The Growing Flock

09/28/2023

All the birds found 🏡

Hello everyone, I'm in the process of moving so I need to down size my flock.
I have seven 3+ year old mixed breed hens 👀🏡 for FREE, they still lay decently well in the spring and I get some beautiful egg colors from them. (Message for pictures)
I also, have the flock of 4+ year old Golden Crele Legbars 👀🏡 for FREE (+2 more hens not in the picture), the rooster is super nice.
Then I have the two Cotton Patch female geese pictured 👀🏡 $ 2 0 each. Cotton Patch geese are a landrace auto sexing breed that is extremely rare, these two ladies are also super sweet and have never attacked anyone. This mother daughter pair gave me upwards to a dozen eggs each this past spring.

Message me for more info, I need them gone before the 7th of October. Located in Anderson.

02/05/2020

The Growing Flock's cover photo

02/05/2020

Great Reasons to Raise Geese in Your Back Yard

If you're considering adding geese to your homestead (or even if you haven't considered them yet, lol) I encourage you to read this article on some of the great reasons to own geese! Personally my geese are one of my favorite animals on the farm, and for many of my family members they are "the" favorite! My geese help keep our yard mown down, and eventually they will be put to work keeping our orchard mown once we plant our trees. Geese can also be used for warning chicken flocks of hawks and other predators, for eggs in the spring/summer, and for their delicious meat. I own and will be breeding Cotton Patch geese which are a critically endangered, American Landrace breed, that is docile and friendly, and is auto sexing! So I encourage you to consider keeping geese on your homestead/farm!
https://pethelpful.com/farm-pets/Raising-Geese-in-Your-Backyard

Why raising backyard geese may be the next endeavor for your micro-farm.

02/03/2020

The Growing Flock

02/03/2020

Pretty blue eggs!

02/02/2020

It was a beautiful morning here on the farm in Upstate SC! Here you can see my geese, my chickens, and even my pigs in the back corner! As a homesteader/poultry breeder I'm up before the sun every day to do the chores, I'm out in the afternoon doing chores, and I'm out till dark doing the chores yet again, and some people would hear that and ask why do you do it? Why not just buy your meat and eggs from the store? Why not just buy chicks from TSC or a hatchery? Well, I do it because I get to see the first and last rays of the sun. I do it because I get to hear the birds singing their first songs of the day. I do it because those are the quietest most peaceful times of the day. I breed my own poultry because I want to know my birds are well bred and healthy. But most of all I do it because I love food, and I love knowing that the food I'm eating and feeding to my family is bred and raised humanely and healthily. All of this helps me get through the day to day chores, the day to day endless tasks and extra projects. I homestead and breed animals because I love it!

01/31/2020

Fermented Chicken Feed for Improved Health - Animals - GRIT Magazine

If you are interested in cutting your feed bill, here is another great article on fermenting chicken feed (I also do it for my geese and pigs)! Fermenting is super easy, and the benefits far out weigh the few more minutes it takes to do it compared to feeding dry feed. Also, if you're like me and like to feed organic feed then it can really help make that possible as it can cut your feed bill in as much as half. Check it out! https://www.grit.com/animals/chickens/fermented-chicken-feed-zm0z16jaztri?fbclid=IwAR38t-goEMaDECPKNDBGpi8tRdKY1zzd_hKZQYC2s2c7ohukywk_iQj-czk

Fermented chicken feed provides many benefits to improving chicken health.

01/29/2020

This is one of the many reasons I love my Legbars! Not only are they excellent layers of beautiful blue eggs, auto sexing at hatch, and beautiful to look at, but they are also super sweet and friendly no matter who is holding them! These are some pictures I took today of my 3 year old nephew holding my Cream Legbar pullet Eoywn. This was his very first time holding a chicken, and as you can see he loved it and did super well with her! Eowyn just sat contentedly in his lap and let him hold, hug, and pet her. Do any of you have adorable pictures of your kids holding chickens?

01/26/2020

Keeping Chickens: How To Brood Chicks Outside

I am considering trying an outdoor brooder during the warmer months here in Upstate SC which is much of the year. I will probably start them in the indoor brooder for the first week, and then move them right into the outdoor brooder if the weather is nice enough. Have any of you ever done an outside brooder during the nicer months? I'd be curious to know what your experience was with it! Here is an article I found very interesting on the subject! https://gnowfglins.com/raising-food/how-to-brood-chicks-outside/

Have you ever used an outdoor brooder? I discovered that it’s possible to brood chicks outside. And it’s a win-win for us and the chicks! Read here!

01/24/2020

My hens are all laying really well despite the cold we've had this last week! Look at this beautiful collection!

01/23/2020

You Need to Quarantine Your Flock Correctly

Here is a great article on why and how to quarantine new chickens! While I do not quarantine new birds for the months suggested in the article I do it for at least 30 days. If you are in an area where a certain disease is very common in chickens though I would recommend doing it for longer than the minimum 30 days. The coop I use for quarantining is very simple, and after a thorough cleaning it can be used as a sick coop, a broody coop, or a grow out space for new chicks. https://104homestead.com/quarantine/

Don't fall victim to the "it won't happen to me" frame of mind.

