Gardens and Chickens

[Harry]

In the last year we have really gotten into gardening and we now have a dozen chickens that are soon to become several dozen due to new arrivals. The current hens are pretty much covering us for our own eggs finally which is very nice, not so much in not having to spend $s on eggs at the store but more so for knowing where they came from. Have really taken a liking to the richness of the fresh eggs too. Going to see just how much I like butchering chickens this year and if I find it not too much trouble intend on getting to the point where we dont drop those $s on chicken either.

The wife wants to raise quail too so maybe before long we will have some of those.

Gardens should kick back in a couple months from now. Looking forward to a much larger one than we did last year.

Also along the same lines started with worms, European Nightcrawlers for the outdoor worm bin and mealworms on a shelf currently but going into the storage room on the new coop once its built. Its all been a lot of fun learning as we go and little excitements as new things pop up such as a pullet beginning to lay or mealies starting to pupate.

We are nowhere towards the self sufficiency types but finding these things not so much trouble at this point in our lives and being able to enjoy participating and the fruits is nice.

[Jammer]

We had always had chickens and ducks when I was a kid. I had to help butcher them. Probably warped me a little. We butchered pigs too.
My first little home of my own was a rental, but it had 20 acres and a barn. I had chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and a pig. The pork ended up being about $10 a pound by the time everything was added up, didn't seem very good to raise just one. The birds were great but lost several to coons and foxes.

[Harry]

The harvesting part is going to be a learning experience. We had chickens and rabbits when I was young but have very little in terms of memories of butchering. If the chickens prove to not be too much in terms of time and stress I want to provide our freezer with them not for the savings in dollars but for the knowledge of having quality meat without the additives industry uses to keep their health propped up and maximize growth.

Been having some low pressure systems dipping down lately every week or so bringing cold air with them. Here we have gone nearly the whole winter with no winter and now that it is coming on spring it wants to get cold. Put out a bunch of corn starts weekend before last and they all died, starting more in the greenhouse to replace them. Not a ton of them with less than 100 plants probably so no huge setback, we knew we were pressing things but the low temperatures have been right on the edge of killing and we have plenty of seed so getting them out extra early was worth a shot.

[Jammer]

Join the club Harry, we just had 6 inches of snow. Supposed to warm up next week, we'll see. I think Dallen is getting snow today.

[dallen]

yep if u need some more I can ship it by flat rate box

DA

[Harry]

Man you guys to the east have just gotten hammered this year while we had a springlike winter. It was this warm winter that had me hoping we would get an early jump on the growing season but every week to ten days its seems we have a cold front drop down that is just enough to kill off new plants. We put out around 100 corn starts a week or so ago that didnt make it, not a big deal as we have more starting in the greenhouse to replace them. Seed is cheap and it only takes a few minutes to set up several trays.

Will get some pictures of the garden to post in here soon, not much to look at yet.

Last year we started several dozen comfrey plants and those are popping back up. Started dividing some of them already and collecting roots, we found keeping the root pieces in a ziplock with a damp paper towel until they begin to grow leaves then plant out. The comfrey grows pretty good here in our sand and we are using it mainly for green material for composting since that is about the hardest thing for us to come by (desert/sandy), it has a deep root system so once established water requirements arent great and the chickens love it too. Planting density is 3'oc so it comes out to something like 4000 to an acre, I am planning on 1000 plants or so. This plant is prolific in growth with something like 60 to 100 tons an acre and a record 120 tons in Africa with a 120F summer.

The comfrey can be a PITA for some because it will regrow from small root fragments and is tough to remove once established so you dont want to put it anywhere unless you are certain you want it to always be there. There are also different types with some that spread by seed. We have the Bocking #4 and #14 varieties that were developed to have sterile seed so they stay put as long as you do not disturb the soil.

Lots of pretty amazing reading on the net on this plant if anyone is interested. There is some controversy on the plant as far as consumption and medicinal use though the research seems both incomplete/skewed and dated. I would certainly say take some due caution but then use common sense concerning any use for this other than compost/tea.