I think this is the beginnings of an economy based on perpetual growth and fossil fuel energy running headlong into geological energy constraints. Basically I see an undulatory downward path for the rest of my life. From here out, I think any rallies in our economic condition are going to be met with spiking commodity prices that knock us right back down.
bobaloo,
Yep, it always amuses me when someone asks if I have to have a rooster in with the hens to get eggs ... The fact that people are so far removed from their food these days is reason enough for me to believe folks will be in serious trouble if grocery stores go lacking.
Kathy
Funny, had a friend's kids (30 years old) come visit the other day, she couldn't understand why the sheep didn't run up to get petted like dogs, couldn't figure out why the chicks weren't all bright yellow, etc. Finally dawned on me that for her visiting us was like visiting Mexico, it was all strange and confusing.
Mexico....or Disney World! That's the feeling I get from visitors. Sometimes it's amusing, but more and more it's depressing.
My sister in law, who lives in north Atlanta, and is a teacher in a private school, had to teach a unit about sheep. At Easter, she was complaining that she didn't know what to say, since there's nothing sheep are used for. My sister's mouth dropped open and she said,"Think about what a sheep looks like---all fluffy?..." No clue on SIL's part. My sister says,"WOOL??!!" SIL thought (really!) that wool grew on trees. She also had no clue about lambchops, thinking that they came from lambs---an entirely different animal from sheep. And when sis went on to tell her that some sheep are milked to make cheese, SIL was absolutely flabbergasted. _________________ ncgoatgirl
http://moonmeadow.blogspot.com
My sister in law, who lives in north Atlanta, and is a teacher in a private school, had to teach a unit about sheep. At Easter, she was complaining that she didn't know what to say, since there's nothing sheep are used for. My sister's mouth dropped open and she said,"Think about what a sheep looks like---all fluffy?..." No clue on SIL's part. My sister says,"WOOL??!!" SIL thought (really!) that wool grew on trees. She also had no clue about lambchops, thinking that they came from lambs---an entirely different animal from sheep. And when sis went on to tell her that some sheep are milked to make cheese, SIL was absolutely flabbergasted.
*Speechless*
This woman is a teacher _________________ We've tried nothin' and we're all out of ideas.
I am only one. I can only do what one can do. But what one can do, I will do. -- John Seymour.
Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2005 8:59 pm Post subject: ducks in the chicken forum :)
That is truly scary.
Okay, everyone seems to be totally speechless so I thought I'd change direction - I realize this is the "chickens" thread, but I'm wondering if we can expand to other poultry ... Anyone got ducks? I now have 8 mallards - 2 adult males, and 6 one-month old babies of undetermined gender - and am brand new with them. I'll have 2 more adult females, and how ever many of their 30 eggs hatch, in about 2-3 weeks. I need help ..... advice? do's? don'ts? I've read Carla Emery's suggestions, but I'd like some real practical advice.
Thanks
Kathy
Joined: Feb 26, 2005 Posts: 107 Location: By the river
Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2005 4:02 am Post subject:
ncgoatgirl wrote:
Quote:
I have learned that roosters can get mean, no matter if you have babied them, petted them or hand feed them. (puberty maybe?)
Roosters who are babied, petted, or hand fed are much more likely to be mean and dangerous than those who aren't. This seems to be true for a lot of male animals; a bottle-fed ram is supposed to be one of the meanest, most dangerous animals you can have on a farm. (OTOH, we've had several bottle-fed buck goats, and they were always babies---very sweet natured.)
Maybe being nice was the wrong thing to do? I got that backwards, lol. I haven't had the courage to get any more roosters since because they attacked my youngest daughter when she was about 2 yo. And they were barred rocks, so kind of large. The roo also spurred my husband when he went in to "take care of the problem" I talked to a neighbor and she said she normally had to go through about a dozen roosters before she got a nice one.
Maybe being nice was the wrong thing to do? I got that backwards, lol. I haven't had the courage to get any more roosters since because they attacked my youngest daughter when she was about 2 yo. And they were barred rocks, so kind of large. The roo also spurred my husband when he went in to "take care of the problem" I talked to a neighbor and she said she normally had to go through about a dozen roosters before she got a nice one.
Yes---we just ignore the roosters when they're young---give them lots of space. Even so, we still occasionally get a mean one. When it looks like a rooster is going to be a problem, we usually start out by clipping his spurs (a bloody job)---sometimes that'll take the wind out of his sails, and he'll leave everybody alone after that. But sometimes there's nothing you can do but kill him, and get another. _________________ ncgoatgirl
http://moonmeadow.blogspot.com
We just bought three Muscovy ducks and a drake. I've heard that they are an incredible food source---they reproduce like crazy, are delicious, and will roost in trees at night, making them safer from predators than other breeds of ducks. (An interesting aside: I've read that biologists aren't certain whether Muscovies are ducks or geese----or somewhere in between!) They're the quietest, most laid back animal on the farm right now, and that's worth something!
