Chickens

If you are going to homestead a few chickens are good to have. Fresh eggs are so much better than store bought and a lot cheaper. Eggs are a good source of protein and you will need protein to stay healthy and strong. Meat may become scarce and if it does you can survive on eggs.

Eggs can be used for many different kinds of main dishes as well as other needs you might have.

Egg whites can be used as a face mask or even as a poultice to draw out infection from a bite or sliver. They can be used as an ingredient in homemade shampoo and other cosmetic type stuff.

Feeding the chickens and gathering the eggs really wasn’t all that bad. You don’t appreciate chickens till you have a coop where you have to go in with a shovel and break all the “fertilizer” loose and shovel it out. You really should wear a mask as this can be very dusty. Of course this isn’t as bad as when you hit the wet spots.

Survival Menu

The dust itself smells but it is not an intolerable smell. Now when you hit a wet area, well that odor can be entirely nasty. Try build or buy a coop that has a slide out tray or bottom where all the droppings are collected. It makes the clean up a whole lot easier.

Below are a bunch of links to websites that will give you the whole scoop on raising chickens and building chicken coups. You will be an expert when you are finished reading them. Well, almost. There is nothing like practical experience to make you knowledgeable and keep you humble.

As you can see from the links, I was researching hens for eggs as well as the best type of structures for them.

The first link has a list of the best egg laying breeds starting with the best layers to the least layers.

Some of these links stress the importance of having some brood hens along with the layers if you want to hatch your own eggs.

Chickens:

I have a list of links here for a variety of different chickens and coops:

http://egglayingchickens.com/best-egg-laying-chicken-breeds.html

http://www.thefarm.org/charities/i4at/lib2/chickens.htm

http://msucares.com/poultry/management/poultry_best_breed.html

http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=37764

http://www.chickencoopsource.com/?source=googleaw&kwid=chicken coops&tid=exact

http://www.omlet.us/products_services/products_services.php?view=Chickens

http://www.backyardchickens.com/coopdesigns.html

http://www.critter-cages.com/?gclid=CM_40uCq26UCFQITbAodT3uhkQ

http://www.horizonstructures.com/coop.asp

In some areas of the country you will need to protect your chickens better than in other areas. From what I have read there are apparently Coyotes in all the continental states now. Some states worse than others. You have a lot of wild animals all over the country that view chickens as an easy to catch feast. Protect your chickens they are for your survival.

If you are raising your own chickens they need to have room to catch and eat insects and eat grass. Keep them fed and watered and they will keep you fed.

Do the research and talk to others who have or have had chickens to find out what they think will be the best way for you to keep chickens.

I will add more to these pages as I have the time.


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