This textbook scenario is the very reason many chickenkeepers give up on a flock of cuddly pet chickens and settle for the usual transactional relationship: food and lodging in exchange for eggs.If this is your experience, I’m here to assure you that it is perfectly possible to transform a standoffish flock into a highly friendly one.

Even if you have no desire for pet chickens, but are a homestead reliant on chickens to sustain your family, it cannot be overstated how valuable it is to have a flock that trusts you.

In the event of injury or illness in the flock, or the need to sell or relocate a chicken, your own sanity and the chicken’s frayed nerves will benefit from a little trust.

Forging a bond with your flock at the chick stage could not be simpler. Like any relationship, you’ll be investing time.

Sit with them in a contained play area where they are free to explore and grow accustomed to your presence.

Pick them up periodically throughout the day. Do so gently, never squeezing or making them feel restricted. If they are distressed, open your hands and allow them to hop out.

Keep your hand firm enough not to drop them, but loose enough that they do not feel you are restraining them. You may want to allow them to stand in your hand and shelter them with the other. This is a good way to not only show the chick that she is safe and in control, but you also begin truly stepping into the role of the mother hen.

If the chicks were to be raised by a hen, the hen would be the place of safety from any dangers and cold. They would gather under her wings, knowing they are completely safe.

By gently placing your hand over them, like a mother’s wing, you are telling them, “I am a safe place”.

This is, of course, the easy part.

But what happens when your flock becomes a group of hormonal teenagers, and they are upgraded to new living arrangements, where they so much enjoy their freedom that they forget all about the lovely bond you so carefully cultivated, only for them to never call or write, and for all intents and purposes, you cease to exist in their lives?

Joking aside, moving house is stressful. And stressed-out chickens will restructure the pecking order in the interest of survival. This usually results in editing out of the ranks the loving chickenkeeper who did not move house with them.

But this does not mean that all of your efforts were in vain. They have not forgotten you, nor your bond. Chickens are highly intelligent and scientifically evidenced to be empathetic and capable of love.

But they will need to be reassured that you are the same place of safety and you aren’t abandoning them.

The day after you move them into the coop, do not become discouraged with their suddenly sittish or aloof behavior. Resist the urge to chase after them. This will be seen as aggressive and result in a knee-jerk flight response.

Chickens are prey animals, so it is vitally important that they feel safe and in control. View it from their perspective.

The ancestors of our backyard flocks grew up in harsh jungle environments with no shelter and very little defense against every creeping thing in the shade of the trees that had the taste for chicken.

Even now, there are many dangers for the backyard flock. While the lucky chickens of Hawaii may have very little to worry about, the dangers in my area include owls, hawks, eagles, weasels, coyotes, neighborhood dogs, foxes, raccoons, possums, skunks, and bears.

They have every reason to lead with mistrust. They can’t afford not to be scanning for danger.

But that makes you especially valuable to them. You can be their safe place. You can be the trusted protector that they rely on.

The key to showing them that you are not out to harm them is to establish yourself as a non-aggressive mainstay of their environment, and avoid any behaviors that their predators would do, such as chasing and squeezing them.

If you need to quickly gather up your chickens, do not chase them, and keep your emotions even. If you are stressed, they will be too.

The following information is applicable regardless of whether the birds you are hoping to establish a friendly relationship with are hormonal pullets you raised or full-grown chickens that you have adopted.

Spend time in the run with them, or in the yard where they free range. Be a safe, calm fixture in their environment.

Rather than simply throwing their chicken feed to them, maybe strew some enticing snacks around where you are sitting. Chickens are highly food-motivated, so they will probably be willing to get closer to you, but don’t interact with them at first.

Show them that you are safe and you are not out to eat them. Over time, the boldest of the birds will likely dare to jump into your lap. And once one has broken the ice, the queens of FOMO that chickens are, the others will follow. Just give it time.

Especially skittish birds may require more time to decide you are safe. This is okay, give them time. Give them patience. Bonds are not formed in an instant.

Pick your chickens up periodically over time. If a hen does not feel she is held securely, she may squirm. Try holding her in a different way that makes her feel safe and secure. If a hen is reluctant to be picked up, what you learned about holding baby chicks applies to grown hens. Allow her to stand in your lap and hold her with a relaxed grip that she understands she has the full ability to leave if she chooses. Over time, your flock will be running up to you, not just for treats, but for hugs.

That is all to say, the secret to cuddly chickens is, unsurprisingly, trust. Trust: the cornerstone of any healthy relationship.

With that in mind, even if your strategy for establishing it differs, you can reach a great bond with your flock. Remember to consider how a chicken would view your behaviors and be patient with them as they weigh you against their instinctual scrutiny.

Chickens are, in my mind, some of the finest pets available, and I firmly believe that everyone, everywhere should be able to keep chickens, and maybe someday, it could be a reality. Whether you want to keep chickens for your homesteading needs or you just want a delightful flock of birds for pets, chickens are up for the task.

The post The Secret to Cuddly Chickens appeared first on Homestead.org.

However, we found ourselves continuously tweaking the design to incorporate new features aimed at making tending our flock a little bit easier.  Recently, we were asked to design and build a chicken coop for our vegetable CSA farm.  We looked at our original design and all the features we added over the last five years.  We also considered how we ended up with our current design because not all of those new features worked out the first time.  There was some (read: a lot) of trial and error.  While the chicken coop at our CSA farm benefited from our years of continuous improvements, it occurred to me that it would have been nice to incorporate some of these improvements from the start or at least know why some coops are designed a certain way.

This is by no means an exhaustive summary of all chicken-coop design consideration, but, instead, some of the things we found important to our lifestyle.  With busy schedules, running our own consultancies, going to night school, and keeping neighbors content about chickens in an urban setting, these features turned out to be essential for simplifying our chicken-keeping lives.  For us, things like quick cleanability, easy access to coop and run areas for servicing, sealing for pests and predators, winterization, and automation were important to us.  In case of that extended vacation, we also wanted it to be uncomplicated for our neighbors to take care of the chickens.  To us, that meant daily egg collection with minimal servicing needs.

Before starting on your own chicken coop design project, decide what kind of coop fits your needs.  I put coop styles into three categories—tractors, stationary, and free-range.

Well, the last is not so much of a coop design, but it is a choice on how to maintain your flock.  It is possible to provide minimal protection for your chickens and allow them to free range in a backyard.  They will destroy any unprotected gardening and are susceptible to predators like large birds, coyotes, and even neighborhood pets.  Keep in mind, chickens fly, but do not take flight.  They can easily jump and flap their way over a 4-6-foot barrier.  In an urban setting with coyotes and large birds near a throughway with no yard fence, free-range was not an option for us.

A tractor coop is a chicken coop on wheels that is easily moved from place to place to provide chickens with a fresh patch of ground to feed and scratch in.  These are great if you are looking for a way to use your chickens for aerating soil, but it is not for manicured lawns.  It is tempting to build a tractor “just in case” you might want to move it, but parts that are supposed to move may no longer move after long, stationary periods out in the elements.  Rubber wheels, lubricated bearings, and axles can degrade from exposure causing irreversible damage.  So, only build a tractor if you plan to use it and maintain it.

Stationary coops are best if you are looking for a semi-permanent structure that might be moved periodically. They lack wheels and a foundation is not necessary for a backyard flock.  An open bottom gives the birds access to the ground for scratching and pecking.  Most are not permanent structures and they can be moved periodically as needed.  We added four sturdy handles to allow four strong people to move the coop across the backyard with only a modest effort.

We have eight raised beds and getting a tractor onto those beds is just not practical, so we have a stationary coop.  However, we do want our chickens to aerate our beds, eat vine-borer grubs, and leave some fertilizer.  In addition to composting the bedding and soil, we pen our hens on each bed at the start of the season.

The needs of backyard hens are pretty basic.  Industrial chickens operations take this notion to an extreme, but once chickens have access to food and water with some protection from the elements and predators, the rest of the coop design is about convenience for owners.  Chickens will lay eggs anywhere.  The nesting area is a space to encourage chickens to lay eggs so we can easily find them.  We do not walk our chickens on a leash.  The run is an area where they get fresh air, scratch and peck and hunt for worms off-leash.  They do not sleep in our house; the coop keeps the chickens safe at night protected from predators and elements.

Our original coop design is pretty straightforward.  The 8’ by 4’ footprint is framed by 2”x4”s.  The cuts were selected to maximize lumber usage such as completely using a 12′ board with 8’ and 4’ cuts or two 6’ cuts.  The center-peaked roof uses a single sheet of plywood as do the coop and nesting walls.  The nesting box was built separately with an internal frame allowing it to be screwed onto the main coop.  It is divided into three 12” x 12” x 12” spaces, which is more than ample for four hens. The run and the coop are accessed through simple hinged doors for cleaning and servicing. The nesting box is easily accessed through a hinged lid for egg collection and cleaning.  The perches were made from 2”x2” fencing.  We used galvanized dryer vents for coop ventilation. 

We were advised that our neighborhood is frequented by coyotes, raccoons, and large predatory birds, so, we implemented several features for predator protection.  To keep raccoons from reaching into the enclosure, the run was enclosed with ½” by ½” hardware cloth stapled every six inches.  We gave our hens a safe, enclosed coop to sleep in and added a nested, sliding, garage door to close them in the coop at night.  The garage door was manually operated with a rope and cleat requiring the coop to be closed at night and opened in the morning.

Our flock would often decide to sleep on the perches in the run.  Whether this was because they could not see well enough to get into the coop or they just wanted to enjoy the fresh air, sleeping outside thwarted the multi-layered nighttime defenses from predators.  So, one of the first features we added was a coop light.  We simply plugged in the light at night and unplugged it when we closed the coop door.

However, given our chickens are not so interested in sleeping in, ever.  We found getting up early to open the coop cut into our weekend.  So, we decided to automate not only the coop door, but also the light.  While we were at it, we also added a socket for a screw-in heater inside the coop.  Automating the light was a simple matter of adding a mechanical timer switch.  For the heater, we used a simple temperature controller.  When the coop temperature drops below 40°F, the heater automatically kicks in to keep the coop warm.  To automate the door, we opted to buy a commercial coop motor and timer.

Our most recent change swapped a heated waterer with an automatic waterer.  The heated waterer proved to be a necessity for New England winters, but keep in mind, they need electricity.  The automatic waterer simple device has a gravity activated valve and it screws into a water hose. When the waterer is full, the valve shuts off the water.  As it falls low, the valve opens.

