Justin Nickel

Todd Parr wrote:

Justin Nickel wrote:That sounds like a bummer! I just received my beautiful assortment of birds from Murray McMurray. We currently have a White Rock hen from last Summer still, started with 6 but are reduced to 1 until these chicks get bigger....

We received Barred Rocks, Blue Cochins, Buff Orpington, White Wyandotte, Aracauana, Black Australorps.... a little experimenting with hardiness of breeds in this Wisconsin Climate, I would love to add some Lakenvelders eventually....

I started with a lot of different breeds from Murray McMurray. I'm in roughly the same area you are, and my best advice is to breed chickens without large combs. Frost bitten combs is the only real problem I've had with my chickens here. I've been crossing my own breeds into some kind of "parr-mix" chickens, but I'm moving toward only keeping only small combed birds from now on.

Thank you for the nugget of knowledge on comb size, I will keep that in consideration. I am quasi hoping to continue a breed of super mutt chickens with large eggs and cold hardiness. I feel like a mad scientist sometimes with my dreams.....

That sounds like a bummer! I just received my beautiful assortment of birds from Murray McMurray. We currently have a White Rock hen from last Summer still, started with 6 but are reduced to 1 until these chicks get bigger....

We received Barred Rocks, Blue Cochins, Buff Orpington, White Wyandotte, Aracauana, Black Australorps.... a little experimenting with hardiness of breeds in this Wisconsin Climate, I would love to add some Lakenvelders eventually....

I am looking at raising 3-4 pigs on all-natural feed and supplemental rotational grazing. I will be rotating my swine with turkeys to cut down on parasites and land devastation. I am looking for some input on how big the ideal pasture would have to be to keep the pigs on it for about 5 days at a time and what kind of fodder to plant that they will lovingly consume? I plan on having the pigs on for 5 days, land rests for 3, 6 turkeys on it for 7 days, heal for 7 days, start it all over again. I will probably have to make adjustments but am looking forward to the adventure...

If you are able to entice a farmer to fence in some of his swine there temporarily, you would have a nicely manured, rooted area very quickly. Buy a nice (5kg or so) sized bag of corn, spread around on the area when it's damp and walk it in. After that, let the pigs loose and they'll grub up the corn, turn the earth and deposit some very beneficial foundation for a good layer of humus.