The Year in Which I Grow Our Food Pt. 6

A Place for Animals-Chicken Keeping

When we came to own this property, a major consideration was to have room for animals on it. A lot of the reason was because animals complete a circle in food growth, providing things that would otherwise be lacking. People do get along without them, but to have animals means that you can close the nutrient cycle in your plantings a bit easier (manure is wonderful stuff), and of course, they provide food within their own rights that you obviously can’t get from plants. I am a very big fan of animals (very often more so than people), and have always had animals in my life in some way. In fact, I have a veterinary education because of this, but you do not need a veterinary education to care for animals at all. You just need a basic understanding of them, and a willingness to learn. Most of what I know is from my experience here on my little farm, NOT from a classroom.

In these next few essays, I’d like to share what I know about keeping animals on a small farmstead/homestead/whatever you’d like to call it. This is the truth as I’ve come across it, from years of experience. I thought I’d start with the animal most commonly kept on a farmstead/homestead property — the chicken.

The large green chicken coop, early in the year

Chickens-My Experience

There are two coops of chickens here, one large and one small, and a third house that is used for meat birds when we raise them. The larger coop housed about 50 hens at one time, and I sold many eggs from them for a few years. Times have changed, though, and with the cost of feed going up (which is really bad) and the number of people keeping chickens in the area going up (which is really good), I no longer keep that many. The “family flock” is at about 20, which keeps us and a couple of neighbors in eggs, and is just fine by me. This coop has a very large run, part of which is covered against rain and snow. The birds are allowed out to free range in the late fall and winter months, but because the yard is so heavily gardened, they are not allowed out during growing seasons-they are too destructive and dig up my plants. So they stay in the run, and instead, I bring them presents all the time, in form of weeds, lawn clippings, bugs, and crop thinnings. They are living the life!

The small coop is a tiny thing, and where our flock started many years ago. When I branched out and built the big coop, it was in danger of being empty. This is not something I’m a big fan of — I don’t like materials to be wasted on my property, and I certainly don’t want real estate to be wasted — so I decided years ago to keep bantams (which are small chickens) in it. Bantams, because of their diminutive size, are not well-suited to living with larger laying birds. They get picked on too often and cannot defend themselves adequately from the bullying laying hens. So into their own coop they went! I have had a couple different types of bantams in there, but I really fell in love with Silkies, so that’s what I’ve kept for many years. They have their own partly covered run, and are on a different side of the property altogether. I don’t mind them free-ranging all year, as they are less destructive to the gardens than the layers, but my Corgi girls have not learned not to chase them, so they are safer inside their run than outside of it for now. I have hopes that one day they’ll be able to free range again, because they are endlessly entertaining.

The tiny red coop in the snow-home of the Silkies

The third house is more of a long, low rectangle than a proper coop, simply because it is for meat birds. The house is not used every year-only when we raise birds, and it’s only occupied for 8–10 weeks at a time, which is the growth period for a meat bird. It has a very large fenced in yard for foraging, and is set at ground level, because meat birds are too heavy to climb up the incline on a proper raised coop. The door is also very large so they can get in and out easily, and it has huge, heavily screened windows on it for cross ventilation.

So yes. Three different types of chickens require three different types of housing. Overall, chickens are the easiest type of livestock to keep, and laying hens are the most commonly kept, so you’re more likely to see a little kit coop in a neighbor’s yard, than anything else. If you are thinking at all about keeping an animal, chickens are an easy choice. Here is what I’ve learned about laying hens over the years:

· They are low maintenance, needing a safe place to sleep at night with windows that can close against the cold or open for ventilation, but they do not require heating (they snuggle on perches when it is cold), lighting, or other inputs. They do require nest boxes to lay in, but these can be any configuration at all. On my little coop, the next boxes are on the outside, so I can get in without entering the coop. On my large coop, they are on the inside, so I go in to get the eggs (the coop is big enough to stand in). It does not matter how you do it. Just be sure to put something comfortable in the nest box for the hen to lay in. It’s nice for the hen, and cushions the new egg, which is actually sticky and not completely hard when it comes out of the bird. I use shredded junk mail and old bills. You can use straw or hay, or wood chips.

