Anyone own Goat(s)? Any Advice? [Archive] - Sawmill Creek Woodworking Community

Phillip Mitchell

08-08-2016, 6:23 PM

The worst/hardest part about goats is the fencing needed to properly contain them and managing the area that they are in so that it's tempting enough for them to actually be content there as the standard. The best fence I can think of for goats is a combination of 4ft field fencing (woven wire) with a strand of (hot) electric wire at or near the top and slightly inside the field fencing. Woven wire requires a decent amount of wooden posts and can be a challenge (hard, slow, expensive, etc) to install well in steep, undulating areas that aren't flattish, straight runs of fence.

Then you have the consideration of what the goats will actually be browsing on. They prefer to browse instead of graze, meaning they like to eat stuff at their eye level or above and have actually evolved in their digestion to do so. They will graze on the ground but not with the same vigor. I'm having an issue with goats now in my "pasture" where, after having them for a couple years, they have cleared most of the brambles, bushes, small trees (stuff they really like) and an invasive weed that they don't really care for has taken over in the void and has run rampant this summer. They won't really touch it and at this point, unless I want to let this weed go to seed later this summer, I have to weed eat (too steep to mow) the invasive weed....as opposed to using the goats, which I had originally gotten for just this reason. It all depends on the condition and constitution of your "pasture" and how much you want to manage it. This may be an extreme case in my situation, but something to think about.

I wouldn't say that goats are low maintenance farm animals by any means, either. Susceptible to stomach worms, needs hoof trimming 2-4 times a year, need hay in the winter, quick to go down on you if they get sick if you're not careful and very attentive.

Not trying to discourage you, just presenting some points from someone who has had goats for a handful of years now and is trying to scale back away from it for some of these reasons.

They can be really loving and entertaining animals, but they are also part Gollum, Curious George at the same time...

John K Jordan

08-08-2016, 6:32 PM

Loads of folks are telling us to get goats to control our rather steep hills on the farm and house. I would consider a small goat or pair. Do any of you have advice on that or would you recommend against it?

I had goats for years and would have them now except for issues with llama parasite control. (The two species share the same parasites.)

Goats will indeed clear brush.
- They will eat what they want and leave the less desirable so must be confined to a smaller area if you want more cleaned up.
- Goats will eat things you don't want them to eat. They will eat the bark off many trees and kill them. Unconstrained they will ignore the weeds and enjoy your garden.
- I had to put a rubber bungee cord on the lid of my chicken feed can or the goats would open eat it.
- They can be poisoned by certain plants - might have to check and clear out some first.
- Goats need regular medical care, shots, deworming, hoof trimming.
- Unmodified males can be dangerous. Milking one goat gave us more milk and cheese than we could use. You have to milk at least once a day.
- Goats are herd animals, like horses, llamas, etc. They do better with at least 1 or 2 others.
- Goats can be killed by packs of neighborhood dogs and by coyotes. Several times I had to deal with dogs.
- You need to provide access to water, of course.
- Goats need minimal shelter but they do need some shelter.

I always kept my goats fenced except when I took them out for a while. I've heard of people tying one up and the others will stay close - I didn't try that.

Premier fence company sells a portable electric fence that I've used for horses, donkeys and llamas. Haven't tried it with goats. Goats tend to push and scratch against and push down fences that are not electrified. They are good climbers. They love to jump on cars.

I would not keep an intact male on the property. When we wanted little goats and milk we borrowed a male from a friend.

For brush control you would probably need more than one small goat, depending on the area. I think I had 10 or 12 at one time.

342122

JKJ

Roger Nair

08-08-2016, 6:43 PM

Years ago I had a few diary goats. I might think that I owned goats but the goats owned me. Sweet feed, forage, water, shelter, bedding, twice daily milking and prevention of roving dogs were all part of the daily routine concerns. If the goats are content, they are easy to fence in. Goat contentment requires at least three goats (in my limited experience) to satisfy the herding instinct, if the goats become anxious over the small herd or lack of forage they will breakout and look for other goats or better chow. I enjoyed the goats, the kids and milk but I don't see having goats again.

Mike Chance in Iowa

08-08-2016, 7:16 PM

All good advice. The size and breed of goat you chose will also determine your fencing needs. Premier One electric netting will work great on smaller goats, but our current large goats easily hopped over it and annihilated the $$$ ornamental shrubs we had while we were dealing with moving and fence-building. (Premier One netting is awesome though!)

