If you've not heard, Avian Flu is spreading across the nation. Whether or not it's a real event, folks in charge are having huge numbers of birds "depopulated" (as they like to call it). This includes both commercial flocks and small backyard operations. Egg prices are going to be through the roof soon.
Small prep: chicks are everywhere right now. Go down to your local feed store, TSC, whatever you've got, and get yourself a half dozen or more. They are easy to raise, relatively inexpensive to feed, and will start making you breakfast in about 16 weeks. Chickens love your salad scraps, bugs, mice - you name it; they'll probably eat it! Screw your ridiculous HOA rules and get yourselves some chickens.
Once you have a surplus of eggs, look into Egg Glassing for long term storage. We've been eating duck eggs that are currently 1.5 years old, and they are perfect.
Food in general is likely to become decidedly more expensive and scarce. We have a small farm, and the price of commercial grade fertilizer is just insane. One small and easy solution in case the shit really hits the fan? Potatoes.
Small prep: go buy yourself a few bags of organic potatoes now. Let them start to sprout. Once they do, cut the potato up into small sections (generally with two eyes each) and plant. You can grow potatoes in almost anything - the ground, containers, trash bags, etc. Small amounts of care and water will yield you TONS of potatoes.
(Even better: buy real "potato seeds" that should be appearing in gardening centers soon, depending on where you live.)
You can live on eggs, potatoes and water for quite some time. You can barter with eggs and potatoes.
PS - everything I've mentioned here is easily searchable for more detail and instructions, even on the totally cucked browsers. :D
Eggs keep so much longer than people realize. Fresh, unwashed eggs anyway. Chickens are great to have around..
People used to use Eisenglas (derived from sturgeon cartilage) to keep eggs over the Winter. The egg could be used for anything, except boiled eggs. The Eisenglas solution stopped the porous-ness of the egg, preventing oxygen from entering, thereby keeping them longer. Since salmonella, etc is only found on the shell of the egg, not inside, this was not an issue, either.
Very good point!
Also prevents ruining whatever you are making when you get the occasional bad egg or partially developed egg.
Another good point.
Fermented comfrey leaves and stinging nettle, alone or mixed with composted chicken litter refuse makes a perfect fertilizer.
We compost horse manure, cow manure, and chicken manure here. We'll be doing a lot more of it in the future! Comfrey is already in the garden.
Ooo! Best of luck this year. I think it will be a good summer.
Comfrey is amazing, from drawing in bees, enriching the soil and for making a healing salve. I love it.
Plus stinging nettle tea to combat inflammation, etc. Comfrey is an incredibly useful plant...makes an EXCELLENT compress and has a myriad of benefits.
Both have been used forever, that is until people started believing in pills and whatnot instead of what Nature provided.
Absolutely! I highly recommend harvesting St. John’s wort flowers for the salve making. It treats nerve pain.
Solomon’s Seal root extract is great for removing bruises and eliminating inflammation.
I add Lavender, Helichrysum and Frankincense EO. There is so much knowledge to share!
I’ve got worms, I love saying that. Red wrigglers and they generate dirt and worm juice (tea) for fertilizer. Comfrey, dandelions are all nitrogen inducers, good stuff.
BTW back when the bird flue was a thing in 2009ish, I learned essential Oil of Oregeno, a few drops, in a long, hot, soaking, steamy bath was a great remedy.
Lol! Red wrigglers, haven’t tried those yet.
I started putting my kitchen scraps into a blender then pouring the “juice” into the garden at various spots. I have earthworms the size of baby snakes!
Thanks for tip on Oregano!!
I read Red Marine Algae powder was great for viruses along with lemon balm. I also use neem. It’s uses seem unlimited.
Thinking about the chickens, excellent advice in the potatoes they are cold hardy so can be planted now. Thank you!
I love this post ❤️
To avoid those Genetically Modified Mosquitos: Mosquitogate...
Easy mosquito and bug repellant balm:
Lemon Eucalyptus, lavender; you can add peppermint which is great for spiders and some wasps.
I add to a spray bottle and sometimes dilute with water. Best results came from melting beeswax and adding shea butter. When it begins to cool, I add in the EO. I never hear the EO’s.
Vitamin B1 taken orally or used as a patch works as well. The patches gave me a rash so I switched to the capsules.
North Carolina is participating in the bird killing agenda!
https://islandfreepress.org/outer-banks-news/highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza-mortalities-confirmed/
We have a gardener snake problem. How would I get the chick's safe? No joke....I've killed 3 in the past few days. I guess spring means an abundance. Usually the goldendoodles catch them but small chicks would be easily eaten I think. Especially eggs?
When they are small, they're usually in a brooder somewhere in your house or garage. (I've turned kiddie pools into brooders on my dining room table, used a bathtub, etc.) The birds don't go out until they are fully feathered and bigger. I have had squirrels try to steal my eggs, but no snakes. (Not that it can't happen.) I have seen fully grown chickens chase, catch, and kill snakes. They don't call them tiny raptors for no reason! LOL
Keep chicks in some type of solid container until they get wing feathers. I've never had a problem with snakes of any kind getting a bird. Could happen though. Garter snakes are primarily insect/grub/frog eaters, but chick isn't out of the question.
Internets are fren here. Plenty of chicken raising info out there.
Like.....a giant tote? 🧐 I only want 3 or 4. Small land space here after garden goes in
Yep, that would work.
Using chicken wire sounds good but I know snakes can just mosey on through them no issue at all
Also... no males right? If you're just using eggs.
Get pullets, those are sexed as female. Roosters will slip in occasionally. Cull them out if you don't want.
You don't need a rooster unless you want fertile eggs. Most of the hatcheries do sell sexed pullets, but the occasional cockerel sneaks through.