Now, the coop door opens at 6:00 AM and closes at 10:00 PM; the light turns on at sunset and off at 11:00 PM; the heat turns on at 40°F and there is a constant supply of fresh water.  Of course, the automation did not get installed without a few hiccups.

On a few occasions, we found the glass infrared-heater shattered.  It appears our chickens like to peck at it.  We have since replaced that with a ceramic heater.  We opted to build our own garage door out of wood.  Wood does not slide against wood really well, so it took several adjustments and a few failure-to-opens to get it moving consistently.  Wood also changes with weather and time, so there are additional tweaks with seasons.  To avoid this tweaking, we will purchase a commercial door, slides, motor, and timer for our CSA farm.  There are several all metal options available for this.

We only just installed the automatic waterer last month.  It seems simple enough, but it did involve new valves and splitters at our water hose.  We also learned there is a sweet-spot to the valve adjustment.  An improperly adjusted valve causes the water to either continuously flow or never fill.  I also expect winter to present some new challenges as well; freezing may send us back to the heated waterer.

Since we had not anticipated adding so much automation, the coop did not have a protected space for some of the equipment.  We decided to turn one of our nesting boxes into a utility closet.  The utility closet houses electrical outlets with a breaker switch and the mechanical and electrical timers.  Even if you do not plan to automate your coop to this extent, you should consider how electricity may be accessed and the rules in your municipality.  You might also consider options like solar panels which are also available with automated coop doors.

All that automation may sound like a lot of work, but ultimately, it simplified our lives tremendously.  Not only did it allow us to get extra shut-eye, but it also made traveling easier to manage.  Except for collecting eggs, the chickens no longer needed daily service.

The automation also made it easy for neighbors of all ages to take care of our chickens when we were away.  As a matter of fact, it made neighbors happy to take care of our chickens when we were away.  For some reason, the simple responsibility of opening the door and turning on the light made some neighbors a little nervous about caring for the chickens.  What if they forget?  What if they do something wrong?  What if the chickens need something more?  After automation, the task seemed less daunting.  It was more of a daily egg treasure-hunt than a daily chicken chore.

Since kids at the CSA farm were going to be taking on the chicken chores, we realized we could make it easier to clean the coop.  The indoor coop is off the ground to prevent nighttime predators from simply digging under the coop.  Since the area under the coop is part of the run, the footprint is also used more efficiently.  However, the best feature is the slid out floor allowing quick coop cleaning.  Our original design was a framed piece of plywood that slides through the coop door (see photo).  This worked great and was really simple, but cleaning was not as easy as it could be.   The floor must be slide all the way out or tipped up to clean.  The hidden nooks and crannies around the frame could also house pests and dirt that are hard to remove.  For the new design, we opted for a piece of plywood cut to size with a grab handle.  Without the frame around the edges, the floor only needs to be pulled out about a foot and the dirty coop materials are quickly swept into the run.  Six-year olds are doing this.

For the nesting boxes, the stand alone internal frame design was easy to assembly, but it created a low wall between the coop and the nesting boxes.  This is not a big deal, but it does trap some material in the nesting boxes during cleaning.  The new coop was made with an external frame and a slanted floor.  This eliminated the low wall and allows the nesting material to be easily swept into the coop for cleaning.

The final improvement we made for the cleanability of our coop was sealing the interior surfaces better.  We found out the hard way how many little critters can build a home in every nook and cranny inside the coop.  And during a cold winter, a warm coop is a very attractive place for a critter to squat.  Last winter brought on a pretty nasty mite invasion in our coop and ultimately, on our chickens.  After a deep cleaning in the coop to rid it of mites, we added generous coating polyurethane to all surfaces and caulked all corners with silicone.  This generous coating of polyurethane and well sealed corners now allows us to periodically hose out the whole thing.

Now, cleaning the coop and feeding the chickens takes around 20-30 minutes a week.  Additionally, since it is so easy to clean the coop, we do it more often and more thoroughly.  This keeps infestations at bay and our chickens healthier.  The cleanliness and lack of smell also keeps our neighborhood happier.

On somewhat of a whim, we built a chicken coop and bought a small flock of chickens five years ago.  It has been a lot of fun and a great learning experience.  As you can see, it is an ever-evolving process, but each new improvement makes keeping chickens a seamless part of our life except we get much tastier eggs for it!

The post Designing A Chicken Coop: A Work in Progress appeared first on Homestead.org.

Anyone who finds themselves living in the country for more than a few days will discover this statement to be true.  In nature, as witnessed by living close to it, there’s a right—or optimal, at least—time for every task or adventure.  A time to plant and harvest crops, or to trim trees, to dig ponds, to pick mushrooms, or to go fishing.  Likewise, spend any amount of time outdoors, and you’ll realize there are seasons of the year or hours of the day when animals are more active than other times.

For instance, spring is the time to watch for wild turkeys because the North American wild turkey mates in early spring.  Most of the year, turkeys are elusive and tend to hang out with their own sub-groups.  Mature males (called gobblers or Toms) tend to hang with other males, while females (known as hens) can often be found keeping with other females and any young.  Immature males (called jakes) move in groups with their other immature buddies.  But for a few weeks each year—starting in about early April and running through mid-May—both males and females can be heard and seen calling, strutting, and posturing for the attention of the opposite sex.  It’s a great time to peer into the world of an animal often all but unseen the rest of the year.

The North American Wild Turkey is a close relative of the species of domestic turkey often seen picking and strutting around rural homesteads.  Oftentimes, domestic birds are white and grow quite large.  Wild turkeys are usually dark in color, covered in dark brown or black feathers that sometimes have a copper glisten in the sunlight.  The coloration works amazingly well at letting the big birds blend almost mystically into their surroundings and slip away undetected.  Anyone who spends a lot of time in the woods has likely seen anywhere from one to a half-dozen mature birds seemingly appear out of nowhere as they catch a glimpse of movement and look closer to find a small number of birds spreading out and working their way across a hillside or up an old abandoned roadway.  Also, you can be watching those birds and look away for a moment, or blink, and then look back and, if the birds have stopped to pick a bug or seed, they’ll seem to have melted into the backdrop —until they begin to walk again.

Gobblers will usually have a reddish colored neck and head.   They’ll also often have red “wattles”, dangling folds of skin that protrude from just beneath the beak and down the front of the upper neck.  In honesty, if you envisioned “magnificent” or “majestic”, well, a wild turkey probably wouldn’t come to mind.

Depending on where you live, but especially in the eastern half of the United States, you can spot small to large flocks of wild turkeys picking bugs and seeds in fields and wooded field edges throughout the year.  Odds are that what you’ll see most often will be hens with their young, or sometimes small flocks of jakes.  Human teenagers tend to hang out in groups… and the same holds true for teenager turkeys.  A lot of wild animals feed twice a day, just after sunup and just before sunset.  That’s when you’re most likely to see these groups of hens or jakes wander out of the woods and into fields.

Turkeys usually feed as they meander along, picking and stopping to look around.  While they can fly short distances, their best defense is staying alert.  Sometimes birds will find an area where the grass is sparse—often a tractor lane around a field edge—and squat down to rest their underside in the dirt and flap their wings, pitching dust up onto their backs.  The dusting helps keep down annoying bugs while also providing a cooling effect.

Okay, we’ve established that spring turkeys are unique birds to watch in the first part of the year, but not only are they more visible now, but they’re more vocal as well.  Much of the year, you might spot a few birds feeding in a field or sneaking through the woods, but you’ll rarely hear anything from them; that’s not the case in the springtime.

Turkeys have their own language.  They gobble and cluck; cutt and purr; putt and cackle; even kee-kee and whine on occasion.  While I’m not some kind of turkey whisperer, I know that centuries of observation and decades of dedicated research have revealed a little about what some of those vocalizations mean.  With spring turkeys, it’s usually all about love talk.  Here’s my best Dr. Joyce Brothers or Dr. Phil interpretation of what’s being said:

First, turkeys roost in trees at night.  When sunup comes, they awake and start looking for the first mate of the day.  A male will stretch its ol’ neck out and give a good hearty gobble.  The goal is to let the ladies (the hens) within hearing range know that the man of the woods is awake and ready for some action.  Ironically, an eager gobbler can be “triggered” into gobbling by the hoot of an owl, the bark of a dog, the gobbling of another male, or even the slamming of a truck door.  Turkey hunters will often use artificial calls, operated by the mouth or a rubber bellows, to help locate roosting gobblers during early morning hours.

Hens will make constant noise as they go about their daily life.  Listen closely, and you can hear them cluck and cackle.  Sometimes, while feeding, they’ll purr, kee-kee, or make a small whining noise.  When a male gobbles—which can be heard from a mile or more away—females in the neighborhood will often yelp in reply.  This is yet another kind of locator call.  As with humans, the males tend to do most of the pursuing of the opposite sex.  Willing females will yelp to let the eager man know they’re willing to “hook up”, but it’s up to him to close the gap and seal the deal.

So, the male will hear the female’s reply and often set out in her direction.  As said before, the sounds of turkeys can carry for hundreds of yards or more.  If the male hasn’t already flown down from the roost, which can create an impressive racket on its own, he’ll quickly pick out a flight path and find his way to the ground.  Likely, he’ll gobble again, just to make sure he’s still connected and can hone in on his new girlfriend now that he’s firmly on terra firma.  She’ll usually reply with more yelps.  Over the next few minutes, which can seem like an eternity to the casual bystander, the gobbler (sometimes accompanied by a friend or two, or a small team of jakes eager to get in the game) will work his way toward the gentle replies of the female.

This is where hunters, and even photographers, gain a strategic advantage in the spring.  The goal is to be able to sound like a love-starved female bird and be able to draw a male to within range of rifle or camera.  The same actions that make turkeys easy prey can make them entertaining to observe.

Now, this is where the real dance begins; for me, the show starts from the vantage point out the kitchen window or from the lawn chair in the backyard.  When the gobbler closes the gap of 50 yards or so he’ll sometimes begin calling more aggressively.  As the female all but ignores him completely, the big fellow will start to try getting her attention in other ways.  One tactic is to utilize an air sack in his chest to make a spitting noise by quickly expelling air in a quick burst.  Or maybe he will make a low-pitched drawn-out growl, called “drumming”.  At the same time, he’ll tense up, tuck his head and neck back into his chest, and plump up his body feathers.  He’ll fan out his tail feathers in a display that makes him look much larger and more impressive.

