Chickens
Chickens, did you ever think about them for anything besides eating? Sure, they are tasty - meat and eggs! We use them in several things we make: chicken for meat in several different types of dishes - chicken soup, pot pies, cassaroles, baked, fried, grilled, bbq, etc. and for baking with the eggs - cakes, pies, cookies, bread, etc. Boy, I am getting hungry! But, did you ever think about what chickens can do for you on your farm or at home?
We discussed the many uses for chickens with our teens. Many people breed chickens for show, some for meat, some for eggs, and some for all. Many of these people realize the usefulness of the chickens before they are sold or eaten. Chickens are an excellent source of pest control. I have about 2 acres that my chickens roam during the day. They are scratching and eating all kinds of bugs, especially ticks. I have quite a bit of woods and shrubs on my property. Every summer we have ticks that we are pulling off our dogs and my kids when they are outside playing. This summer, I did not find any on my kids or my dogs! Chickens love ticks! They are also good at eating grubs from the garden and unfriendly pests off the vegetables. At the Rural Resources' farm, the chickens free range, eating all these bugs from around the garden space. Another nice thing they do is place their poop all over. This poop will decompose and enrich the soil. I clean my coop out and place the poop in a compost pile. When composted, I add it to my garden to help fertilize all my vegetables and replace nutrients that are being used up. A third use that I have noticed, is they will scratch through your fall leaves - turning them, fertilizing, and composting those leaves down. It was nice not to have to move my leave pile.
So, if these are not good enough reasons to use chickens on your farm or in your back yard, don't forget, they are entertaining to watch. Some people raise chickens to just sit and watch them work and interact with each other.
Here are a few websites you can check out to find out more information on chickens or where to purchase chickens from:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/raising-chickens-basics.php - how to care for your chickens
www.meyerhatchery.com – breeds and supplies
www.idealpoultry.com – hatchery
www.mthealthy.com – hatchery
www.jmhatchery.com – freedom ranger chicks
www.mcmurrayhatchery.com – hatchery
www.hoovershatchery.com – hatchery
www.cacklehachery.com – hatchery
Some of these websites also talk on how to care and feed your chickens from chicks to adults.
The teens discovered the usefulness of the chickens on the farm, and the different types of uses for the chicken. The teens are looking forward to adding some new chickens into the flock that they will be butchering out. The chickens are called Freedom Rangers. They are an older breed that are excellent at free ranging and not requiring feed to fatten them up for butchering. Will keep everyone posted once we get them and how well they do.