Goats will get into all sorts of trouble. John mentioned using rubber bungee cords to keep goats out. Our goats bit all the rubber bungee cords in half that we had used to hold stock panels in place while building the permanent fence. They will push on fencing and find any weak spot. Hot wire is a must unless you have docile goats. Goats are climbers and will do what they can to reach as high as possible in the shrubs & trees. Our last emergency vet call involved one knucklehead goat that managed to get his front hoof wedged in the crook of a tree branch that split due to his weight. We found him with his leg all twisted & swollen and him hanging exhausted and we thought he had a broken leg. By the time our vet made it out and started to gather his portable x-ray equipment the goat suddenly perked up and it was obvious his leg was not broken.

When it comes to tying up a goat, it's best to introduce a youngster to the concept with plenty of supervision so they can learn they have limited movement or else bad things happen to the goat tied up.

Definitely do your breed research. Some are sweet, while others are known to be obnoxious brats. Also consider how much involvement you will need to have with them. Are you capable of wrestling with a full size 150+ pound goat that doesn't want his hooves trimmed or would you rather deal with a 50 pound goat? Also think about horns versus no horns. Our previous goats were very sweet-natured, small Angora goats with horns. The horns made great handles to catch them and trim their hooves and shear their coats. Our current full-sized goats were de-horned. They would have been quite dangerous to humans if they still had their horns because they are always trying to head-butt people.

We will keep our current goats until they pass on. Then we plan to get either Nigerian Dwarfs or Mini Oberhasli's (Oberian) goats as they are much more gentle breeds and so easy to keep compared to our current troublemakers.

M Toupin

08-08-2016, 9:17 PM

I'd go with option #2

http://www.slope-mower.com/

Saw one of these working on the ramparts at Ft Monroe today, a full 10+ on the cool toy factor meter :D

Mike

Rich Riddle

08-08-2016, 10:03 PM

I'd go with option #2

http://www.slope-mower.com/

Saw one of these working on the ramparts at Ft Monroe today, a full 10+ on the cool toy factor meter :D

MikeAll these comments make one ponder that option. I own a DR Mower that works very well at our house and have a trailer that could go back and forth between the farm and house. I have the same problem at the farm that was at the house. Invasive honeysuckle is everywhere. I have to go up the hill several hundred feet. At the house I cut and burn in the winter. It worked but seriously hurt my back. I was down for six months.

These goat stories make me laugh, smile, and grimace. The Internet says you need to protect them with a donkey or some other animal. With dogs, donkeys, goats, chickens, etc. it's starting to sound a bit like Noah's ark.

John K Jordan

08-08-2016, 11:32 PM

The worst/hardest part about goats is the fencing needed to properly contain them and managing the area that they are in so that it's tempting enough for them to actually be content there as the standard. The best fence I can think of for goats is a combination of 4ft field fencing (woven wire) with a strand of (hot) electric wire at or near the top...

You've got that right. Horses and donkeys and llamas are so simple to keep in compared to goats. We use a single strand of electrified tape for the horse pasture. I think a piece of string might keep a llama in. Sometimes I'll just push an interior gate closed and not latch it when I'm working - llamas will not even try to push on a gate.

The fence you described is the type of fence I installed. The USDA paid for 75% of mine but I had to build it to their specs or better. I ended up with a strand of barbed wire tight on the ground, 4' sheep/goat woven wire (4" squares), and a 12ga electric wire 4" above the woven wire. Dual braced 6" PT wooden posts at the corners with steel posts between. I also ran two strands of Premier electric "rope" on the inside of the fence or the goats would rub against it and try to cave it outwards. For the wooden posts I bought a hydraulic fence post driver for the tractor and pounded sharpened posts 3' into the ground. I used 14' and 16' gates for room to move trailers, etc. It was a big job but I hired a guy to help pound in the steel posts by hand.

As for grazing, I found if I put grazers like horses and donkeys with the goats they would eat some of the stuff the goats tended and vice versa. They will certainly clean up each others parasites. I chuckle when people come to see the animals and say Oh, I'll bet you never have to mow. Ha! Mow and 2-4-d and spot application of gly-4.

I had some goats so big the kids would try to ride them, some smaller and cute, and one pygmy goat. Mine were mostly not much of a problem and certainly entertaining. Other people say goats are demons with four legs.