The big bird will strut around in half circles and back and forth, drumming and spitting in an effort to show his dominance and need for attention.  Sometimes he’ll break out of the strut and stretch his neck out and stick his head way ahead of his body and let go with a big, “Goobbbllllleeeee”.  Then he’ll return to his strut position and go back to drumming, spitting, and doing the dance.  As long as the intended female stays attentive, he’ll eventually ease his way closer until he jumps on for some action.  The whole scene can get pretty graphic for the first-time witness.

A little earlier we talked about the looks of the gobblers versus hens.  Young males will also look different than either mature males or females.   The loose, wrinkly flesh on a male’s head and neck can range anywhere from blue in color to blood red depending on his mood and temperament at the moment.  He also has a fleshy flap of skin that protrudes above his beak called a “snood”.  When the big guy gets worked up—angry or otherwise—the snood, and other fleshy wads of skin called “caruncles”, can fill with blood and change colors.  He has a couple other characteristics that tend to identify him as a man.  Males usually grow beards from their upper chest.  Juvenile birds will have shorter beards, while old males may have as many as three going at a time.

Another way to identify a mature gobbler from a jake is the tail feathers.  A youngster will have longer tail feathers showing when he fans them out to strut, and the feathers on either side of the fan may not extend to a point parallel to the ground or beyond.  Mature males will have a full tail fan of feathers of nearly equal length—a sure sign of maturity.  One more thing: while all turkeys have three long toes extending forward and a short one facing to the rear, males will also have a fifth growth extending from the back of each leg.  These “spurs” aid if fighting, and their length, along with the length of the beard, are bragging rights for hunters who harvest wild birds for dinner.

As with most creatures, there are occasional anomalies.  Like you might find at a circus sideshow, in the turkey world, there’ll be the occasional bearded lady.  In some sub-species of the birds as many as 20 to 25 percent of females will sport beards.  And occasionally a female will make “gobble” calls, and males will “cutt” and “purr”.

Wild turkeys can range upward of 30 pounds, but in most areas of the Midwest and southern United States a 25-plus-pound gobbler is considered a great bird.  Hens will run smaller, generally, and jakes will put on mass as they mature to “gobbler” status.  All turkeys are capable of flight, but usually in short bursts.  Limiting air travel to a couple tenths of a mile at a time, at most, the awkward-looking birds can reach speeds in excess of 50 miles per hour.  Most of the time, they’ll only fly while moving from the ground to a tree limb and back for roosting at night.

Do you think you have turkeys roosting on your property but can’t get close enough to check them out?  Look beneath the tree canopy for turkey manure.  Large, long droppings that are white, brown, or black in color indicate turkeys are using the trees overnight.  If some of those droppings are shaped like the letter “J”, then you have proof you have at least one male in the crowd.

And what are those birds eating as they pick their way through the back-40 acres?  Most likely, they’re foraging for seeds, berries, insects, or worms.  They’ll also enjoy the occasional small lizard or snake.  In the woods, they often munch on acorns, hickory nuts, berries, pinyon pine nuts, and other hard mast.  Sometimes they even eat grass.  Talk about a varied diet.

The list of enemies for wild turkeys is long.  Most adult birds fall prey to coyotes, domestic dogs, foxes, or large cats (bobcats, cougars, et cetera).  Young birds and eggs are dining fodder for everything from snakes to rodents to raccoons and opossums.   From the air, they must be on guard against owls and eagles.   On the ground the list also includes skunks, groundhogs, and… humans.  Hunters account for a small percentage of life lost; the most decline comes from humans encroaching on good nesting and ranging habitat.   That doesn’t mean humans and turkeys can’t share the country life.  They’ve cohabitated for all of history, and watching birds come up into the yard to feed is great entertainment, especially this time of year.

The post Spring Turkeys appeared first on Homestead.org.

All domestic chickens are descended from their wild ancestor, the Red Jungle Fowl.  Breeding season for the Red Jungle Fowl usually occurs in the late winter or spring.   The Red Jungle Fowl will typically lay about a dozen eggs and will incubate them for 18 – 20 days.  Although domestic laying hens have been bred to produce an egg almost daily, it does not detract from their broodiness.  To the contrary, if a hen is allowed to lay a full clutch of about a dozen eggs, without having the eggs removed, she will usually decide to incubate them.  If a healthy, happy domestic hen is left to her own devices, she will typically lay three or four clutches of eggs a year and hatch all of the eggs.

Chicken owners should consider their birds’ natural wild instincts when it comes to egg laying.  A hen, like any other bird, will not be looking for a place to lay your breakfast… she will be looking for a suitable place to hatch her eggs.  She will leave each egg once laid because she will want to lay about a dozen before starting to incubate them.  This way all the chicks hatch on the same day.  It is, therefore, necessary to provide hens with suitable nests for hatching, even if you remove the eggs before they accumulate.  If the hen doesn’t think she has a safe, comfortable, private place to hatch her chicks, she simply won’t lay, or her laying may be sporadic and in different places. If left in the wild, a hen will choose a private, confined place on the ground to lay, such as beneath a big pile of brush.  Remember also that when a hen is laying, she is 100% vulnerable, even more so than at night when she can’t see.  A laying bird is the equivalent of a woman giving birth.  If a predator (which includes humans) tries to catch her while laying, she is helpless to flee.  For this reason, a hen will prefer to be completely obscured while laying.

Do not underestimate the intelligence of chickens.  Many people mistakenly believe chickens are stupid because they don’t fly or because they are cute and comical to watch.  Penguins share these traits and are accepted as an extremely intelligent animal with complex and intricate social behavior. It is true that through inbreeding, the IQ of many chickens has diminished.  Chickens that are allowed to inbreed can be observed as becoming more dependent on humans for their survival, less skilled at foraging for food, and less adept at flying into trees to roost.  Unless raised as pets, chickens should be energetic and feisty.  Bred properly, chickens are highly intelligent survivors.

Chickens are also cunning.  My hens are well aware that I expect them to lay eggs for my use, and indeed, that I will go searching for their eggs in likely hiding places if they don’t lay in the boxes I provide.  Some of my hens have been known to lay an egg in the laying-box every other day, as usual, only for me to discover that the same hen has been gathering eggs under a brush pile in the forest!  These hens have devised a carefully thought-out plan: they are broody, and they don’t want me to come searching for their hidden eggs, so they humor me by laying, alternately, an egg for me and an egg for their clutch.

Chickens also carry out complex social interactions.  They develop meaningful friendships and partnerships.  Many people think you put one rooster with five or six hens and there you have it.  A closer study will reveal that the hens establish a clear pecking order with one hen establishing herself as alpha hen, and the rooster’s “first wife,” so to speak.  If possible, she will roost beside him at night and will get first pickings of any tasty tidbit he finds while foraging.  Chickens have a sense of humor, they like to have fun, they fall in love, and they pine for lost ones.

I have a hen who gets a kick out of taunting the dog.  Everyday, Goldie hides in the collards beside the fenced-in dog run, waiting for the dog to come out.  When the dog comes to the fence to watch the chickens, Goldie leaps out of the bushes, and zooms to and fro along the fence while the dog chases her on the other side, barking with frustration. Her behavior is no different from that of a Dachshund which teases a Rottweiler through a fence because he knows it can’t catch him!  I have a three-month-old rooster whose life revolves around playing pranks on his younger brother and sister.  He’ll follow them around all day just so that when they take a nap, he can creep up and peck them before running off.

There are some truly monogamous partnerships between my chickens wherein a rooster abstains from mating any hen besides his chosen mate, and will fight voraciously to protect her from other roosters.  I’ve seen an alpha hen get broody and raise chicks, only to discover when the chicks are grown that another hen has taken her position beside the rooster.  I’ve watched her suffer and pine as she fights in vain to regain his love and attention, only to finally resign herself to the position of a subordinate.  I’ve seen my alpha rooster embrace certain new hens as part of his flock, and drive others away.  I’ve seen him fall in love with a beautiful frizzle hen, give her priority over all other hens, shelter and protect her, and when she died in a tragic accident, I watched him drive all the other chickens out of the coop that night so he could be alone to mourn.

Chickens are just as interesting and worthy of respect as any other breed of bird.  And when providing them with housing and nesting sites, careful attention needs to be paid to their preferences.  Just because they will accept poor quality when nothing else is offered, doesn’t mean they like it.  Hens ideally like a nest box that is made of natural wood, is just big enough for them to fit inside and turn around, and has wood shavings or similar bedding inside.  When facing the box, make sure it has an entrance to the side (i.e. off-center) so they cannot be seen while laying.  A hinged roof makes it easy to check for eggs in the evening.  Co-operate with your hens and they will try to please you.  And don’t forget, they are mothers too, so consider buying your eggs in the spring.

The post Hens Are Birds, Too appeared first on Homestead.org.

Another benefit of raising heritage turkeys on the homestead is you can choose the length of the project.  You can choose to purchase turkey poults every year, making this a short-term annual project or you can keep a tom and a few hens and let them hatch out poults for you.  If you want layers, you MUST keep a heritage breed.

Heritage turkey breeds are the only choice for you if you want to keep a flock of turkeys and hatch their eggs out each year.  Heritage breeds are able to mate naturally whereas the turkeys you buy at the supermarket, Broad-breasted White Turkeys, have so much breast meat they are unable to mate naturally.

If you want to breed heritage turkeys, keep one tom for every ten hens.  Turkey mating occurs in spring.  It takes 28-31 days for the fertilized eggs to hatch and 6-7 months for the poults to reach maturity.  Turkey poults cost $10 a bird so if you have the time and space for a few extra birds on your homestead, it makes economic sense to hatch out your own.

Blue slate turkeys, bourbon red turkeys, Narragansett turkeys, and black Spanish turkeys are excellent heritage breeds.  Young toms reach 23 pounds and the young hens reach 14 pounds.  The Royal Palm Turkey is a smaller heritage breed, with young toms reaching a weight of 16 pounds and the young hens reaching 10 pounds.

Spend some time in the winter, before your growing season gets busy, researching the breed of turkey that is best for you and your farm.  Put some feelers out in your area, and contact your best customers, in order to have an idea of the number of turkeys you will be able to sell. Continue creating a customer list by advertising at farmers markets, Facebook and other social media platforms, and word of mouth.

Turkey poults are extremely sensitive at the beginning of their life.  That is why you need to have a clean, secure brooder ready before you receive your poults.  Build your brooder in early spring before you become busy with spring and summer homesteading chores.

Order your poults in June.  Make sure you are ordering from a reputable hatchery and inquire about any guarantees when you order. Thoroughly check over your poults when they arrive and immediately place them in their brooder.

In addition to being secure and clean, make sure the brooder is warm.  Attach a 250-watt clamp-style lamp in order to keep their nest around 100 degrees Fahrenheit for the first week.  Gradually lower the temperature each week until they no longer need an extra heat source and are out on pasture, around week seven.

