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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] A shameless plug

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  • From: "Gwen Giffen" <ggiffen@1st.net>
  • To: <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] A shameless plug
  • Date: Thu, 20 Jul 2006 15:09:59 -0400

Thanks Harvey,

I appreciate this information. Many magazines and articles have been posted, but they all sort of run together for me. So I don't mind being reminded they are there. A few days ago I followed signs for "laying hens and chicks for sale," that I'd passed up several times in the past couple of weeks. I had $8 on me, and thought I might get some chicks for $1 apiece as posted. As fate would have it, they had peacocks hatching that very day, and wanted to clean out the hutch. So I got 15 chicks for $8! Silkies, cochins, and bantams, all mostly black and white, and the last of the pickin's.

We've always bought hatchery chicks up to now, but I want to start trying to hatch my own with silkies and cochins. And I found a lady - on Freecycle of all places - who lives in town (albeit a town 60 miles away), and just likes to hatch chicks, but can't keep them. I posted on Freecycle looking for a broody hen or two, and she answered. I still don't have my "broody hen," but she gave me a silkie that is nearly grown, along with Welsummers, Barred Rocks, one that looks like a Barred Rock but I don't recall it's name, and she hatched some RIR's and White Pekin ducks from eggs I gave her too. So now I have about 30 chicks of various sorts, NONE from a hatchery.

We've been enjoying free range eggs for about a year now, since my DH and I got back into chickens; and some free range meat too; and would like to continue with it independently.

Maybe I'll subscribe to both if I get it together enough to get it mailed.

Gwen

For all on the list who raise poultry, or aspire to, may I commend to
you a new magazine, Backyard Poultry, a spinoff of Countryside magazine,
founded by JD Belanger--most likely many of you know of it. I think
Elaine Belanger is doing an excellent job of shaping the magazine to be
a mouthpiece for the homestead perspective on the subject (as opposed to
that of the extension agent/ag college crowd).

This has to count as a shameless plug rather than a neutral post because
I have been writing a lot for BYP. The fourth issue just came out, and
to date I have had 7 articles, starting with the second issue--using
electronet fencing to manage poultry; working with the cock(s) in the
flock; a rebuttal of the ag college perspective on poultry feeding;
working with broody hens; the homestead waterfowl flock; and, in the
current issue, making your own poultry feeds, and homestead poultry
butchering. Next issue will feature production of more of the flock's
feed from the homestead's own resources, and a collection of "war
stories"--accounts of our experiences of predator attacks over the
years, what we learned and how we adjusted.

Hope any of you who give the new mag a peek will find it useful.

~Harvey





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