JKJ

Wayne Lomman

08-09-2016, 8:36 AM

Rich, we have goats and have had them for the past 30 years or so. We have just retired from the full time dairy last year. My experience is pretty much the same as already written. As far as temperament goes, goats are the same as any other animal - there are friendly ones and aggressive ones. If buying goats for the first time, pick out ones that like you. No-one puts up with a dog that bites you or a horse that kicks you. Our bucks are as approachable as the does although the bucks smell pretty rank in breeding season. The only reasons that goats get out is if they are hungry, lonely, hungry, bored, hungry... you get the picture. Our close in fencing around the house yard is 8/115/15 hinge joint wire. If a goat gets in the house yard, it is always due to fence damage, usually horse related. The rest of the fences are a bit run down to say the least but the goats always stay on the side where the food is. If they are out, that's because the food is out there. Electric fencing is good but it has to be in conjunction with a post and wire fence because a goat's reaction to a challenge is to push harder. They also test electric fences all the time so if it goes down for any reason, they will know.
It's a bad idea to keep sheep and goats together. They fight differently. Goats face each other and head butt until one turns away and the fight is over. Put a sheep in there and the sheep sees the turning away as a chance to sneak one in from the side. We had a few sheep until we worked out the cause of a series of broken ribs. It was barbecue time!
All that being said, goats will clear the bush over time and are great company. Cheers

Bob Turkovich

08-09-2016, 9:37 AM

Last year, the golf course I belong to rented a herd of ten goats to clear some difficult areas that had become overgrown with poison ivy and honeysuckle. The "rent" included an electrical fence to keep the goats protected and focused on a specific area. They cleared each area quickly. You can find a press article on it here: http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2015/07/michigans_goat_caddyshack.html.

Maybe there's someone locally who offers the same service.

Erik Loza

08-09-2016, 11:27 AM

No opinion on keeping them but we have friends with the Pygmy Goats on their ranch and these are my observations.

1.) Their property looks like a lunar landscape. No living plant whatsoever. Just rocks and dirt and it's almost like someone took hedge trimmer under each tree. I guess there is a certain height to which the goats can't reach and it's like someone drew a line 8 feet off the ground or something.

2.) The goats have done significant damage to their structures. I watched one use his horns to peel away a piece of loose corrugated steel from the side of the barn. It's not like you can have goats on a "pretty farm". They've wrecked everything at our friends' place that was within reach. One got loose and walked all over their cars. Dented the roof, etc.

3.) Their entire property "smells like goat". I grew up around livestock, so it doesn't bother me but there is no mistaking that goats are there, when you drive up. They have this pungent smell that is unlike any other livestock and it seems to permeate everything.

All that being said, I think goats are awesome. Would never keep one but they have super personality. Please report back what you decide to do.

Erik

Mike Henderson

08-09-2016, 3:23 PM

If you didn't grow up with livestock, I'd recommend some other approach. Any livestock takes a lot of time, effort and knowledge. And you get tied to the farm. If you have cattle (which I'm more familiar with), you can't just go away for a week's vacation. And if you're milking, you can't go away for a day.

Then you have the "issues". A cow gets out and you have to track her down. A cow comes to birthing and has problems passing the calf. Dogs or coyotes attack calves. Cows get sick. Clover comes in and the cows get bloat. The list goes on and on. No, I did my time on a farm. I'll find other solutions. Keeping livestock is a lot of hard dirty work and it wasn't much fun for me.

Mike

[Oh, yes, and it smells. Sometimes you step in it. You get used to it and don't notice it but your neighbors will.]
[Relatives from the city used to come and stay for a week with us. Thought it was wonderful to be able to get a taste of farm life. It's different when you have to live with it all the time.]

Wayne Lomman

08-09-2016, 5:58 PM

Goats turn places into smelly wasteland by overcrowding and no other reason. They have to be starving to do that. You get the same result with overcrowding any species. The rental option is a good way to go. As others have said, any farm animal takes commitment. If you don't have time, don't have them. Cheers

Rich Riddle

08-09-2016, 10:47 PM

Well, I read everything every one of you wrote and other information available on the Internet. It seems if you get dairy goats in Kentucky, you can't sell the milk without a lot of regulation and then only to folks who have a note from a physician. So dairy goats are out.

I don't want the lunar landscape look, the problems, the expense (much more than I thought with fencing, vets, neighbors, property destroyed, watch companion animals, etc.), and certainly not the smell and aggravation. To make a long story short, you folks scared me away from goats and toward machinery. It seem far cheaper to keep using my DR Mower and paying someone to mow with it.

Rich Riddle

08-09-2016, 10:50 PM

Now onto the questions about having chickens for eggs....should I start another thread or just ask here?

