How to raise chickens

Lisa Ostler started raising chickens four years ago at her 10-acre sustainable farmer outside Lansing, Michigan. She shares tips and techniques on raising chickens and talks about how she has expanded into selling eggs as well. Video for Sustainable Farmer (dotcom) by Bonnie Bucqueroux with music by Drew Howard.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

25 thoughts on “How to raise chickens”

  1. quite enjoyed this! I plan on having a couple chickens when I retire and move out of the city. (it’ll be a long while from now, as im only in my 20s)

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  2. Great information and very well done video. Wisdomincarnated is obviously full of him/herself based on his/her comments and username. “Wisdom” is an oxymoron in regards to this individual.

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  3. this bitch sucks for interview, this aint a casual talk, you need to sound more confident on what our saying, now i think i trust what youre saying

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  4. the heavy chx’s are the quietest, but the lighter breeds lay more eggs. the fence has to keep the chickens in, but you can move the fence around so they can have variety and don’t take the vegitation down to the dirt. the coop has to keep racoons, weasels, possoms, etc. out. on one of our coops we used a padlock. netting, do you have owls and hawks around. if you’re willing to take a loss, i’d wait and see. plant tray upside good for keeping bedding out of chx waterer

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  5. your very thorough and interesting. tell me more like how fenced in does the yard have to be. like do we need something over their heads. whats the best way to get plans for building a chicken coop? tips i should know? which are quietest?

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  6. @1scubaman Hey! I’ve lived in california all my life, and I’m not a hippy. yea, I love nature & eating & living healthy, but I’m not extreme. See what places like Berkeley, San Francisco & LA does to the rest of us normal californians? It’s embarrassing to see what the rest of the nation thinks of us as a whole…yikes!

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  7. @sexytubes She said that she read in books to use a rake as a method to twist the chicken’s neck. I have read books saying the same exact thing. You said: “this lady seriously tried to kill a chicken with a rake?”

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  8. a chicken tractor is a coop with no bootom that you move around to a new peice of grass every day.just type in chicken tractors and it will show you alot of different designs

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  9. @mannhorn34 I am going on personal experience and what I have read and my 1 Barred Rock did excellent(picked her for her breeds cold hardiness) in 5 central ohio winters. As long as they have an enclosed home/roost in the fiercest of cold/wind and are fed/watered well should do great. Loosing a shed with animals to fire is not something I would risk for a cold hardy animal.

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  10. they huddle for warmth at night(depending on breed MOST chickens are cold hardy)and I would not use lights unless I have young chickens without adult feathers yet. too big of risk for fire.

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  11. when you said hens are socail and dont like to be bye its self your rite becouse when i was putting my hens in 1 stayed and was crowing

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  12. Salmanila is often caused by the chickens being mistreated which happens often in industrial farms. I know cows arn’t supposed to eat grains, they’re supposed to eat grass. Its unnatural for cows to eat grain and causes problems.

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  13. It’s nice to have a knowledgeable person to interview. I learned some tricks although I’ve been raising city chickens for about 8 years.

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