· Your interaction with chickens is three times a day: In the morning, you open the door of the coop, and feed or let them forage, check their water, tell them to have a nice day, and go do your thing. In the evening, you feed and check their water (or just check their water), gather the eggs for the day, tell them see you later, and go do your thing. When it is dark (and that time changes as the days grow shorter, obvs), you close the coop door so nothing eats them while they sleep, wish them goodnight, and go do your thing. This is why they are the easiest of the livestock to keep.

· Some genius invented feeders and waterers that stay full for a long time, and some other genius invented things that will open and close the door for you, so you can interact less. But don’t. Nothing has been invented to tell you if you still have all your birds, or if some have been taken or killed, and nothing has been invented to allow you to know if they are all healthy. You need your own eyes to do that, so look at them three times a day to find out. It’s a total of maybe 20-ish minutes of your time, so just think of it as your part of the bargain. They feed and entertain you, you look at them every day. Not a bad deal.

· Chickens are pigs with wings and beaks. They eat ANYTHING, including other chickens. There are certain things you should not feed to chickens (Google it), but the list is very short. Yes, you can give them the yucky stuff from the fridge. No, they don’t mind. This is the other end of the nutrient cycle. You “recycle” your left overs and peelings from your dinner, and the chickens will make food out of it for you. Pretty cool.

· How often you clean the coop depends on how many birds you stock in whatever size space you have. The 20 birds in the large coop does not require a full clean out more than twice a year (spring and fall), but I do turn the wood shavings in the coop when I notice it needs it. The smaller coop with its 9 Silkie residents requires cleaning more often (meaning all old wood chips out/new wood chips in), but it’s super simple because the coop is so small. The meat bird house gets cleaned out after the residents have left.

· Chicken manure is “hot”, which is code for “do not put it directly on your plants”. Instead, you can compost it for 5–6 months and it’s ready to go. Personally, I add the big spring cleanout to my compost pile, but I put the fall cleanout directly in my beds, since nothing is in them for a number of months and it can just compost in place. It saves me moving everything more than once.

· Hens (or pullets as they are called) will not lay eggs for the first 5 months of their lives, so you must be patient. They will also lay less when it is cold, as they use their energy to stay warm, and when the days are shorter, as day length determines their egg production. Some are better at keeping production up throughout the year than others are, but there is a decline, nevertheless. Meaning? In the late fall and winter you will get fewer eggs, and in the spring and summer you may drown in them. Plan accordingly.

· Roosters do not lay eggs, and roosters are not necessary to have a hen lay eggs. (I can’t believe I need to write that, but you have no idea how many times I’ve had to explain it to people.) A good rooster will defend his flock of girls against ANYTHING that comes after them. They also find food and give it to their girls before they will eat any of it themselves. A bad rooster will chase you around the yard, but still defend his girls at the same time. (Actually, he’s defending them from you, so is he really that bad? Maybe confused is a better word).

· Roosters crow when they see light, NOT when the sun rises. That means if the moon is very bright, they will crow. If a car shines headlights into their windows, they will crow. You actually get used to it faster than you think, just like you get used to and tune out a partner’s alarm clock. I rarely hear our boys anymore, and I know some nights they sing their heads off.

· You do NOT need a rooster, unless you want to make more chickens. (I can’t believe I need to write that here either, but again….I’ve had to explain it over and over and over)

· If you have a rooster, it DOES NOT mean that every egg now has a chick in it. We do know how sex works, right? A rooster doesn’t mate with every hen, they actually have a few favorites who they mate with all the time. Others they never mate with at all. In addition, a chicken may have laid a fertilized egg, but unless she’s sat on it for about a week (give or take a few days), there’s no chick in there. Just a bunch of cells you can’t see and won’t taste or know are in there. This is why you collect eggs every day-no chance of mama sitting on them and warming them to start cell division. That is how it works.