Jay Mullins

08-09-2016, 11:16 PM

I grew up on a farm, we had cattle, hogs, chickens and goats. I came to the conclusion that being a farmer was like being married to a woman I didn't like, it was there 24/7/365.

I live in the country now but no animals. I shop at the grocery.

Jay

Rich Riddle

08-09-2016, 11:19 PM

Mike Henderson

08-09-2016, 11:27 PM

Now onto the questions about having chickens for eggs....should I start another thread or just ask here?
Unless you really enjoy keeping chickens, you'll be a lot better off just buying eggs from the store. Building a coop for a dozen chickens is somewhat expensive. Also, people who keep a small number of chickens usually keep the hens too long. Hens tend to do their best laying in the first year, then their production starts to decline each year. The commercial producers generally turn their flocks over each year.

But if you just want to keep chickens as pets, go for it. Roosters are a bit of a problem because of the crowing but if you don't have near neighbors it won't be a problem. If you have kids (and a rooster) you can allow one or more of the hens to set on a clutch of eggs and hatch baby chicks.

If you buy your baby chicks from a hatchery, make sure you ask for sexed chickens. Approximately half the baby chicks are male and the commercial people don't want them. The hatcheries can sex the baby chicks and be better than 95% accurate. If you don't ask for sexed chicks, they'll likely ship you more than 50% roosters just to get rid of them.

The sad fact of life is that hatcheries destroy most of the male baby chicks.

Mike

[And while I'm talking about farm things that most people don't think about, I'll ask, "Why do we have veal (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veal)?" Veal is young cattle. Why slaughter them young?
Answer: Dairies have to freshen their milking cows each year, which means the cows have to have a calf. The dairies generally don't want the male calves, and the calves are a dairy cow breed, which is not the best for meat production. So they take the calves and wean them early, feed them to a certain weight and then take them to slaughter. Or they sell the calves to specialists veal producers.
At least that's the way it was done when I was young. I doubt if much has changed since then.
So if someone is opposed to veal, ask them if they drink milk. If they do, tell them they contribute to the veal industry.]

Brent Cutshall

08-10-2016, 6:42 AM

I used to have about four or five goats but had to get rid of them a while back. They were the nicest goats I've ever had, they stayed in with just two strands of light electric wire. So, about a year ago we decided to get some dairy goats and put a donkey in with them. Them goats just kept getting out so we put a harness on them. The leash with attached to the building with a quick link. So, one day I was out walking around in the woods and I saw something white out of the corner of my eye. That goat had undone that quick link, got out of the harness, and climbed a five strand barbed wire fence. We ended up getting rid of the goats and keeping the donkey. We now have two donkeys going on three. Lucy and Rusty is their names. Rusty's a jack and he's nicer than Lucy. He'll come up beside you and let you pet him, the only problem is that he still trys to sit in my lap like he used to. I wish we could've kept our old goats, we had raised most of them from when they were born. But we were building a house and didn't have the money to keep them. Remember, if a fence can't hold water, then it can't hold a goat.

Robert Engel

08-10-2016, 7:51 AM

Very good advice here on the goats re: ranging/foraging vs. pasture/grazing. Given a choice, a goat will eat a bush instead of grass every time.

The biggest problem in goats is parasite control. Goat parasites in particular, have become resistant to every deworming medication on the market.

The key to parasite control is lots of range, avoid grazing on grass, and selecting goats for individual tolerance of parasites.

Check out the Famacha method.

John K Jordan

08-10-2016, 9:14 AM

It seems if you get dairy goats in Kentucky, you can't sell the milk without a lot of regulation...

Now onto the questions about having chickens for eggs....should I start another thread or just ask here?

Same here, regulation, inspections, huge investments. However raw goat milk can be sold "for animal consumption". Sometimes people with kids who can't drink cows milk will buy it that way and no one asks what they do with it. After milking here for a while I would not drink milk someone else provided unless I knew exactly how they managed things. Every day it took me twice as long to prepare and sterilize the milking and storage containers and clean the goat than it did to actually milk the goat.

One of the best reasons for milking a goat might not be for the milk but for the education. When kids came to visit the farm almost all of them wanted to try milking the goat. This was something NONE had ever seen, let alone tried themselves. Also, at birthing time we have had an audience. Very few people today get that experience.