Joined: Dec 27, 2004 Posts: 13065 Location: naive idiot fantasy world
Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2005 7:19 am Post subject:
I'm going to look into gluing wooden balls on the end of my aggressive rooster's spurs. He spiked me pretty badly once. My other two roosters are gentle so far, one enough to hold, the other is skittish and won't let me catch him, but he isn't aggressive. The aggressive rooster is a light breed (Polish) and light breeds are supposed to have more nervous temperaments. Luckily he's very small, mostly feathers. But damn is he fast!
So far all the mean roosters we've acquired have been banished or put in the stew pot. None of them, however, were mean to us - just to the other roosters. So, we had to thin them out some. Now we have 3 adult roosters - one Arucauna, one silky, and one barnyard variety. They seem to get along well. The Arucauna won't let you pick him up, but he is pretty calm, and will let you touch him. Good thing - he's about knee high on me, with very large spurs.
Speaking of spurs, if you cut them too short, they can be very bloody, but if you just take off the tips, it does hinder their "hurting" ability, and doesn't bleed nearly as much.
Quote:
What are you doing with your ducks? Food? Pets?
Well, that's the $64K question right now. Since I've only had them a couple weeks, and they were originally pets to the lady who gave them to us - I don't think these particular ducks will end up as food anytime soon, but, I'm pretty sure their offspring will. Actually I've never eaten duck - but others in my family have, and say they didn't like it. So I'm kind of torn. I hate to butcher the ducks, and then nobody like to eat them. But, they're sort of an additional insurance policy against rising grocery prices. Since we're trying to be more food self-reliant, I figure another type of poultry on the place is a good thing, and will add some food security for us when the time comes that we'll need it.
If someone could give me good recipes, I might just try them out before we need to .
Kathy
Ducks are one of the finest birds to eat, my personal favourite. I don't cook much duck, it's expensive to buy, but I plan to in the future when the farm is up and running. If you can, go to a good chinese restaurant and have crispy roast duck. Delicious!
Recipes.. well, I'll have a good look through my books. Tbh, I think duck is a tricky bird to cook well, but my God is it worth it. (I'm not a fan of game type meats, too sweet and "gamey" (lol ) for me, but duck's not at all like that). _________________ We've tried nothin' and we're all out of ideas.
I am only one. I can only do what one can do. But what one can do, I will do. -- John Seymour.
We feed around a hundred lbs a month, for around a dozen and a half eggs a day(not sure how many hens), plus broilers, ducks and geese. That's either whole corn or scratch grains---no laying pellets. We could get by this time of year without feeding any grain (we have before), but then it seems like molt comes early and hard. _________________ ncgoatgirl
http://moonmeadow.blogspot.com
Joined: Feb 26, 2005 Posts: 107 Location: By the river
Posted: Thu May 05, 2005 5:53 am Post subject:
Last year my chickens were mostly free range, except winter. Winter I would buy (about) 50 lbs cracked corn, 50 lbs scratch, 50 lbs lay ration a month. I went heavy with the corn since the girls don't have heat or light, less on the lay ration. I was still getting 4-6 eggs a day from 16 hens.
Now it's just lay/scratch, about 50 lbs each every 6 weeks. I can't let them free range because the garden is so close to them this year. I do let them out around 6 in the evening, they tend to stay closer to "home" and not get into trouble then. I get between 8 and 14 eggs a day. Oh, they also get some table scraps and things that would otherwise be composted.
I hope to cut the feed back even more if I can ever get a chicken tractor built, or a fence around the garden. I would love to grow my own grain for them, but that project will have to wait at least until next year.
Joined: Apr 03, 2004 Posts: 6976 Location: My Grandkids' Farm
Posted: Thu May 05, 2005 7:07 am Post subject:
I think chickens will eat most anything that doesn’t eat them first – ours had greasy tortillas last night, something you wouldn’t want on the compost pile. The more stuff you cook from scratch the more chicken feed you have – not many trimmings from a TV dinner. We try to move the big pen daily, though I made it too heavy and need to add wheels. I may try letting some of the cockerels out to range since they are getting pretty big.
Like everything else, we Yanks are used to grain fed young cooped birds. Certainly grain fed layers will lay more and younger meat birds may be tenderer but if you try to match the factory you are bound too lose, money wise.
Having said that, I inherited a 500-pound bag of some kind of nondescript feed mash when we bought the place, woo-hoo! But before I found that and after a bag of store-bought chick starter, I was feeding them some of the milled cattle feed (12% protein) with the larger pellets screened out. In the past I’ve fed everything from cat food to weeds.
Ideally, if you could match your herd size to your table scraps, bug population and weeds, you’d have garbage in and eggs/meat out!
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... The fact that people are so far removed from their food these days is reason enough for me to believe folks will be in serious trouble if grocery stores go lacking.
*Speechless*
so I thought I'd change direction - I realize this is the "chickens" thread, but I'm wondering if we can expand to other poultry 
... Anyone got ducks? I now have 8 mallards - 2 adult males, and 6 one-month old babies of undetermined gender - and am brand new with them. I'll have 2 more adult females, and how ever many of their 30 eggs hatch, in about 2-3 weeks. I need help 
