From waldenfarm@sprintmail.com Fri Jun  4 23:23:45 1999
Date: Fri, 04 Jun 1999 11:08:08 -0400
From: Alex McGregor <waldenfarm@sprintmail.com>
To: Mark <earthspn@crocker.com>
Cc: "sanet-mg@shasta.ces.ncsu.edu" <sanet-mg@shasta.ces.ncsu.edu>
Subject: Re: STarting a flock of chickens

Mark,

I had a flock of 25 hens and a rooster in Cincinnati, 10 minutes from downtown.
I had a 250 sq. foot coop and a 500 sq. foot fenced yard- with netting on top
to stop racoons from coming in a nd chickens flying out. We fed them inmedicted
feed and weeds bad vegies from the garden. They paid their own way plus some
with sales of eggs to a local food co-op and neighbors. We also raised our own
chicks by letting one of the "good mother" hens set when she got broody- never
lost a chick.

There's a section on coop construction and organic raising in "Build it Better
Yourself" from Rodale (out of print, but I found a copy in a used book store).
Also, "The Homesteader's Handbook to Raising Small Livestock" by Jerome
Balinger, Rodale press, has a good section on chickens. I haven't seen anything
recently because I now farm in a suburban area where farm animals are
prohibited.]

Hope this helps

Alex, Walden Farm

Mark wrote:

> >After reading all the banter about chickens, and visiting the Arkansas =
> >Conservation District Chicken Composting Website (sorry, I don't have =
> >the address, but it's disgusting), I am considering raising a few =
> >'chooks' of my own.  Can someone suggest a primer on sustainable small =
> >scale (very small) production, for a suburbanite raised beginner?  I =
> >have an existing chicken coup, pasture, stream, and foxes.  Thanks.
>
> Mary,
>
> Below is one of the more complete books for backyard chicken raising.  We
> have our first six chicks (sorry, can't get myself to say 'chooks'!) about
> to go into the coop I finished last weekend.  Electric fencing is necessary
> if you have foxes (remember all those great saturday morning cartoons of
> the fox in the henhouse?).  Try Premier fencing -- they are the most
> affordable I've found.  Also consider getting some old-fashioned backyard
> birds (Dominique, Java, etc).  They are good layers, good for meat but also
> very thorough foragers.  More slow growing than the typical broiler, but
> you are not a contract grower so you can wait!
>
> Just my two egg's worth.
>
> Mark
>
> http://www.storeybooks.com/animal/897-8prim.html
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
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> An independent non-profit organization
>
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> 893 West Street
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> T: 413-559-5338
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From earthspn@crocker.com Fri Jun  4 23:26:33 1999
Date: Fri, 04 Jun 1999 10:05:57 -0400
From: Mark <earthspn@crocker.com>
To: sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu
Subject: STarting a flock of chickens

>After reading all the banter about chickens, and visiting the Arkansas =
>Conservation District Chicken Composting Website (sorry, I don't have =
>the address, but it's disgusting), I am considering raising a few =
>'chooks' of my own.  Can someone suggest a primer on sustainable small =
>scale (very small) production, for a suburbanite raised beginner?  I =
>have an existing chicken coup, pasture, stream, and foxes.  Thanks.

Mary,

Below is one of the more complete books for backyard chicken raising.  We
have our first six chicks (sorry, can't get myself to say 'chooks'!) about
to go into the coop I finished last weekend.  Electric fencing is necessary
if you have foxes (remember all those great saturday morning cartoons of
the fox in the henhouse?).  Try Premier fencing -- they are the most
affordable I've found.  Also consider getting some old-fashioned backyard
birds (Dominique, Java, etc).  They are good layers, good for meat but also
very thorough foragers.  More slow growing than the typical broiler, but
you are not a contract grower so you can wait!

Just my two egg's worth.

Mark

http://www.storeybooks.com/animal/897-8prim.html

----------------------------------------------------
Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA)
An independent non-profit organization

c/o Hampshire College
893 West Street
Amherst MA 01002-5001
T: 413-559-5338
F: 413-559-5404

To Unsubscribe:  Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command
"unsubscribe sanet-mg".  If you receive the digest format, use the command
"unsubscribe sanet-mg-digest".
To Subscribe to Digest: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command
"subscribe sanet-mg-digest".

All messages to sanet-mg are archived at:
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