As for chickens, I could go on and on. We have kept chickens for eggs for the last dozen years. If you buy the chickens, feed, fencing, shelter, waterers, etc, keeping chickens to save money on eggs is the wrong plan. I haven't checked lately but I once figured out that each dozen of eggs cost me about $4 and that didn't include running the water, power, fencing, etc. Chickens also gradually fall of on their laying and have to be replaced. This is an operation in itself since you need a separate place to raise chicks for months. If incubating your own eggs you do have to deal with the excess roosters. I had 10 once I couldn't get rid of until I found out people at a certain large flea market would buy them off the truck as you pull into the parking lot.

We keep chickens instead because we like chickens, we like knowing exactly what the chickens who lay the eggs are eating, and we like having extra-extra large jumbo eggs with rich color and great taste. I also like having chickens for kids to see, feed, and collect eggs. Most kids never have the chance to see and do this. The experience is one reason I keep guineas and peacocks as well. (And guinea eggs are small but delicious.)

BTW, chickens are omnivores and need meat as part of their diets to stay healthy. They also like goat's milk!

Another thing we do is invite families over when the chickens are ready for Colonel Sanders. Many kids have no idea where their food comes from and there are always parents who are involved with their children's education and jump at the chance to show them (and learn themselves). We kill and clean chickens and they go home with meat for their freezer. The kids also learn that cleaning up is part of the process. Surprisingly, the kids really get into it with feather plucking contests and such. These kids won't be like one who asked me which part of the chicken he was is the nugget. Or the high-schooler who told his class killing animals was horribly wrong and people who did that should be arrested - "why do any animals have to be killed when people can just get meat at the grocery store or a restaurant?"

JKJ

Erik Loza

08-10-2016, 9:17 AM

Now onto the questions about having chickens for eggs....should I start another thread or just ask here?

"Urban chicken keeping" is a thing here in Austin. My wife and I actually went on a chicken coop tour a couple of years back. The diversity was pretty interesting. Some folks made their enclosures out of salvaged windows and doors, the whole up-cycled thing. One couple had a chicken coop that would put most zoo enclosures to shame. Hot and cold running water, hog wire paneling, trimmed in finished cedar. I think I overheard the owners say that they had put over $10K into it. We have a friend who is doing the whole urban chicken thing and basically, you get eggs for a year, then you have a pet chicken for the rest of its life since the hipsters and millenials don't seem to have any interest in eating said chickens once they stop producing.

Erik

Mike Chance in Iowa

08-10-2016, 7:15 PM

I think the egg production really depends upon the breed of chicken and where they come from. We have had a hodgepodge of chickens for the last 15 years or so. They were a combination of pets as well as used for eggs and their bug control. The chickens arrived as chicks and stayed until they died of old age or predators got them. Our hens were laying eggs well beyond 6 years of age and some sporadically to 10 years of age.

We had more eggs then we could eat, so we worked out a trade system with several neighbors. They would trade their food scraps for free eggs. They also saved their egg cartons. One neighbor with 2 teenage boys was so thankful for the eggs that she would buy the bag of chicken feed in trade for eggs. Egg laying is also dependent upon light so in winter months there were not many eggs unless we turned on lights during the day for them.

What was surprising for me was to learn that most people had problems with multiple roosters yet we never did. I think that's because our roosters were all the same age and grew up together, and the chicken area was quite large so they all had their own space. They clearly had already sorted out who was the dominant male. The roosters all died off due to old age before a new batch of chicks was introduced and once again there were several boys and they worked it out once they matured.

Initial setup can be costly and chickens do require some work, but they are also a lot of fun just watching. We had one little mixed banty rooster that tried so hard to be loud that every time he hollered, he finished with a big grunt/sigh as if to say "Oh that was hard to sound bigger then I am!" I never captured him on video and I regret it because he was just too funny to listen to while outside doing chores.

John K Jordan

08-10-2016, 10:35 PM

...What was surprising for me was to learn that most people had problems with multiple roosters yet we never did...

Just to be clear I didn't have trouble among the roosters but 10 extra is just more than I wanted to keep and feed. Our chickens are in a yard with 6' fencing and the roosting space was limited. I put all the roosters outside the fence and they got along fine and roosted together in the barn but made a big mess.

My chicken book said if you have two roosters they will probably fight but if you have three or more they should get along fine. I found myself with two last year a barred rock was was king of the coop and constantly harassed the rhode island red. Then after a year or two they suddenly switched roles and in a single day the barred rock was king and took over all the girls. Then a few months later they must have gotten into a big fight and they switched dominance again, this time with fatal injuries to the red.