Check on your poults hourly throughout the day for the first week or two.  Baby poults are prone to flipping onto their backs and suffocating. Check for drafts as well, and continue to check the temperature.  Aerate and clean the bedding daily.  They need adequate feed and fresh water at all times.

While they are in their brooder, create a turkey run on pasture.  A mobile poultry tractor works great because it allows the birds to receive adequate, fresh pasture and can be moved frequently, allowing your land to rest.  The coop should have at least 3 square feet per bird and it should be tall enough that the birds can stand upright.  Provide areas for turkeys to roost.

Once the turkeys are strong enough to leave the brooder, they are easily integrated with chickens.  As long as there is plenty of space, and the feed can be separated, chickens and turkeys will thrive on pasture together.

Start your poults on a high-protein feed and be certain they have fresh water at all times.  The starter feed should be fed for eight weeks.  From 8-16 weeks, you can decrease the protein to 20%.  Their finishing diet (16 weeks to slaughter) should contain at least 16% protein.  Protein sources can include fish meal, soybean meal, or peanut meal.  Provide your turkeys with grit as well.

Over the course of 20 weeks, toms on a commercial diet will eat 100 pounds of feed each, and hens will consume approximately 64 pounds of feed.  Providing access to good-quality forage will decrease the amount of purchased feed while allowing your birds to benefit from exercise and natural sunlight which promotes good health, as well as tastier, more nutritious meat.

September is the time to contact everyone who expressed interest in purchasing a holiday turkey.  Remind them of their interest, quote your prices and ask if they will be purchasing a turkey for Thanksgiving.  Tell them you will call again in November to arrange a pick-up or drop-off date.

Some people who expressed interest earlier will decide not to purchase a turkey from you. You should know how many turkeys you need to sell after contacting your customer base. Ramp up your advertising in order to sell all the turkeys you have raised.

It can be difficult to know how to price your turkeys.  You will not be able to compete in price with the turkeys sold in supermarkets, nor do you want to.  Commercial poultry farms are gargantuan in size and the turkeys are crammed in as tight as possible.  Birds bred for weight and large, white breasts cannot mate naturally.  They are medicated in an effort to prevent the diseases that sunlight and exercise prevent naturally.

The minimum amount you should charge for a pastured heritage turkey is $4 per pound, and it is not uncommon to create a set price of up to $75 per bird.  Research prices in your area.

Pastured turkeys are ready to harvest and process at 20-24 weeks.  If you are selling to neighbors and local individuals, you can process the turkeys yourself.  If you are selling to restaurants or other retail outlets it is best (legally and financially) to let a local processor do it for you.

If you are selling your turkeys as “fresh, never frozen”, the week of Thanksgiving is going to be a busy one.  Get your harvesting and processing area ready Sunday night so you can get right to work Monday.  Keep your processed turkeys as cold as possible without freezing and deliver fresh turkeys on Tuesday.  An alternative to processing all of your turkeys in one day is to give customers the choice of receiving a frozen turkey.  Frozen turkeys can be done in batches before the fresh turkeys need to be harvested and delivered.

Mount a turkey-sized killing cone to the side of a building.  Have two or more sharp knives ready, along with a cull bucket and a water hose. Set up a processing table close to the scalding area.  You need a pot large enough to in which to dunk and swirl the birds, and a heat source that can reach 140 degrees Fahrenheit.  Finally, have a large cooler filled with ice next to the processing table.

To harvest each turkey, hold it upside down and carry it to the killing cone.  Pull the head through the bottom of the cone and slit the jugular vein and carotid artery.  To do this, cut just behind the tendon where the beak and tongue attach.

Holding the feet, dunk and swirl the turkey in your pot of 140-degree water.  In just a few seconds, the feathers will remove easily.  Pull out of the water and pluck.

Rinse the bird.  Remove the feet and head.  Eviscerate, taking care to not cut into the intestines.  Cut the muscle tissue around the neck, then bend and break through the bone to remove the neck.

Once the bird is processed, rinse with cool, running water inside and out.  Place the bird in the cooler filled with cold water, making sure the turkey is completely submerged.  Chill for one hour before patting dry and packaging.

There are other ways to make money from your turkey farm after you have sold the bird to grace a holiday table.  First, if you are hatching turkey eggs, hatch out extra and sell the poults.  Remember, these sell for $10 a bird – much more than day-old chicks.  Second, after processing, collect and dry the feathers.  You can sell them to local crafters or incorporate them into your own crafts.  Finally, turkey manure is an excellent compost, either alone or mixed in the compost you have.  Bag it up and sell it to your local gardening club.

Turkeys are an easy way to make holiday cash on your homestead.  Give it a try this year with a small flock. If you enjoy it, and you make money with it, you can grow your operation.

The post Raise Heritage Turkeys for Holiday Cash appeared first on Homestead.org.

In that case, I hope these home remedies for chickens will serve as a reminder that you are not alone, it is not hopeless, and you are not helpless.

The following information is not to be taken as medical, veterinary, or otherwise professional advice by any means. Many remedies have not been evaluated, tested, or studied exhaustively by qualified parties, and use of any of these remedies is at your own risk. Always remember to consult a licensed veterinarian. This article should not be taken as a substitute for any professional wisdom.

You can begin building your chicken home remedy toolkit in your own backyard with a little well-researched foraging. Keep in mind that these wild medicinal herbs may not be native to your region.

Forage safely and responsibly! Do not overharvest populations of herbs in a given area. Do not forage at roadsides or other areas where chemical runoff, pollution, pesticides, herbicides, or other harmful substances may be a concern.

Do not use plants unless you are completely certain you have correctly identified them. Research and familiarize yourself with each plant beyond any doubt. The information below is no more than a brief, amateur introduction and will not include all benefits, cautions, or how to properly identify them.

You must research more extensively from qualified sources. One excellent resource is The Lost Book of Herbal Remedies” by Nicole Apelian, Ph.D and Claude Davis.

Be wary of any wildlife that may be in the area as you forage, be certain you have permission to forage in the spot you’ve chosen, and take note of any allergies you may have and avoid related plants. Some plants have poisonous look-alikes. When in any doubt at all, steer clear.

Foraged Remedies

If your birds free range, it is very likely they sample many of these herbs as they feel they need them. But if your flock is in an enclosed run, you will need to do the backyard herb shopping for them. Plant material not used right away can be easilly dried out and stored for later use.

Dandelion, Taraxacum Officinalis: Used for digestive troubles, detoxifying, protecting healthy liver and urinary tract function, and bolstering the immune system. Said to help with botulism. WARNING: Some people report contact dermatitis from the sap.

Goldenrod, Solidago spp.: Used for the urinary tract, kidneys, bronchial congestion, etc. Topically, it is used to stop bleeding and help heal wounds and burns. WARNING: Goldenrod can be a challenge to properly identify, as there are deadly look-alikes. Goldenrod is susceptible to powdery mildew. Inspect the leaves and do not use any infected material, as this is not healthy to consume for you or your chickens.

Plantain, Plantago Major: Used for wounds and sores, as well as the digestive system. Said to help with Marek’s disease and Coccidiosis. A favorite forage for my flock, particularly the seeds.

Stinging Nettle, Urtica Diotica: Used for inflammation, wounds, burns, and as a whole body tonic. Said to help with Marek’s Disease and Coccidiosis. WARNING: It can’t be understated that stinging nettle is true to its name, and is a real monster to harvest. You will want to wear long pants and sleeves in an area full of stinging nettle and wear some very protective gloves. Cooking them will remove the sting. Harvest the leaves before the flowers appear in order to utilize them safely.

Violets, Viola Sororia and Viola Odorata: The flowers are a favorite snack for my flock, but the leaves are also edible. Used for respiratory issues and pain. WARNING: The seeds are not edible. Some people get contact dermatitis from the leaves. There are poisonous look-alikes.

Yarrow, Achillea Millefolium: Known historically for its blood-clotting capabilities. Used for internal and external bleeding, swelling, fever, pain, anxiety, etc. WARNING: Eating too much yarrow could be harmful due to the blood-clotting effects. Not to be used before surgery. When overused externally, the affected skin can become sensitive to sunlight.

Slippery Elm, Ulmus rubra: The inner bark is regarded for its mucilage content. Used for digestive disorders, respiratory diseases, urinary tract infections, skin irritations, and impacted crop. WARNING: This one may be better off purchased ready for use for the sake of convenience and the risk that harvesting bark poses to the tree. If not done properly, the tree could be exposed to disease or be entirely cut off from its nutrition and die.

Gardened Remedies

Borage, Borago Officinalis: A favorite treat for my flock, they can eat the leaves, flowers, and stalks. Borage is rich in antioxidants. It is a calming herb that soothes the digestive system. WARNING: Not for those with liver problems. Harvest with care, as the fine hairs on the plant can cause contact dermatitis in some people.

Cabbage, Brassica Oleracea: Used to treat wounds, cancers, and intestinal ailments. Can be served to your flock cooked, raw, and chopped, or simply thrown whole into the run, where it will keep your flock entertained for hours to come.

Garlic, Allium Sativum: Garlic has antibiotic properties. Used for treating viral, bacterial, fungal and parasitic infections. A clove or two can be crushed and added to the flock’s water. Offer in moderation, as overdoing it could upset the balance of their digestive systems.

Oregano, Origanum Vulgare: Used to treat internal and external infections, and speed healing. It is often used to help keep the flock free of unwanted parasites by crumbling the dried herb in their feed. It may also discourage pests when spread throughout the coop bedding.

Sage, Salvia Officinalis: Excellent for general health. Sage has antibacterial qualities and alleviates pain, so it’s a good option as a compress for external wounds.

Marigold, Tagetes Tenuifolia and Tagetes Patula: Used for anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory capabilities, to improve egg quality, and support the immune system. The petals can be sprinkled throughout the coop and run to help repel unwanted pests.

Pumpkin, Cucurbita Pepo: Used to support overall health and egg quality. Legend has it that the seeds act as a natural dewormer. Opinions differ if this is, in fact, true. Regardless, a healthy chicken is a most inhospitable host for parasites, so a nutritious pumpkin is a step in the right direction. Many homesteaders just slice a pumpkin in half and toss it into the run, but I find that my spoiled girls will just pick out the seeds and leave the rest to rot unless I roast it beforehand.

Impacted Crop Protocol

If a chicken’s crop remains full overnight and has become hard, it may be dealing with an impacted crop. I will bring that chicken indoors, withhold food for a day, but provide lots of water.

