Hugel
pirhan
sunsetsmile
Strega Mama
Hugel
Also...
This still has boggled me.
I once saw eggs in the grocery labeled "VEGETARIAN EGGS"
how is that?


this means the chickens were fed a vegetarian diet. lower quality feeds used in alot of factory farms often have chicken as an ingredient.


Free-range chickens have a lot of meat in their diet. Chickens will eat almost anything, just like humans do. Think not only bugs, but also mice, snakes (if the guineas didn't eat them after they beat them to death), even other chickens.

Once we moved some hay bales in the barn. The entire wall was crawling with mice. Once ousted from their hiding spot, the chickens and ducks ran and gobbled them up. You could see the bulge in the duck necks from the mice. I'd never seen anything like it. I tell the story sometimes and I don't think anyone believes that ducks and chickens eat mice.

Man, I wish I could tip your posts here.

Wow, now that was interesting. I did not know that at all. The search for protein continues.

And here I thought I was shocked when I saw a squirrel eating a bird.

Piran, do you work on a farm or run one? Or is it just your own range of birds?

Growing up (in Alberta) I lived on a quarter (that's one square mile) with around 100 head (cows), around 50 fowl - mostly chickens, a rooster, ducks, and (miserable) geese. And about five horses.

Then we moved to seven quarters, increased the herd size, got two pot bellied pigs, a bunch of lamas, same amount of birds and horses. Moving the birds to the new place was interesting - it was about two hours away and we just put them in my moms Aerostar van.

The only meat animals were the cows. My dad did most of that but from what I can remember we'd allow the bull(s) to do his thing and then sell the calves. The cows had pretty much free range of all the land. We'd block certain areas off and rotate them. (So in the summer they'd be in the fields, winter in the forest.) We'd brand them and take in abandons but otherwise leave them to their own devices.

I live in the 'burbs at the moment but when I move back to Vancouver I am going to be getting a couple of egg chickens. I also want to get some goats because they're just beyond lovely. (And I think Vancouver will be relaxing bylaws regarding them too.)

Pro tip: Pot bellies can run like greased lightening when chased (jokingly) by a clydesdale horse. 3nodding