· Most layers have had the desire to brood (sit on an egg to hatch it) bred out of them and will not do it. Therefore, if you want more chickens from your flock, you’re probably going to need an incubator. But I’m old fashioned, and this is why I keep Silkies — other than the fact that I love them, Silkies will sit on anything for as long as it takes to get the job done. I have used Silkies to hatch more Silkies, more layers, and even ducks. They do not care what they brood, they are all for it. And they are awesome moms. Nature is supremely cool.

A Silkie brooding a duckling. No, they don’t mind.

· Chicken mating is rude and somewhat brutal. Get over it, because the chickens do. My kids were small and saw it, and they are some of the most well-adjusted adults you will ever meet. We used to say that the boy was “standing on” the girl. As they got older, they understood better. The gift of understanding life outside of human definitions is one you can’t give to kids without animals in your life. I am forever thankful for this aspect of my life, for my childrens’ sakes.

· The pecking order is a real thing. You can’t stop it or do anything about it. If a bird becomes injured because of it, treat the bird with simple first aid. If the others don’t stop bullying, put the bird somewhere else for safety, and the others will forget about it. Luckily they have very short attention spans and crappy memories.

· Red blood makes a chicken pick at whatever they see. Yes, they are cannibals. The way to stop this is to apply something blue or purple on the red blood so it’s not red anymore (It’s called Blu-Cote) it sprays on, it’s purple, and it’s like magic. No more picking.

· Chickens are not disease-free, but they don’t get sick too often. Most of the time, if a chicken is ill, it’s something that you can take care of on your own that is simple to fix with supplies you can get easily. If a chicken does get very sick, though, it’s game over. There is very little anyone can do, and there are few/no vets (fewer all the time now) who can or will treat a chicken. Make him/her comfortable and tell them it’s ok for them to go. Cry if you need to. I often do, even this many years in.

· Pullets will decrease their egg laying as they get older. This means either you support a coop of chicken retirees for the rest of their lives, feeding them and housing them for few to no eggs, or you can do what most people do and cull. I understand this is controversial, and everyone has an opinion about it, but the truth of the matter is this: chickens are not pets and your time and feed are not free. When a chicken hits about 4 years of age (industry standard is 2 or 3 years, but I’ve found that to be bull), you will see a marked decrease in laying ability, and you have to decide what to do. Be prepared, because you cannot bring them to a vet to be “put to sleep”. Don’t call your chicken keeping neighbor and ask them to do it — it is extremely uncool to do this. It’s on you. Yep, time to get your big girl/boy pants on and do what needs to be done. Again, plan accordingly.

Now for the most controversial of all: meat birds

Baby Cornish Cross, being kept safe in a moveable pen

If you’d ever seen any sort of documentary on how chickens are raised for food (or eggs, honestly), you’d denounce your humanity immediately and identify as something else. Frankly, we are disgusting to other forms of life, and it’s inexcusable. It shames me, and the only way I can be all right with the way humans treat other beings is to opt out as much as possible and realize I can’t fix the world. But because we do eat a small amount of meat here, it means I do raise my own meat birds, and have to butcher them as well. Butchering is one of the only classes I ever took from my county extension office, and I took it not to learn how to do it, but to see if I could do it, which I can.

(No, I do not enjoy it. I am a nurturer by nature, and it goes against my nature, but I understand that it is necessary. It gives me a much better view of the circle of life, and it has made me much more honest about my role in this world and the fact that we all can be as destructive as we are creative. However, this article is not about the philosophy of taking lives or not, it’s about what goes into doing something like this to feed a family. If it really grates against your conscience, please feel free to stop reading here.)

