Leafmold & Feathers

Having just got rid of a few feather pillows it then occured to me that they would be ideal to add to leafmold in layers

They rot down slowly as do the leaves, but the resulting compost would be far richer in nitrogen than normal leafmold.

Had a look, and there are 25 billion chickens killed each year for human consumption. Sounds more like genocide to me.

 

And the sad part is that most of the chicken in most cases will just go to waste. I reckon most people buy a ready roasted chicken, pick the best bits off for dinner, maybe pull the drumsticks apart for a sarny for supper, and the rest goes in the bin.

I used to be as guilty as anyone of this.

Relatively recently (a few years ago now) I decided to try to re-live the 'old' ways and waste less. One chicken now makes at least 4 days worth of meals for the wife and me and the lad.

 

A chicken, for my money, is still the best value of all meats. Only the bones go in the bin. After stock, the scraggy stuff is picked off and it goes to Sprocket ( springer/cocker) to be mixed in with his biscuits. Gromphed in about 10 seconds.

 

We hardly ever get a chicken now, but when we do, we have a sunday dinner with it. Chicken sarnies for my bait the next day. Pickings go into a nice fried rice, and the skin and bones are used for stock for soup, which typically lasts two days.

We hardly bother these days because we just get a bit sick of chicken, because it lasts most of the week.

 

I try not to eat the same meat more than 2 consecutive days. If there's plenty of good gravy left, I will put the meat in it and freeze it down for a week or two. There's always a hectic day when you come home ragged and resort to the freezer for "red cross parcels" on days such as these.

 

I can't avoid feathers in my compost, Zigs: the chickens and ducks shed them all the time. All their litter gets put in the compost bin (bedding/manure/feathers).

That is a lot of chickens slaughtered Zigs!

 

Chicken feathers is a good source of protein and used in animal feeds, chicken poo is also good protein

 

And when you think, they are only little 'uns when they go for a trip to the supermarket....mine are gorgeous healthy FR lasses ...(approx 2yrs old) not worth killing for the meat.....just shows what they pump them full of

 

But those supermarket birds are not kept as long 2yo loli

 

That's what i mean Mum...what is it ....around 3 mths....mine are still skinny little things at that age....but they are the happiest chooks this side of yorkshire bet yours are too

 

to all of your lovely lassies Loli and Mum,
Jenny

 

would love to have some chooks, but no space, I would probably put a bench there and watch them like others watch telly

we try to buy happy chickens only,on farmers market or organic (still don't trust the supermarkets that its always organic, though..), all the cheap chickens have spent their lives cramped together without a single space in between, no surprise the meat is such a "good value", like mentioned in this thread before....
for same reason we try to buy all other meats organic too
still, probably half of what we use have been "sad" animals(most dairy products, gelatine, processed meat in salami etc...)
but I think at least we have made an effort...

 

Your right Loveweeds...we've got to try

 

Space is all relative Battery hens live in a space not much bigger than an A4 size piece of paper.

An old friend of mine liberated battery hens from her OH's place of work; she housed them in old rabbit hutches (for sleeping/laying) and then let them free range during the day. That is how I first became a chicken owner because she gave me one of her hens that was being bullied by all the others.

Here's Silky, bit on the tatty side.


I didn't want to use a rabbit hutch, so I invested in a Eglu (to the huge amusement of my friend ) Bit more expensive than a rabbit hutch, but, built for purpose and I wanted her to have the best she could (plus keep out urban foxes!)


As you can probably see, it took up just over 1/3 of the width of my (then) garden. Unfortunately, she died the following Spring and the Eglu went into retirement ...

... until I moved here 2 years ago (garden 100x bigger than my previous!) and bought some bantams; then a bit later, some large hens were added ... and then later still, some ducks

I don't process these ladies for meat (although, it is something that has been considered, with the right breed) but more for slug control and their eggs! Egg yolks so yellow you think the sun has shrunk and been swallowed by the hen. The flavour is superior to any labelled "free range" in supermarkets too. Poached eggs should be made with the very freshest eggs to get the best results; so, there is something quite humbling collecting an egg, newly laid, and having a poached egg on toast for lunch.

 

maybe one day when I am grown up and buy myself a bigger garden
but for now its not really an option..
we buy the old "cotswold legba"r eggs from Clarence court, they seem to be quite good to me in terms of a real freerange enviroment for the chooks,
I think these old breeds can't be neglected as modern breeds and they don't (have to) lay as many eggs
egg yolks look as yellow as can be and eggs taste really good