After that time has elapsed, I mix a small amount of powdered slippery elm inner bark in water to form the unmistakable slime. If the bird will not freely eat this, I add it to a small amount of yogurt. The birds generally eat this freely without any coaxing. This is accompanied by periodic, gentle crop massages.

Waterbelly Protocol

Waterbelly, also known as ascites, is a buildup of fluid in the chicken’s abdomen, characterized as a water balloon, often very taut. Many resources recommend draining the fluid with a syringe, though this advice comes in tandem with the warning that such a technique is a temporary fix and leaves the bird open to infection. You must make the decision that is best for your flock. Some situations may be dire enough to justify the risk.

For the situations that I encountered, I deemed draining it to be too risky and tried something else. I brought my hen indoors and did a combination of the following remedies when she exhibited waterbelly symptoms. She was successfully treated twice.

• High-water-content treats, like watermelon and cucumber.
• A tablespoon of apple cider vinegar diluted in a gallon of water.
• Abdominal massage from the bottom of the breast bone toward the vent.
• Epsom salt baths, preferably for at least ten minutes. Resources differ on the recommended amount of epsom salt, but when in doubt, a quantity of 1/4 cup per gallon errs on the conservative side. I also added medicinal herbs like stinging nettle for additional benefits.
• Special Slurry: This concoction is not an exact science, and may need to be adapted to the bird’s palette if they do not wish to eat it. If the chicken is reluctant, err on the side of less eyebright and brewer’s yeast, as these ingredients are quite bitter.
  • 1/4 cup plain yogurt
  • A pinch of powdered eyebright
  • A pinch of brewer’s yeast
  • A drop or two of garlic honey*
  • Optional: a teaspoon of herbal tea, such as dandelion or yarrow

* Garlic honey is easily made at home. In a sterile jar, gather fresh, raw garlic cloves, and cover with raw, organic honey. Lid and let sit 30 days, opening the jar every day to let out the gases accumulated during the fermentation process. Remember to ensure that the garlic remains submerged in the honey throughout the process.

Final Thoughts

When illness in the flock disrupts your idyllic homesteading dreams, don’t panic. Keep a cool head, do your research, calmly address the problem with care and wisdom, but most of all, remember that you are doing well.

No matter what happens, remember that anyone as concerned as you are about the health of their flock is doing a great job, and your chickens are so lucky to have you.

The post Home Remedies for Chickens appeared first on Homestead.org.

• Chickens
• Ducks
• Turkeys
• Geese
• Guinea fowl
• Pigeons
• Ornamental & Game birds

What Do You Want from Your Flock?

There are many reasons for keeping poultry. Do you just want a few hens for eggs or are you starting a homestead business? People commonly keep poultry for the following:

• Eggs
• Meat
• Pets
• Pest Control
• Weeding
• Hobby Farm or Homestead Business
• Conservation or Game Farm

Some areas have a market for products such as multi-colored or specialty eggs. Young poultry may be sold locally or raised for competition. Ornamental feathers and hatching eggs may be sold online and shipped. Perhaps you want to raise your own meat for the freezer. Some homesteaders wish to conserve heritage breeds or raise game birds for release (check regulations). Guinea fowl control ticks and geese do a great job of weeding. Maybe you just want pets or living lawn ornaments. No matter what your reason for wanting poultry, it’s a good idea to start out small and add to your flock as you gain experience.

Caring for Your Flock

Prepare a spot for your new birds before they arrive. If you order chicks, make sure you have a warm protected brooder. Adult birds should be protected overnight to prevent predation. Ventilate their coop properly to prevent buildup of ammonia, which can lead to respiratory problems. Allow plenty of room for birds to roost comfortably and move around the pen freely. Crowded conditions cause stress.

Supply clean water and fresh feed daily for a healthy flock. Ducks and geese need a pan of water deep enough to dunk their heads to prevent eye infections. Vitamins in ground feed break down quickly in heat and can cause vitamin deficiencies. Store feed in a dry, rodent-proof container. Do not use feed that is moldy or rancid because it can make birds sick.

Keeping different species together may lead to problems with disease and fighting. For example, chickens can carry parasites that cause blackhead disease in turkeys. Larger birds may injure smaller birds, especially with too many males present. Although it is possible to keep a mixed flock, it is recommended that you keep each species separately until you’ve had plenty of experience.

Birds of different species, ages, and breeds may require specific feed formulas. Those grown for meat require higher protein and carbohydrate ratios than birds raised for laying. Free range or pastured poultry need less feed overall and lower concentrations of vitamins and minerals, as they will forage for much of their nutritional needs.

Percentage of Protein Needed, by Species

Species of Poultry

Day-old poultry are readily available through mail-order hatcheries. They can be costly and many homesteaders go a little crazy on their first order. Be realistic about the time and energy you can expend on your flock and don’t forget to figure in feed costs! Choose the species that best fit your needs and space.

Chickens

There are breeds of chicken for just about any purpose. Some are excellent egg layers, others are great for meat production, and some heritage breeds make good dual purpose birds. There are active foragers, dedicated mothers, and unusual breeds for showing. Bantams (pint size chickens) and docile breeds make good pets and can be kept in smaller spaces. Most chickens enjoy foraging. Fancy feathers, colorful eggs, home raised meat, chicks and point-of-lay pullets may be sold.

Notes About Hybrids:

Hybrids are a cross of more than one breed, producing offspring with certain advantages. Breeding them is possible, but you won’t get the same traits in the next generation.

The Cornish Rock hybrid is a fast-growing bird that reaches butchering size in about 8 weeks. They are not bred for egg production.

Sex Link Hybrids are crosses that produce males and females with different colors or markings. These hybrids are excellent layers and ordering pullets (young females) reduces overall cost, increases egg production, and provides eggs earlier than a flock of heritage breeds.

X – Excellent G – Good F – Fair P- Poor

Ducks

Ducks are entertaining to watch, but can be very messy. Some breeds and hybrids are great egg layers, some are best for meat. Ducks lay well even in winter and their eggs are excellent for use in baked goods. Ducklings are susceptible to leg deformities if vitamin E intake is insufficient, but otherwise ducks are hardy and fairly disease resistant.

X – Excellent G – Good F – Fair P – Poor *Check regulations in your area

Turkeys

Turkeys are great birds for rustling up some of their own grub and providing meat for your table. They lay eggs seasonally and can be costly to feed through the winter. Broad Breasted turkeys are the gold standard for meat turkeys, and reach butchering weight in 3 – 4 months. However they cannot mate naturally. The heritage breeds are great for raising the next generation each year, but have less breast meat. To keep turkeys in a pasture cover it with netting, or clip one wing. Turkeys aren’t generally kept as pets but they are enjoyable to watch, especially the Royal Palm turkey with its beautiful plumage. In the right area, you may be able to sell fertile hatching eggs, young birds, or adult breeding pairs to help cover expenses.

X – Excellent G – Good F – Fair P – Poor

Geese

Geese are great foragers and some breeds are good for roasting. They lay eggs seasonally, so their eggs are more valuable for raising goslings than for making your omelets. Geese can be aggressive and will chase off intruders, maybe even the neighbors. Be careful with young children around ganders protecting their family. Extra goslings, fertile eggs, meat birds, and breeding pairs may be sold to help cover expenses.

X – Excellent G – Good F – Fair P – Poor

Guinea Fowl

Guinea fowl make a horrible racket when threatened, which can be a blessing or a curse. If you have problems with predators they will alert the flock to danger, but they may drive you crazy in the process! Guineas often hatch their own young, but aren’t very attentive mothers. Their meat resembles that of wild game birds. They are excellent foragers and pest control for the homestead, eating ticks and insects. Unlike chickens, Guineas aren’t destructive in gardens. They are very flighty birds and require a net over their pen if they must be contained. Extra keets, eggs, breeding pairs, feathers, and meat may be sold.

X – Excellent G – Good F – Fair P – Poor

Pigeons

Pigeons can be raised for racing, show, or for meat. Although a young squab doesn’t have a lot of meat, they are sought after in some markets. They may be kept in a dove cote and allowed to find their own food and water for a low maintenance flock. Managed this way, they need very little care and are a good option if you travel often. Hatchlings require a great deal of care and pigeon “milk,” so it is preferable to allow the parents to raise them. The offspring may be used for your own meals or they can be sold in specialty markets.

X – Excellent G – Good F – Fair P – Poor

Game Birds

Game birds, such as quail, pheasant, and partridge, may be raised for their meat, eggs, ornamental feathers, or for game farms and conservation. Check for regulations in your state before ordering.

Feed day-old birds a very finely ground game bird ration to start them. They are very small and can escape from brooders made with chicken wire. Make sure your brooder is constructed properly and birds are not crowded or kept in stressful conditions to prevent problems with cannibalism and high death rates.

X – Excellent G – Good F – Fair P – Poor V – Varies

Keeping Ornamental Birds

Not all poultry are kept for meat and eggs. Swans may be kept on small lakes and ponds to help keep geese from fouling the water. Peacocks are beautiful to watch and their ornamental feathers may be collected and sold. Some rare or unusual breeds of chicken are kept purely for enjoyment.

X – Excellent G – Good F – Fair P – Poor V – Varies

Swans

Swans may look beautiful on your pond or lake, but are very aggressive when protecting their mate and young (cygnets). Only one pair of swans may be kept on a pond or small lake and they may kill other species of waterfowl during mating season. They forage for much of their food in a natural setting, but will set off in search of food if their pond is not sufficient. Many states have regulations against keeping swans, so check before you buy. These birds are very expensive and may be difficult to locate and purchase.

Peafowl

Peafowl are an ornamental species that you may need a permit to raise. Fertile eggs may be sold or incubated and young peafowl sold to help cover expenses. Peacock’s feathers are sought after for crafts and floral arrangements. They can be rather noisy and need a clean pen to prevent damaging their tail feathers. Expect to pay a handsome price for these birds.

Rare and Unusual Chicken Breeds

Some breeds of chicken are fun to keep just for their ornamental value. They will lay eggs but usually aren’t very productive. Instead of scrambling them, hatch fertile eggs and sell or show the offspring. This can be a very rewarding hobby or 4H project!

What Poultry Will You Raise?

If you are having a tough time deciding, don’t feel too bad. Most homesteaders do! Here are some things to consider as you leaf through the hatchery catalogs.

• How much space do you have?
• Will all of your poultry end up as pets, or will you process some for meat?
• Is the proper feed available and affordable in your area?
• Do you have predators?
• Will neighbors object to the noise?
• Do you wish to raise heritage poultry or hybrids?
• Do you have time, energy, and patience for just a few birds or many?
• Will you have someone to care for them if you go out of town?