01/22/2020

We got down to 23 degrees last night, and all my animals did fine in the cold! My geese got right into their pools after I broke the thick layer of ice for them, and my chickens went right to scratching in the grass. I do not heat my coops as I believe it is best for my birds to acclimate naturally to the changing temperatures. Even my chickens that are in my open front chicken tractor did great last night despite the heavy frost we had. None of them have any frostbite not even my 2 large combed cockerels that are in that chicken tractor. Chickens have a body temp of around 107 degrees and are wearing a full body coat of down feathers, so they can stay plenty warm on their own, especially when they have friends to snuggle with. I always recommend buying breeds that are hardy to your climate and that have been bred locally if possible as they will be far more likely to thrive and do well for you! Here are some pictures from the cold mornings we've had!

01/20/2020

Forget 'Big Goat' Propaganda, Geese Are Better at Mowing And Always Have Been

Here is an interesting article on the uses of weeder geese, and in it you'll see the Cotton Patch breed mentioned several times! This article was one of the ones that got me hooked on not only geese but the Cotton Patch breed! Geese have so many uses on the homestead, but they are largely overlooked now days. One of my goals is to help people see the uses geese have on the homestead farm, and to help them see that not all goose breeds are mean and aggressive. The Cotton Patch breed is super sweet and docile!
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/forget-big-goat-propaganda-geese-are-better-at-mowing-and-always-have-been

In the mid-1980s, after he had retired to Texas, Tom Walker went to Arkansas with one purpose in mind. He wanted to buy some geese.

01/18/2020

Homemade Electrolyte Recipe for Chicks • The Prairie Homestead

Thankfully I've never needed to use this for my chicks, but I always have this recipe on hand should the need arise! Hopefully none of you will need it this chick season, but if you do I hope it helps! https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2017/02/homemade-electrolyte-recipe-chicks.html

Last week was rough… I went from excitedly running around preparing for our new chick shipment, to staying up late working like a mad woman trying to bring some of the chicks back from death’s door. Last week reminded me how quickly things can change on the homestead… And how thin is the veil ...

01/17/2020

Cotton Patch Geese are a docile, auto sexing, weeder/meat, American landrace breed that is on the Livestock Conservancy's Critically Endangered List.

01/15/2020

How to Beat Coccidiosis | Keep a Healthy Flock | A Farm Girl in the Making

Adding to the post I made yesterday about preventing/treating coccidiosis, this article delves into the management side of prevention which is the best way to prevent diseases/parasites. I found it super helpful and informative, and I hope it helps you guys too! https://afarmgirlinthemaking.com/how-to-beat-coccidiosis-and-keep-your-flock-healthy/

Keep a healthy flock by learning how to beat coccidiosis. Coccidiosis in chicken is deadly, though a preventative plan and a treatment will save your birds.

01/15/2020

Coccidia | Coccidiosis - Natural Prevention and Treatment for Chicks and Chickens

For those of you getting ready to buy chicks this spring here is an interesting link to read! Coccidiosis is a huge worry for many chicken keepers, but in this link you'll find some helpful tips for preventing and treating this parasite naturally. I have personally used several of these tips as preventatives, and have never had coccidiosis in any my birds. I hope this helps some of you this season!
https://www.fresheggsdaily.com/2013/11/coccidia-coccidiosis-natural-prevention.html

Coccidiosis is the #1 killer of baby chicks, but good brooder management and some natural preventives can help keep your flock healthy.

01/12/2020

I'm happy to say all my animals made it through last night's severe storm! This same storm spawned tornadoes in Alabama, and we had a tornado warning from it here in Anderson SC. I got my evening chores done early in the evening, and made sure each of my chicken tractors, goose tractors, and pig tractor were positioned so they would be safe from the wind. As you can see all is where it should be, and none of my animals were harmed, even with the up to 65 mile an hour winds we got.

01/11/2020

How to Ferment Chicken Feed in 3 Easy Steps to $ave Money

Do you want to cut your feed bill in as much as 1/2?! Well, here's how I do it! I ferment my chicken, goose, and pig feed for 1-5 days. Doing this helps make the nutrients more available which in turn means the animals don't need to eat as much in order to get the nutrients they need. It also reduces the waste as the powdery stuff in the feed bag and the stuff they would normally scratch out onto the ground is all stuck together in an oatmeal like consistency because of this my animals eat nearly 100% of the food I feed them. The reason I ferment for 1-5 days instead of the regular 3-5 you see everywhere else is because here in SC in the summer the feed ferments in only 24 hours where in other climates it might take a full 3 days in the summer, and in the colder months it can take up to 5 days to ferment. Here is a link with more info on fermenting chicken feed and how easy it is! https://www.reformstead.com/how_to_ferment_chicken_feed_in_3_easy_steps_to_save_money.html

Fermenting chicken feed for your backyard chickens is a great way to save money on their food. Fermented feed can be fed for your hens, baby chicks, egg layers, broilers or meat chickens.

01/11/2020

01/07/2020

Some of today's eggs!

01/05/2020

Legbars come in 3 recognized colors Cream, Golden Crele, and White. They are an auto sexing breed, that lays an abundance of large blue eggs.

01/03/2020

Natural lighting no filters! Love my Cream Legbar eggs!

12/15/2019

Legbars

12/08/2019

These are the birds I will be crossing to get unique and beautiful Olive and Easter Eggers