hobby it makes sense.

Anyone thinks they can save money growing their own plants and animals for food are mistaken.

[Anonymous 14]

X11 wrote:

As long as people do it as a personal hobby it makes sense.

Anyone thinks they can save money growing their own plants and animals for food are mistaken.

It’s more about what is in them than saving money for me. If you feed them, you know what they are made of. The crap at the stores around here..I’d rather not know what they are fed..likely their own kind. Cue the X-Files episode “Our Town”.

[743 roadmasterParticipant]

Yep, Turkeys and Chickens
Turkeys Beltsville small white. Did not do well in the Louisiana heat. After half of them died I killed the other so not to take a total loss.

Chickens Marans. Did well in the heat. Nice production. Dark brown shell on egg. After sitting down and figuring feed cost vs eggs it was cheaper just to go buy from the store. So the chickens ended up in the freezer also.
If I do it again going to go with orpington, higher egg production.

mgtow is its own worst enemy- https://www.campusreform.org/

[X11Spectator 4520]

Have become fairly well educated on food labelling being a RAW feeder to my dogs.

If the public took a minute to educate themselves on how food is produced they would be traumatised into veganism.

Prolly will get chickens etc, I think I can deny my vegan leanings if I raise and kill animals with my own hands, ethics etc.

SRS how many people know how to read ingredients and nutrition labels properly, very small minority I believe.

Then there is how farm animals are raised….

Is the US ag gag still law to ban media from agriculture??

People should ask why gov would legislate an ag gag.

[Anonymous 14]

743 roadmaster wrote:

Yep, Turkeys and Chickens
Turkeys Beltsville small white. Did not do well in the Louisiana heat. After half of them died I killed the other so not to take a total loss.

Chickens Marans. Did well in the heat. Nice production. Dark brown shell on egg. After sitting down and figuring feed cost vs eggs it was cheaper just to go buy from the store. So the chickens ended up in the freezer also.
If I do it again going to go with orpington, higher egg production.

Roadmaster, you get the +30% bonus to egg production from the buff orpingtons if you cross them with another breed. Same with Barred Rocks fwiw.

[Anonymous 14]

Spot on X11. +1

[743 roadmasterParticipant]

Anonymous wrote:

743 roadmaster wrote:

Yep, Turkeys and Chickens
Turkeys Beltsville small white. Did not do well in the Louisiana heat. After half of them died I killed the other so not to take a total loss.

Chickens Marans. Did well in the heat. Nice production. Dark brown shell on egg. After sitting down and figuring feed cost vs eggs it was cheaper just to go buy from the store. So the chickens ended up in the freezer also.
If I do it again going to go with orpington, higher egg production.

Roadmaster, you get the +30% bonus to egg production from the buff orpingtons if you cross them with another breed. Same with Barred Rocks fwiw.

The record for production is an Orpington, almost one egg a day for a whole year.

In Louisiana high heat and very humid. Stress on the animals only going to get so much production.
If I do it again will build a tractor and have most of it covered. But for right now,…have other irons in the fire.

mgtow is its own worst enemy- https://www.campusreform.org/

[CarnageParticipant 22113]

General kenobi put a double fence, 3-4 inches away from the enclosure.

That will prevent the cats from reaping heads off.

To those following me, be careful, I just farted. Men those beans are killers.

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