As you take stock of your poultry needs and dreams, be practical. Will you be able to care for them every day or will they need to be more self-sufficient? Would a flock of dual-purpose heritage chickens provide you with enough meat and eggs or would a flock of “egg-laying machines” and a batch of hybrid meat chickens suit your needs?

If you plan to start up a small business selling eggs, meat, extra poultry, feathers, or other goods, assess the market in your area. Check for regulations on sales of eggs, meat, and game birds. Are there laws about proper labeling? Some areas will not allow the sale of home-raised meat unless it is processed at a USDA-inspected facility and that can get pricey. Selling eggs at a farmers market or to local chefs may require a refrigerated truck. Be sure to look into the details of running a home business before sinking your hard-earned dollars into a large order of chicks. Dip your toe in with a small flock first and see how things go before you do a swan dive into a homestead business. Do your research and don’t be a bird brain!

This is not intended as an in-depth guide to raising poultry. It is intended as a primer to help decide which species best fits your needs.

~~~~~~~~

Lisa Lombardo is the owner of The Self-Sufficient HomeAcre.

The post Pick the Perfect Poultry for Your Homestead: A Beginner’s Guide appeared first on Homestead.org.

I’m an avid coffee drinker myself.  In fact, coffee is 50% of my evidence that God is good.  Chocolate is the other share!  (Chickens never made the list.)  In any case, I’m the one who dubbed us Half-Caff Country.

Some introductions are in order.  I’m Zoë… a soon-to-be-sixty widow, mom, and grandma.  I was born and raised in Chicago, but had the gift of farm family in southern Indiana.  By the age of four I had an unnamed—but very much felt—connection to the land.  Later I set a life goal of marrying an Indiana dairy farmer (he turned out to be from Michigan and he’s long-since deceased, but that’s a different story).  When the weather is nice I still miss the cows, but now that the snow is flying I’m content to listen to my neighbor’s beef cattle.

The other human character in this adventure is Ruth, a former nun—born and raised in town—who brags about being much younger than I am.  Well, it is nine months, after all!  The only livestock Ruth ever owned was a cat named Korky, and I’m not sure it ever set foot outdoors.  But despite that void, Ruth, too, feels very connected to the land.  The rest of our family consists of a year-old, over-grown pound-puppy named Elle who doesn’t know she’s a dog, a half dozen ceramic fish in a full-sized fish tank, and our newly-arrived rooster, Little Buck, and his girls.

A year ago Ruth and I made a leap of faith, pooled our resources (a.k.a. credit scores), and purchased an old farmhouse in rural Michigan.  We’d love to be a traditional, completely self-sufficient homestead, but our more realistic hope is to grow old in our flannel shirts and work boots, living gently on the land… with a mortgage, of course.

Our little piece of paradise has all the right stuff: five acres with a bit of woods, some open pasture area, a bit of wetland, a beautiful creek, and a great area for a large garden.  In our dreams, it includes assorted small livestock—including rescue animals, fruit trees, berry bushes, enough vegetables to winter us over, and sacred spaces to feed our spirits.  Unfortunately, there’s not an outbuilding or fence to be found on the place.  So when we made the decision to move beyond our first garden and add animals, I said, “Let’s get a few chickens.  How hard could it be to raise chickens?”

Now, keep in mind that my experience is with dairy cows.  I know about milking, breeding, helping deliver calves, even doing CPR on them if they’re not breathing at birth.  With chickens, I knew nothing.  All I had was questions.  How many breeds are there?  Do we want pretty or practical?  Brown eggs or Easter eggs?  I knew the name of only one breed—Rhode Island Reds—and I prefer brown eggs.  And neither Ruth nor I even knew for sure if we needed a rooster in order to get those eggs.  You should have heard the comparative anatomy conversation that question prompted!  The chicken comedy had begun.

Since there’s nothing in our area that even compares to a good, old-fashioned feed mill/farm store, we sought advice from the modern homesteader’s best friend… the Internet.  First was the breed question.  I stumbled across Henderson’s Breed Chart that listed many breeds with straightforward comparisons, including information about size, coloring, temperament, laying tendencies, winter-hardiness, etc.  Two breeds stood out: Buff Orpingtons and Buckeyes.  We needed winter-hardy birds that were adaptable to some version of free-range conditions.  Also, the grandma and teacher in me wanted gentle animals that would seem more like pets than livestock.  And it probably didn’t hurt that both breeds showed up on the first page of an extensive alphabetical list.

After narrowing down our choices, we had to find out what was available in our area for a price that we could afford.  Two sites were particularly helpful in that regard:  Local Harvest and Best Farm Buys, both of which allow you to put in your zip code and find resources in “your neck of the woods.”  We found some of each of our top choices and began the e-mail photo exchange and negotiations.  Buckeyes, from the Local Harvest listing for Wind Racer Farm, won out.  We jumped in our little pickup truck, armed with the dog carrier and total confidence, to go get our new brood… herd… flock…  what do you call a group of chickens?!

If you’re not familiar with them, Buckeyes are a rare heritage breed of dual-purpose chickens.  They are relatively large, have pea combs, and are very winter hardy (we’ll be able to verify that next spring).  The color is described as nut brown or mahogany, depending on what you read.  They remind me of Rhode Island Reds… but you already realize how little I know.  The fact that they were developed by a woman and have fairly easy dispositions outweighed our natural Michiganian resistance to anything originating in the state of Ohio.

We bought three hens and a rooster—a family unit—from some folks who are clearly more experienced homesteaders than we are.  Violet and her husband started producing their own grass-fed pork and chickens out of concern for the food their children were eating.  The kids not only eat well but also are also very involved with the animals and chores.  They called our new rooster Little Buck, and we quickly christened the flock “Little Buck and the Buxoms.”  Maybe if the egg thing doesn’t work out, we could train them as a singing group.

Notice, we still haven’t addressed the issue of no barn/no fence for our impending free-range brood.  “Not to worry… we can build a moveable chicken house,” I quipped in response to Ruth’s growing concerns.  “How hard can that be, right?”  We outlined our plans on the way home, while wondering why the chickens were riding with their mouths open but not making any noise.  We later learned that’s how chickens deal with heat!

Temporary housing was to consist of the Igloo-style doghouse that Elle has never used anyway and a tarp over a portion of the equally unused but “very secure” dog run.  Of course, the run was only secure if we could get the chickens in there in the first place.  We carefully moved the dog carrier from the back of the truck to the front yard where the run is located.  Unbeknownst to anyone, the back end of the carrier wasn’t completely latched. So when we placed it down and opened the door, instead of the chickens gently finding their way to the feed and water waiting for them in the dog run, they scurried out the back and around the yard into the lilac bushes.

The ensuing scene looked like “Green Acres Does Keystone Cops”… multiple laps around the run, flailing of arms, a serious breakdown of communication and on-the-job training on how to catch and hold a chicken.  All we needed was the background music.  By the time we got done, we were laughing so hard we couldn’t stand up.  Fortunately, Buckeyes—ours, at least—really are fairly docile, and we got them into the run without serious insult or injury to them or us.  Day One of our chicken farming was complete.

The agenda for Day Two centered on building the moveable coop.  Keep in mind, we’ve only been on our place for a year, so we didn’t even have all the tools that we needed for the job.  And we always have more ambition than expendable income, so we went bargain hunting.  At a second-hand store in town, we found a great power saw.  It serves a dual purpose: cutting lumber and cutting out Ruth’s whining, “If I only had a saw.”  Then we went to our favorite retired farmer/collector and bought a roost, as well as some vinyl house shutters and an old kitchen cabinet door to make the sides of our coop.  In another second-hand store, we found four wheels so we could “easily” move our coop around the property.  Finally, we went out behind the lumberyard and picked up free pallets for the floor and framing.  The only new items we purchased were a box of screws and three pieces of PVC… and more of the steel posts and fence wire that we had used to rabbit-proof our garden.  By the time we got home to start construction, it was time to gather eggs… two of them, current investment: about $200 each.  But it was all very exciting.

Because the pallets were too small to hold the roost, we had to revise our rather amorphous plan.  We pulled the pallets apart, used two large packing braces for the bottom, and then screwed boards across them to form the floor of the coop.  The coop measures approximately 5’ by 4’ of floor area.  The corner braces also gave us a solid surface to attach the wheels, so we didn’t have to worry about tires and an axle.

Next came the sides.  One end of the coop is taken up with the roost.  It has four boxes and a shelf below.  We attached upright braces to hold it in place, and built two doors on the back to allow for gathering eggs and cleaning.  The other three sides of the coop are made up of the shutters, which offer some protection from wind and rain while allowing adequate ventilation in hot weather.  Finally, we used the cabinet door to make the door for the coop.  It is not attached, but rather held in place by bungee cords (oops, add bungee cords to our shopping list).  During the daytime, the door is lowered to become the ramp for the chickens to get in and out of the coop.

The roof of the coop is shaped by curved PVC, and covered with a tarp.  Continuing the spirit of second-hand, the tarp was cut from a holey, old screen house given to us by a friend.  We used the solid plastic for the roof, and saved the screened part for later to help cover the run… keeping the chickens in and predatory birds out.

It was Day Three before construction was complete, but we were feeling pretty proud of ourselves as we got ready to move our coop into place.  Other than a bruised shin from a flying hammer, things had gone well and we were anxious to turn our flock loose in the new digs.   Yet another adventure in the making.

I’m no wimp, and Ruth is much stronger than I am, but when we got ready for the move, we felt like a couple of pack mules pulling a covered wagon.  It turns out that our property is even hillier than we realized, the coop was heavier than planned, and we probably should have gone for tires and an axle.  The coop is now called the Chicken Wagon, and it moves much less than originally envisioned.  The only upside of the added weight is that we really are comfortable that the birds are secure at night.  In any case, we parked the wagon next to our garden fence and enclosed an area for the chickens to run.  Total free range isn’t an option for our flock because the neighbor’s two dogs have their own version of free range and run, and it could get ugly.  We collected another day’s worth of those expensive eggs and congratulated ourselves on a job well done.

Since both Ruth and I have jobs in town, our homesteading is interrupted by hours of absence.  After returning one summer evening early on in our chicken business, we went out to check the garden, feed the birds, and gather eggs.

As all good farmers do, we counted the flock… not much of a job in our case.  We were short one hen. There was no sign of trouble (I’m resisting the temptation to say foul/fowl play), but there was a spot in the overhead netting that had come loose.  So we started hunting.  I went down the hill to the road, to make sure the hen wasn’t about to get hit by a car, and Ruth walked the top of the hill.  Soon we heard the hen, followed the sound, and located her in the tall grass.  The location, of course, kept moving.  Chicken catching, Take Two.

