War is coming, buy chickens

Include some of a breed that has a tendency to go "broody" if you want them to reproduce naturally.

Broody Hen types (50 % rule)

Brahmas – cold and heat hardy breed, decent layer, frequently goes broody and makes a good mother.
Chantecler – an extremely cold hardy breed, decent layer, often broody and good mother.
Cochins – a cold hardy breed that lays few eggs, makes an excellent broody hen and mother.
Cubalaya – an aggressive breed that lays few eggs, is tolerant of heat and often goes broody.
Dominique – a decent layer and cold hardy breed that is fairly broody and makes a good mother.
Dorking – a decent laying breed that is often broody and makes a good mother.
Marans – a decent laying breed that is often broody.
Orpington – a decent layer, very cold hardy, frequently goes broody and makes an excellent mother.
Silkies – a very docile breed that lays few eggs and are more likely to go broody than most hens.
Sussex – a cold hardy breed that lays well, often broody and makes a good mother. [link to newhomesteadersalmanac.com (secure)]

Cool thread. My buff orpingtons always turn out to be the best broody hens, but you can never tell which ones will take to it and which ones will just keep on ignoring the clutches.

If you have a milk co or horses, then you are in luck. Their manure pile will be the perfect breeding ground for food (fly larvae) for the chickens year round.
[link to horsenetwork.com (secure)]

milk cow, I meant. If you have a few acres to keep a couple horses or cows, then your chickens will have a source of food.

Horses also make the best off-road vehicle.

Futz about on here...
[link to permies.com (secure)]

Buff Orphingtons and Lavender Orphintons are are my favorite. They come in many colors.

The manure pile gives off heat, keeping it warm during the winter. This is why it can provide food all winter.

In summer, chickens will happily eat most types of bugs ad weeds.

But how do you shave a chicken?

I do not see this as a proper conspiracy theorist fodder.

You pluck a chicken.

But only do that to the extra males after you have humanely beheaded them. The proper rooster to hen ratio is about 1:8.

How about an incubator? You could run one off a 12V battery with an inverter because they don't draw much juice.

With an small incubator and a few laying hens, you can have up to 30 chicks per month.

If people want chickens when SHTF you'll get rich.

BTW, I like my ducks. Not so many eggs, but lower maintenance than chickens. Mine seem to thrive eating mud.

I was raised on a farm and only kidding.

Get ready for winter. I just took delivery of a pair of boots with 800g of Thinsulate. $72 + shipping. get them now.

yep.
Also check this out. With the right setup the chickens will feed themselves!

Chicks will make excellent barter items!
It is also a good idea to be able to supply your neighbors with the means of self-sufficiency.

Livestock is the oldest form of currency.

Famine; search GLP for adapt 2030

Ice Age Farmer: Catastrophic Growing Seasons Worldwide - Grand Solar Minimum "Trainwreck"
[link to www.youtube.com (secure)] (16.3 minutes)(published June 18)

CIVIL WAR TWO; WHO WILL WIN?
Video 52 minutes: [link to www.youtube.com (secure)]

[youtube] [link to www.youtube.com (secure)]

Learn to plant things chickens eat around their coops...an remember they can eat anything wild birds can.

Shave the chickens!!!!!

Thanks, OP,
I think because of you and your advice ,
I will chicken out !!!

I have a relative that went all out with chickens. They had brooders and were raising them. They had a total of fifty of them. They sold some of the hen's eggs to get them feed for the winter time.

Problem they had were predators. There are fox and chicken hawks where we live. They killed off all the hens and within one year they had no more chickens...

So even if you have chickens for food and barter, they could be wiped out by predators...

Last Edited by DuckNCover on 06/19/2019 11:35 PM

Not theses kind of chickens.

[link to www.dailydot.com (secure)]

You can eat duck eggs which seem more filling than chicken eggs. And they are more hearty than chickens.

But egg laying seems unpredictable. Kakie Campbell are the egg laying champions of the fowl world but they are really clever about hiding. You need to ask why if ducks have so many advantages that the big chicken growers don't convert to ducks. Don't ask me; I have both and see both sides of the problems. Chickens do well if you live next to a desert and they can browse on insects. Cold and wet is not a good climate for chickens.

I have chickens, ducks, geese, and turkeys. I eat the eggs, give away a LOT to friends and neighbors, and eat the older birds when they stop laying.

Any aggressive roosters get eaten quick.

Also have goats and a horse. If SHTF, I will have goat milk.

I have a six foot chicken wire fence with a hot wire from the fence charger on top. Concrete poured on the base of the wire.

I wish I had video of the day our tomcat decided to bite the hot wire. He was frozen there pulsing with the current until Wifey pried his jaws off it with a broomstick.

Cat used up at least 3 of his 9 lives, but he survived.

BTW, we have hawks and owls that want to eat my birds as well. I have a giant net bought if that becomes a problem. However, my chickens know to hide under trees when they see such birds about.

Only real predator problem is the Texas Rat Snake eating eggs. When I catch them I cut them up for the chickens to eat.