Ok, so I have some new snaffus that will make this a lot more challenging than I thought.
Our balcony where I planned on growing our food...well it gets no sun, at all, so this will make it very difficult to grow anything at all. The only other way to grow things would involve building a good shelf for growing plants and having artificial sunlight on it indoors, and honestly I don't have the space for this.
So for now, this blog, and my entire plan will take on a different direction. Buy hey, that is life how it happens. You have to be prepared to be flexible and make the best of a situation.
Instead of focusing on ways to grow our own food, just for now until we move into our own home with property, I will be exploring the different ways to eat organics, things to avoid, and maybe some new things along the way. And it's not all bad, just because I can't grow my own food or whatever doesn't mean I can't financially support the people that do. I will do my best to buy organic and free range animal products whenever i can.
Let me get something out there right now too. I am NOT a food spaz that refuses to eat anything unless it's been purified, or it's organic, or without high fructose corn syrup. I'm not a spastic parent yelling at the school about what they serve and how they are poisoning our children with their murder food. Life happens and food happens and it is everywhere. My kids WILL eat things outside the home I don't like but oh well it happens. What matters is that while at home, I feed my family good and try to make a small difference in this world, because it matters to me. I also try to teach my kids about good and healthy choices and hope that they take this knowledge and use it in everyday life. That's all. Oh yea, and I like to eat cookies sometimes, out of the package, even if it's not organic.
Oh yea I am also a huge fan of natural pet food! We'll discuss that sometime, but not today.
Moving on......
I wanted to raise my own chickens and ducks, really bad, but due to legalities we cannot in the place we are in. So you know what I do? I buy organic and free range chicken meat and eggs from free range chickens. Depending on where you go this can get quite expensive, but if you watch the sales and shop around, you will find a price to suit you. The other day we got a big thing of eggs from Costco on sale for 1.99 for free range and grain fed chickens.
Speaking of Costco, I find this is the best place ever to get good, organic foods. They have amazing food in immaculate shape and nothing is rotten or anything. They also have hard to find meats like buffalo, lamb, and duck. Don't knock it till you try it, try different meats, you may be surprised you like something.
Which brings me to an important observation.... Try out a product before you plan on raising, growing, or investing a lot of money into it!
We were going to raise sheep until we had some lamb and decided it was too gross for us. I'm sure other people like it, but I don't. Plus I hate eating baby animals. I'm no tree hugger, but I think culling baby animals is kind of pointless, it's more a delicacy, and I think it's kind of cruel. Just let the little buggers grow up and get more meat out of them. I think that makes more sense, bigger animal, more meat. Duh.
Raising ducks and chickens would be so awesome. "That seems so hard and complicated and I live in the city so I can't do that!" Did someone say that? Really? It's easier than you think and not all chickens and ducks are loud or require a lot of water or fly. There are dozens of different species of fowl and they are all different. There are loud cluckers and quiet chickens. There are water loving ducks and some ducks that could care less than about having their own malibu barbie pool. Of course by all means if you have huge pond and live in the country and want mallards in your pond every summer, than by all means get whatever ducks you want. If you want to wake up every morning to the crowing of roosters and hear huns clucking and foraging all day then get a bunch of loud rowdy chickens and a rooster.
If you live in the city, it is a good thing to be considerate to your neighbors. Unless you want to have little chicks and hatch eggs, you don't need a rooster. Hens can lay eggs without a rooster. Same with ducks. Not all ducks are loud. Just make sure to do your research and choose breeds that fulfill what you need.
Let's talk about birds for a second. A chicken is a chicken and they'll all the same... right? They're all the same? Wrong! Very wrong, there are dozens of breeds for all purposes. Choosing your bird breed will all rely on what you want. Do you want a bird mainly for meat? Or for eggs? Or maybe for both? For both, these are "dual-purpose" birds. They have a good laying ratio but also make a good roast. Or some chickens are just for pets. Bantam chickens are good pet chickens because they are little, cute, come in a variety of breeds and colors, but they don't make a lot of meat because of their size and even though they do lay eggs, it isn't enough to sustain a family for a year. I would think the best birds for the city would be dual purpose birds, because for one I want eggs, but I also want meat once they aren't producing eggs efficiently anymore. If you don't want to have to deal with raising different breeds for eggs and meat pick one breed for dual purpose.
There are a lot of breeds of chickens, ducks, geese, etc..but I'm only covering a couple. I have stuff to do after all, I can't sit here all day blogging..geesh.
By the way, before we continue, when I say a breed isn't good for meat or eggs it doesn't mean you can't eat it or that it doesn't lay eggs, it just means that they aren't efficient in it and shouldn't be raised for something it is not bred to do. Can you get eggs from a pekin duck? Sure, but not a lot. Can you eat a Khaki Campbell duck? Sure you can, go for it, but there isn't a lot of meat on that thin, lean frame. That's all I'm saying. Moving on......
Best Dual Purpose Chicken Breeds:
-Plymouth Rock. Good layer and produces a decent amount of meat.
-Rhode Island Red. Large egg producer and good meat bird.
-Bantam Chickens! They are tiny, and make cute tiny eggs in pastel colors. Mostly for decoration and pets. They may not make the best layers and their meat production is pathetic, but they would be good in the flock if you want your kids involved. And they are cute. Can't beat cute.
Best Dual Purpose Ducks? Well this is an oxymoron, since there aren't really good dual purpose ducks, they either put all their energy into making and producing eggs or being a good meat duck. So we'll talk about a couple duck breeds.
-Khaki Campbell: These guys can match egg production of chickens, very impressive.
-Indian Runners: Great egg production. And they tuck their butt and run around, kind of cute.
-Pekin Duck: The Hercules of meat producers, this duck is for cooking! If you eat duck anywhere, it is probably a pekin duck.
-Rouen Duck: Looks pretty like a mallard, so it's decorative and functional. Makes a good amount of meat and grows fast.
What about geese!?
Geese are in a category of their own. If you're insane and brave enough for geese than go for it! I know I want one! Like ducks, geese are good at eggs or meat, not really both. They are the bipolar schizophrenics of the fowl world and if they are not happy, they will let you know! I think having a goose in your flock might be good for protection of the flock.
-Toulouse Goose: the ultimate goose, this french breed is bred for meat, and lots of it! Male geese get to 26 lbs! That is a lot of meat.
-Emden Goose: the egg laying goose. Goose eggs are big, so bigger eggs. They can't lay as many as ducks or chickens, but the size makes up for it.
-African Goose: A good egg layer, very efficient at it. Harder to acquire though.
-Canada goose: You want one!? Forget it! They belong to Canada. I'm serious. You still want one? Fine, well then you'll have to apply for a special permit from Canada. More pain than it's worth in my opinion.
-Egyptian Goose: Meat..eggs... not really, they're tiny and cute and ornamental.
So that is my gist on fowl. There are a lot more birds you could technically raise, but I'm only covering these three species for now.
Here are some links for reading if you're interested:
http://raisinggeese.com/index.html
http://duckhobby.com/
http://www.backyardchickens.com/
Ok friends, until next time, Happy Organica!
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