With our vast experience, the process went much more quickly this time.  Very soon the hen was in, the netting was secured, and we brought the dog out in the yard with us.  Elle quickly found what looked to us like a dinosaur egg lying on the hill.  Well, maybe an ostrich egg.  OK, so it was just a two-yolker, but remember we’re new at this.  Later, the dog found two more eggs in the same area.  We still haven’t figured out the math on that one!

The first real chicken emergency occurred a few weeks later.  Since the farm where we got Little Buck and the Buxoms had their dogs penned right beside the chicken runs, as extra protection, we thought nothing of having Elle with us one day while we were cleaning the garden.  Little Buck was watchful but not alarmed.  Elle was curious but not problematic.  And the hens were just doing their thing.  Ruth and I went on to do ours, just enjoying our Peaceable Kingdom as we pulled out dead plants and closed the beds for the season.  Suddenly, total chaos broke loose. Elle had pushed through the fence to the chickens.

Little Buck acted exactly as you would expect a rooster to act.  He drew Elle’s attention to him so the hens could get into their coop.  Once again, a chicken chase was on, only this time it was a matter of life and death.  At one point in the running and yelling and arm flailing, Elle got Buck’s neck in her mouth.  Fortunately, she let go of him long enough for Ruth to grab her and for Buck to escape to another area of the garden.  The dog had a “come to Jesus” meeting with Ruth, the rooster had a few days of canine-induced laryngitis, and we were all faced with the reality that chicken-raising may not be all that easy after all.  It is still, however, exciting.

Since that crisis moment, life is back to our version of normal.  We’ve moved the Chicken Wagon to its winter location, closer to the house and the compost pile.  We’ve wrapped the sides in heavy plastic, added a black metal roof (lined with bubble wrap insulation) to absorb sunlight, and are playing with some ideas to add solar lights and alternate “heat” for the long Michigan winter.

Little Buck and the Buxoms are back to normal, too.  They follow me around when I’m out in the yard, come to the gate to meet me, and eat out of my hand with regularity. The other day, when I bent over to pick up eggs, Buck even decided to jump up on my back and use me for his ramp to get outdoors… and then stood and waited for me to give him some food.  His personality is only exceeded by his appetite.

Despite the chicken comedy of errors, everyone is healthy and happy.  The eggs are less expensive than they were at first, the flannel shirts are warm, and the boots are comfy.  We may not be 100% homestead, but for us this is the real thing.  And Half-Caff Country feels pretty darn good!

Coffee, anyone?

Designing A Chicken Coop: A Work in Progress

The post Half-Caff Country: A Chicken Comedy appeared first on Homestead.org.

Then one year, a miracle (to me) happened. We are now blessed with the gift of year-round funny, feathered residents. A handful of turkeys can now call our land their home.

My guy, Larry, was raising meat turkeys (Broad-Breasted Whites) when I met him. Being an animal lover—birds in particular—I was fascinated. I had seen wild turkeys all over New England but had never seen a live domestic turkey. He taught me how to care for them. They were quirky, curious, and easy to like.

The following year, I was excited when he ordered more. We partnered in raising turkeys that year, up to and including processing and butchering. In November, the freezer was full of yummy turkey.

After processing that batch, I was grateful for the meat (and the experience) but I missed the little critters. What could I do though? They were meant for meat. That’s when I learned about heritage turkeys. Through me, my guy learned about them as well. He probably got sick of learning about them, as it’s hard for me to hide my enthusiasm when it comes to animals.

The next year, we ordered Broad Breasted Whites again. It was a repeat of the previous year. Except, that year I took over the turkey raising almost 100%. Again, I felt a sense of loss when they were processed. Larry admitted to missing them as well, but he did not miss the prospect of feeding and housing additional animals through winter.

When it was time to order turkeys the following year, I was less enthused. I understood and supported growing our own poultry, but it felt as if the balance between life and death was skewed on our property. I wanted more life. I wanted to see the cycle of life continue past raising an animal for four months. I wanted more year-round residents, instead of summer visitors. Yet when it came time to order, my partner had different wants.

Or so I thought.

On that spring morning, we drove to pick up the Broad-Breasted turkeys (that year we got Bronze). When the clerk at the feed store read the list of items Larry had ordered, six Bourbon Reds were on the list. I laughed, and said something like, “I wish.” I told her there was a mistake. Then she showed me the invoice. He had, in fact, ordered my dream heritage turkey. Six of them. When the clerk placed them in the cardboard carrier, I tried hard not to get teary-eyed but failed. I once again marveled at my partners’ ability to keep a secret from me.

We left the shop with 26 Broad-Breasted Bronze poults (10 would go to a friend), and 6 Bourbon Reds. Cradling the heritage turkey poult box on my lap, it felt like I was bringing home a newborn baby. I was beyond thrilled, but a little scared as well. I had never raised heritage turkeys. What if I messed it up? What did I know about raising heritage turkeys? Back then: nothing. That all changed.

For those beginners out there that want to learn the basics of raising heritage turkeys from poults, I will do my best to pass on my initial experience with Bourbon Reds (and a surprise, different heritage-breed flock we didn’t plan on). Our goal for heritage turkeys was/is to eliminate the need to purchase genetically modified turkeys. Our goal was/is for our breeding stock to mate, lay eggs, hatch our turkey eggs, and raise the poults for at least the first two weeks. Our goal was/is (when Mother Nature allows) to produce our own meat birds, on our own property.

We live in New England, and heat, feed, bedding, and housing choices are based on our preference, cost, and availability. I’m sure others use different foods and methods, but this is what I did with my first batch of heritage turkey poults. Use what works for you.

Everyone has a different method when it comes to animal husbandry. I make every attempt to keep costs low, but after raising birds for a while now (with some mishaps with housing in particular), I do not skimp. I believe that providing the best products, clean housing, ample food, fresh water daily, safe night-housing, and daytime supervision grow and keep animals healthy in a safe environment.

“A heritage turkey is one of a variety of strains of domestic turkey which retains historic characteristics that are no longer present in the majority of turkeys raised for consumption since the mid-20th century. Heritage turkeys can be differentiated from other domestic turkeys in that they are biologically capable of being raised in a manner that more closely matches the natural behavior and life cycle of wild turkeys. Heritage turkeys have a relatively long lifespan and a much slower growth rate than turkeys bred for industrial agriculture, and unlike industrially-bred turkeys, can reproduce without artificial insemination.” — Wikipedia

Raising Heritage Turkeys at Two Days to Two Weeks

Since I was caring for our turkey poults, and my friends’ 10, I separated the babies into two stock tanks. My friends’ 10 Broad-Breasted Bronze in one. Our 16 Broad-Breasted Bronze and the 6 Bourbon Reds in the other. All of them received the same food, housing, and care. For simplification, the meat turkeys will be referred to as the BBB’s.

Housing: Like all our past baby birds (ducklings and chicks), the turkey poults were housed in a 100-gallon metal stock-tank brooder with heat lamp hanging from a homemade wooden stand. Easy to clean, and a better retainer of heat, the stock tank kept the poults safe and warm. As the tanks were in front of a large window, after a few days the heat lamp was shut off during the sunniest part of the day. The door of the room was kept closed to retain the natural heat of the sun. A layer of pine shavings was placed on the bottom of the tanks, with thick paper towels over them. The paper towels would be removed after a few days. Paper towels made it easier for me to monitor the color of their poop, and to me, it seemed easier for them to walk on.

Food: Medicated starter crumbles for one week, and then unmedicated 20%-protein chick starter mixed with some of the meat bird 24% crumble (we had a literal ton of that food so I used it). Electrolyte/vitamin powder mixed with their water was available always. The round waterers were placed on small discs of wood to limit the amount of shavings accumulating in the rims.

Raising Heritage Turkeys at Two Weeks to Two Months

While caring for the babies, I noticed that four of the meat turkeys were noticeably smaller than the rest… as in half the size. Their color was dark like the BBB, but the size was very similar to the Bourbon Reds. Having never done BBB before (Larry had only done Broad Breasted White), we assumed these were the female BBB. We brushed it off, thinking females were just smaller. Besides, that meant we had almost ALL toms in our batch. A huge plus for us as the males gave more meat. This size discrepancy issue would come back later in a most interesting manner.

Housing: My meat poults were growing much faster than the heritage ones, so the BBB were moved to a large, elevated chick brooder in the same room (it has trays beneath to collect feces). The heritage turkeys stayed in the stock tank. Both groups of turkeys no longer needed heat lamps as they were feathering out and the weather was mild. Natural sunlight from the window provided ample warmth throughout the day.

At the 3-week mark, summer was in full swing. The days were in the mid 70’s. My friends’ babies were delivered to him at 3 weeks, so I could now focus on my birds. We gave him one of the small poults (assumed to be a female) and 9 larger ones.

I began bringing my poults outside to enjoy the weather for several hours daily. The two flocks were carried outside individually in rabbit cages and then placed in separate poultry tractors. The tractors were tarped, and angled to allow them to enjoy the sunshine or seek shade. The tractors were large, which allowed me to sit inside with the heritage turkeys for socialization. A method I use with all our “keeper” birds. The heritage turkeys quickly became adept at using the 8 -foot sturdy roosting pole.

Food: Continuation of the 20% chick starter crumble, mixed with a bit of the meat bird feed. The poults scratched around in the tractors and sampled bugs (flying and crawling), weeds, and grass. I also offered them assorted peas, lettuces, grubs I came across, etc. They were not as adventurous as the meat turkeys when it came to food, preferring their crumble to anything else.

Raising Heritage Turkeys at Two months to Five Months

Update on the four wee BBB’s: Surprise! They were not BBB at all. They were something else. Not BBB, but a heritage breed. I had been observing them since day one, and something inside told me, regardless of what Larry or anyone else said, that they were not BBB. As they grew, it became obvious. The coloring, size, head shape, etc.… was a stark contrast to the BBB’s they were living with. When I was confident they were heritage, I moved them in with the Bourbons.

I joined several online groups, researched the varieties, and found out which heritage breeds the feed store sold. I posted pics to all the groups, and on my social media sites. It was almost unanimous. They were Narragansetts. To say I was thrilled is an understatement. I danced around the turkey yard. For someone who never thought she would have even one flock of heritage turkeys, I now had two! To boot, Narragansetts were my 2nd favorite variety (Chocolate being my 3rd).

The only issue was that now we were down four meat turkeys for the year, as I planned on trading my friend his wee Narragansett (she turned out to be a hen), with one of our BBB.

It was all good though, we had over-bought on the BBB so would not starve, or be unable to meet our barter quotas. Besides, with more heritage turkeys, we were securing even more turkeys for the future.