I love watching the birds roam around the farm. However I can't let the chickens run free range since my wife grew up with chickens in the yard and she didn't want that here. Our guineas do have the run of the farm with a slow attrition due to hawks and dogs. More young guineas are about ready to release from their acclimation cage and some guinea chicks from the incubator are coming tomorrow. I built a big cage (about 8x15) for the peacocks and I let 2 or 3 out each morning. If I let them all out they tend to roam around as a group and I'm afraid I'll lose them. Once I found them about a mile down the road and it took me an hour to herd them home. We had two peachicks hatch from a nesting mother this year, our first.

JKJ

Mike Henderson

08-10-2016, 10:41 PM

If you have multiple roosters and want to keep them from killing one another, dull the spurs (Check the Internet for methods). In cock fights (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockfight), they put sharp metal coverings over the spurs so that they will do maximum damage. Unless you're unusual, you don't want to see a cock fight. It's not pretty. [Pretty sick, in my opinion.]

Mike

John K Jordan

08-10-2016, 11:08 PM

...To make a long story short, you folks scared me away from goats and toward machinery. It seem far cheaper to keep using my DR Mower and paying someone to mow with it.

Rich, I don't know if I mentioned it but llamas are also good a clearing brush and weeds, as good or better than goats. Llamas have some other advantages over goats: they are cleaner (keep all their droppings in piles) and therefore don't have as much problem with parasites as goats. They are not escape artists and can be kept in an area with simple fencing. (they will not push against or climb on and break down a fence.) Like goats, they can easily manage the steepest terrain. They are fascinating to watch and I think far more interesting than goats. If you have llamas people will come visit just to see them.

Llamas are "weatherproof" and are happy with an inch of snow on their backs.

Since they are larger they are not the predator targets that goats and sheep are. In fact, llamas are often kept as guard animals for goat and sheep herds. LLamas will chase and kill dogs and coyotes. The have a distinctive alarm call and will let you know if a predator is spotted. They are not the least aggressive towards people. (unless they were raised by ignorant people.) They don't pull on leashes - I can give a 2-year-old a lead rope and she can take a llama for a walk.

Llamas do NOT spit at people unless they are tormented by people! They do spit at each other over food, dominance, and girlfriends.

Care issues llamas:
- They are not as approachable as goats and sheep and must usually be driven towards a smaller "catch pen" to halter for handling and care.
- They need only the simplest shelter and preferable shade from trees in the summer.
- Since their native habitat is high in cold mountains they need to be sheared every year. Their fiber can be valuable, depending on the type.
- They need their toenails trimmed occasionally unless they can keep them worn down on rocky ground.
- The soil in the US doesn't have the selenium they need so we give them supplementary minerals.
- In the winter they may need hay and/or bagged feed.
- Then need shots once a year but they are inexpensive (I do the shots myself).

We have 10 llamas and alpacas. I sold all my goats when I got llamas. I like them far more than goats.

342190

JKJ

Jay Mullins

08-10-2016, 11:41 PM

Thanks Rich. I see you are from Ky. What part? I was born in Richmond and grew up near Maysville.

Rich Riddle

08-11-2016, 1:01 AM

Jay,

Not far from Maysville in Northern Kentucky. Taylorsport is the old name of the town. Now Hebron is the unofficial area.

Jay Mullins

08-11-2016, 10:02 PM

I lived in Cinti until 1983, moved to Fla for a job. Retired a few years ago and settled near Asheboro, NC. I still get to Cinti. now and then, my daughter still lves there.

Ken Platt

08-11-2016, 10:14 PM

I had to laugh at the descriptions of the folks who can't bear to give up their older chickens. I just finished a fairly big project enlarging my coop for exactly this reason, so I could get more layers while keeping the old girls around.

I eat chicken, too. But I can't kill a creature I raised, fed, cared for. I have a chicken-owning friend who thinks - correctly - that I'm nuts to keep feeding these critters (6 of them) when I get only about 1 egg a day.

I guess we all make our little compromises with illogic in life.

Oh, and Rich., as others said, only get chickens if you just want to have chickens. No way it's worth the effort, time, $$ for the eggs. If you just want great eggs, buy them from some OTHER poor sap who raises chickens. Around here (Northen CT) there are any number of folks selling fresh eggs out of their homes. And, the eggs really are awesome. Supermarket ones seem tasteless and anemic looking after you've gotten used to good fresh eggs.

Ken

who just put his 4 rhode island reds and 3 golden sex link chicks out in the new coop today!