Poultry

Backyard poultry is getting very popular especially in urban areas. People love to know where thier eggs and meat come from instead of going to the grocery store and buying cartons of eggs and meat from a package. Back yard poultry farmers are able to control thier chickens diet, living conditions and how the animal is being treated. They also lean towards the natural aspect of pest deterrents. Diatomaceous Earth:
*Is a natural pest deterrent safe for you you, your chickens, and house hold pets.
* Keeps your flock healthy by killing ticks, fleas, and digestive worms.
*Naturally keeps cockroaches and other pest from your chicken feed containers
*It can provide your chickens with trace elements when added to feed in small amounts.

The breed of chicken that a farmer selects for his/her flock depends upon the purpose for which the chickens are intended. The three types of chicken categories to choose from are: egg laying stock, meat type birds, and dual purpose birds. No single breed will provide the best characteristics for all three purposes.
The Egg Laying Breeds: They generally have smaller bodies that make them undesirable for meat producing birds. Thier small bodies are benefits because few nutrients are wasted for producing big carcasses. Instead nutrients go towards egg producing.

The Meat Type Breeds: They are genetically developed to produce a variety of meat characteristics or traits. These breeds will grow faster and larger, have higher breast yields, more effecient food conversion, and are more disease resisstant than other breeds.

Dual Purpose Breeds: They are bred to lay an adequate amount of eggs and to have a decent size body for food consumption. These chickens will not lay as well as the egg laying breeds. They also will not have as big of carcasses as the meat type breeds. They are just a good mix if the farmer wants both egg and meat chickens.

The farmer should choose a breed that best fits his/her desire. Some farmers choose to raise both egg and meat producing breeds to accomidate both needs while others believe it is easier to have a dual purpose breed. Back yard chickens are fun and easy to raise. They do not require a lot of land to own and manage properly. When managed properly, fresh eggs and meat are abundant to a normal size family. People also feel great about knowing where their food is coming from rather than buying it out of a grocery store.