Housing: As soon as they were fully feathered, and the nights were warm, the now larger heritage flock, (and the BBB) began living in the poultry tractors outside. The BBB’s tractor was twice the size of the heritage’s, and unmovable. Both had tight tarps that covered most of the two rounded sides. All exposed cattle guard was poultry netted (we used zip/cable ties) for safety. Both tractors were within two separate large fenced in yards (also poultry netted to keep out predators). The smaller tractor was moved once a week to give them fresh ground.

*NOTE: The heritage turkeys, especially the Narragansett hens, flew out of the yard on a regular basis, mainly when let out into their yard. I had to remove them from the bee enclosure, the meat turkey yard, the Brahma chicken yard, etc. I opted not to clip any wings until they matured, as all the flying was due to excitement and immaturity, and after flying out they wanted back with their flock. I would revisit the clipping issue in the future.

Supervised free-range: At almost three months, I began letting the Bourbons and Narragansetts out of their yard. This is always a big day for me, as it is a true testament of how well I have socialized my birds, and how well I taught them to follow my directions to the best of their avian ability.

Must to my surprise, the heritage turkeys were great at following directions. They were allowed fifteen minutes of exploration the first few times, increasing in fifteen-minute increments as time passed. By four months of age, they were allowed entire mornings, or afternoons, to free-range, while I was home. It was then they could spread their wings (literally). Again, it was mainly the Narragansett hens who took flight and explored almost every rooftop on the property. I let them enjoy this freedom and still did not clip them, as when I encouraged them to come down-they obliged. Whenever I left the property, and at night, they would be escorted to their tractors and secured.

Food: When I was down to one bag of starter crumbles, I began mixing it with 16% layers pellets, the same feed our ducks and chickens ate. This would now be their main grain source. They became more interested in the foods I was giving the meat turkeys, and began eating lots of garden veggies- chopped green tomatoes being a huge favorite! The electrolyte/vitamin water was given only on the hottest stretch of summer days, along with a waterer of plain water.

Raising Heritage Turkeys at Five months

On a chilly autumn morning, we said goodbye to our “seasonal visitors”, the Broad Breasted Bronzes. As always, Larry and I did the task alone, in as calm an environment we could provide. Before we ended their life with us, each bird was thanked for their gift and encouraged to return to us in another animal form, such as a year-round resident or wild animal to prowl our lands, if they wished.

The heritage turkeys were moved to their winter shelter—a lovely wooden structure built by Larry—to a new location on the property. It had an attached yard and faced south to absorb the winter sun.

This is where this story ends. Not with the original six Bourbon Reds I was given by Larry, but with nine heritage turkeys, the three Narragansetts an apparent gift from the Universe.

That November, all nine were healthy, friendly, and strong. A total of three toms, and six hens. By early spring they would be sexually mature. We would see who mated with who, which hens would be good mothers, and who would not be. There would most likely be some downsizing of the toms, as I am guessing that—like my experience with roosters and drakes—any more than two and there would be trouble. The biggest wish was to have poults running around the turkey yard with their mommas. No heat lamps. No stock tanks. Just Mother Nature doing her thing. But all of that was yet to be seen. That fall and winter would be spent simply enjoying them. Enjoying our heritage turkeys, which for me, their staying past fall, was already a dream come true.

Raise Heritage Turkeys for Holiday Cash

The post Raising Heritage Turkeys on the Homestead: Get a Load of These Gobblers appeared first on Homestead.org.

The term “chicken tractor” was popularized in the 1990s by Joel Salatin, the iconoclastic farmer who believed that animals were not units of production but collaborators in an ecological system. His insight was simple yet transformative: give chickens mobility. Place them in a coop light enough to be moved daily, roll it across the pasture, and watch what happens. The birds scratch, peck, and fertilize the ground with almost military efficiency. They hunt out pests, turn over topsoil, and deposit nitrogen-rich manure in perfect doses. In return, they feast on fresh forage and insects while remaining shielded from predators. The farmer or homesteader spends less on feed, enjoys healthier eggs and meat, and cultivates a landscape that actually improves rather than degrades over time. The tractor is not just a tool but a philosophy: working with natural cycles instead of against them.

Fast forward to present day, and Salatin’s once-radical idea now appears essential. The chicken tractor revival is as much a reflection of our cultural unease as it is of poultry husbandry. Homesteaders are facing record feed costs, weather uncertainty, and a general distaste with industrial ag. A bag of layer pellets that would have cost $14 five years ago now can increase to well over $25 in some locales. Heat waves and droughts test the capabilities of fixed coops and fixed pasture. The pandemic years saw many families commit to never again relying on fragile international supply chains. It is in this context that the chicken tractor functions as a symbol of resilience. In a manner of speaking, I can take care of my flock, my soil, and myself without perpetuating the myth that more and more complex is better.

Take time with people who have chosen this option, and you begin to notice the subtle force of the practice. In Ohio, a husband and wife with ten hens plow their tractor over the garden bed each spring before planting season. The beds are composted and weeded out thoroughly by the time the tomatoes are put in, saving hours of work and requiring less purchased compost. They guarantee the soil as darker, richer, and more alive with earthworms. Their tomato harvest doubled in three seasons, and they attribute this to their hens, not their green thumbs.

In Texas, a household assembled a tractor out of recycled wood and the frame of an old trampoline for under two hundred dollars. The payoff was financial as well as ecological: their feed cost declined by nearly half because the hens cleaned their crops on new grass and grasshoppers. A mother in Oregon drags a four-hen tractor across her quarter-acre suburban property. While others hear lawnmowers, her lawn hums with the soft clucking of chickens. Instead of mowing and fertilizing, she simply lets her birds graze, cycle nutrients, and mow the lawn. It’s lawn care reimagined, powered not by fuel but by feathers and beaks.

One of the beauties of the chicken tractor is that it’s so versatile. There’s no single plan. Some resemble A-frame triangles, light enough to be pulled by hand. Some are rectangular boxes with tops that hold a dozen hens at a time. Some are merely cattle panels formed into arches and tarped and wire-covered. Others are complex pieces of equipment that have wheels, handles, and nest boxes. What they all have in common is mobility.

The daily process of heaving, hauling, or pushing the tractor over fresh ground gives a type of intimacy with the homesteader, birds, and Earth. You can’t ignore your flock when you must move them day after day. You’re sensitive to your soil conditions, grass coverage, moisture levels, and the chickens’ reactions to new feed. It requires a kind of consciousness that stationary coops never do. And there is something almost beautiful about seeing the land recover after a chicken tractor. Within a few days, an area of yard that was pummeled and weed-strewn can be turned into nutrient-dense, rich soil full of microbes. In orchards, tractors drive under fruit trees where hens scratch up fallen fruit and the insects that would otherwise hatch disease. In pastures, they follow after sheep or goats, shredding mountains of manure and reducing parasite loads. In gardens, they burn beds as they feed them. With each pass, the tractor leaves a footprint of rebirth.

But the chicken tractor is also not just a farm tool. It’s also a cultural icon. It’s a representation of the need for something simpler, transparent, and available to ordinary people. We live in a culture obsessed with efficiency, speed, and scale. We’re subjected to messages that inform us progress is achieved in larger barns, automated feeders, and industrial technology. But here is a solution that uses only a few boards, some wire, and a willingness to bend your back each morning. It reminds us that the nearest solutions are the best, not the most expensive.

That closeness has a rich lesson for anyone who wants to be independent. You don’t need fifty acres or a barn full of specialty equipment to begin healing soil and raising animals well. You need a few birds, some ground, and an attitude towards experimentation. The chicken tractor is egalitarian in the sense that it is as much the property of the suburban gardener as the full-time farmer. It reduces the space between backyard hobbyists and regenerative agriculture pioneers. Each person who pulls her hens across the grass is participating in a fertility ritual going back thousands of years, when people first learned the union of earth and beasts.

Of course, things go wrong. A poorly designed tractor can be too heavy to move or too fragile to fend off predators. Overcrowding creates stress, bare areas of land, and disease. Don’t forget to move the tractor, and your once green grass is now a dirt ring. But these mishaps aren’t discouragements but learning challenges. Every mistake is a lesson in timing, observation, and design.

Speaking of which, the tractor is as much an instructor as it is a piece of equipment. Perhaps what is so dramatic about the chicken tractor renaissance is how it intersects with a larger cultural shift. People are rethinking what it means to be self-sufficient, what it means to eat ethically, and what it means to live within the means of the earth. The tractor is a symbol of a world that is regenerative rather than extractive, a world that is participatory rather than passive. It is a rejection of the industrial mode of thinking that treats animals as production units and land as an inert substrate. Instead, it insists that every hen, every blade of grass, and every act of movement matters. It makes chickens co-conspirators in land stewardship, rather than egg factories.

I have often caught myself imagining chicken tractors as time machines. They fill the space between then and now, reminding us that our ancestors didn’t crop using industrial barns or artificial fertilizers. They cropped with what they had: mobility, instinct, and animals. By bringing back this practice, modern homesteaders aren’t succumbing to nostalgia but recovering a sort of wisdom industrial agriculture has tried to bury. And the irony is that wisdom still functions. It works in the dirt, in flock health, on a homestead budget’s bottom line, and perhaps most of all, in the homesteader’s contentment of having created something with their own hands that will carry on long after they are gone.

There is still a small hope held within the chicken tractor resurgence. It suggests that the future of homesteading isn’t in newly created apps, high-tech monitoring systems, or designer feed subscription plans. It is in recalling how to find the beauty of simplicity in low-cost systems that can be duplicated by anyone. It is important to remember that advancing doesn’t always mean complex. Progress sometimes is circling around in circles, grabbing an older idea, and discovering that it is exactly what we need at the time.

So if you walk through a farm this year and spot a small wooden box bouncing across the pasture, chickens pecking wildly in it, do not mistake it for quaint nostalgia. What you are seeing is a revolution on wheels. It’s the renaissance of an ancient concept whose hour has struck once more: our birds can labor for us, our planet can repair itself, and sustainability can be built on nothing higher than wood, wire, and wings. In its humble simplicity, the chicken tractor implies something deep: we needn’t reinvent all things in a hurry in order to build a sustainable world. Sometimes, we just have to relocate the coop.

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