· There are two different types of meat birds, a “Free-Ranger” type and a Cornish Cross. I’ve raised both. When considering the cost of the chick, shipping, and feed, Cornish cross will give you the best return on your investment. The “Free-Rangers” never put on as much meat, they take 12 weeks or more to get to anything worth eating, and they are a pain in the ass to pluck. Cornish cross take 8–10 weeks to get to a significant weight, make a beautiful carcass, and are loosely feathered and easy to pluck. This year, I raised 26. At the end, I had 154 pounds of meat at a cost of $1.28 a pound. Not bad, considering that feed has skyrocketed. I used to finish at a cost of about .80 a pound, so yes, there is an increase, and it annoys me. However, this is enough meat for a year for us at least. I still did better than the supermarket, especially when I part out the birds.

· Cornish Cross are very controversial in the chicken world, because they have been bred to be very heavy and put weight on very fast. This can be very hard on their legs, which have to support all that weight. The way around this is to let them forage and free range as much as possible, and to feed them a lower protein feed from about 4 weeks on. If you raise them in the warmer months, this is easier-more to eat, and the weather is fine. I only raise meat birds during the summer, so they can forage and bask in the warm weather.

· Cornish Cross also get a bad rap because people say they are stupid, don’t move around at all, and have heart attacks when they get too large. I have no idea how people are raising these guys, because none of this is true. They are not stupid at all, and instead will learn who is responsible for the food/water bringing, where it is placed, and what time they are fed quite quickly. This is pretty good learning for a chicken, believe me. You generally get stampeded by the birds at feeding time, so you have to watch your step. They are not the most active guys, but they also don’t lay around all day. When they are allowed to free range, they will “rundle” after insects all over the place (rundle=run+waddle), which is hilarious. And heart attacks? I have no idea what that’s about. Never happened to me. Leg injuries from rundling around are more likely to occur.

· Males get bigger than females, therefore you want more males to get more meat out of the batch you raise.

· Don’t name them. We call every batch “the nuggets”. It’s good enough.

· Spoil them and give them nice things. My last batch LOVED tomato hornworms and tomatoes with blossom end rot. After an initial scared period of “what is that?”, one big guy took a nice peck out of what they were given, and everyone followed suit. After that, they’d run over to see what I would give them, and I gave them many things.

· Because of their loose feathering, they get cold. Raise them in warmer weather.

· But their body temps are pretty high, so you need really good ventilation in their house to keep them cool on warm nights. They don’t know enough not to sleep right next to each other, so you have to help them out.

· They cannot climb anything or fly, so their house has to be on ground level. Make sure it is secure, because predators LOOOOOOVE chicken more than you do.

· When it is time to say goodbye, prepare your area as much as possible as to stress out your birds as little as possible. I always say that the birds have a whole bunch of great days and just one bad one.

· Butchering is not fun. My partner and I do it tag-team, and it takes a full day of exhausting and sad labor. All I can say is, set it all up the day before, keep everything in the same general area, and separate your dirty area from your clean for food safety’s sake. You need plenty of running water and a cold area.

· Thank your birds and acknowledge that it takes life to make life. Anything else is lying.

Baby Silkie, being watched by his/her mama, safely inside their run

When you raise chickens, you will have eggs and possibly meat and will need to decide what to do with them. For a glut of fresh eggs, I have done the following things:

· Crack some into an ice cube tray and freeze them for a sad eggless day in winter

· Turn them into other foods that use a good number of eggs like quiche, pasta doughs (uses 4 eggs at a clip), challah, or Angel Food Cake. All of these things can be made and frozen for later, and they all use a good amount of eggs.

· With meat, you need a freezer and you can either keep the birds whole or part them. I do both. If I make a whole bird for a dinner, you can bet I have a plan for the leftovers. Not doing so is disrespectful.

In short, keeping animals teaches you how to respect life. You respect it when you raise it, and you respect it if you take it, and you certainly do not look at food in the same way. Next time we’ll talk ducks and geese, another type of animal kept here. After that — goats. I probably have a lot to say about that, as they are one of my favorites.

In the meantime, enjoy your holiday if you celebrate, and get your seed orders in, if you haven’t already. Talk to you next year!!