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    Debate on food, free range and egg quality...

    I love the idea of shopping local, but I don't trust people on craigslist or through FB marketplace... I just don't... If I happen to find out that I work with someone (my employers is the second largest int he county) that is raising chicks and has some for sale, I would do that... but not with...
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    Debate on food, free range and egg quality...

    Get little garter snakes, for sure.
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    Debate on food, free range and egg quality...

    I feel you. We would not have spent all the money time and effort into building the coop and run if not for an expectation of eggs and potentially meat if needed. However, we also do not want to raise birds that are prone to disease and live unhealthy lives, giving us unhealthy eggs. I think...
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    Debate on food, free range and egg quality...

    I think the discussion online, in general gets more confused when you aren't given proper context for the intent of the chicken keeper and the desired output / expectations of the birds. For me... 1. I want egg production, but I want eggs that are healthy for us to eat and chickens that can...
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    Debate on food, free range and egg quality...

    I would think that logs with bark will add different things than no bark... I have a pile of bark from chopping wood, would that be good to throw into the coop? Mostly ash I think. Maybe turning and moving logs around periodically in a run might be good to reveal some bugs and such for the...
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    Debate on food, free range and egg quality...

    Nice list. I am chewing on a list myself. So I am thinking of making two extra runs, each about 18 x 18. Logs and other decaying matter might be just as crucial as the growing things? Planning to till up the ground well and saturated with organic matter before I begin planting. I am sure a...
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    Debate on food, free range and egg quality...

    I am thinking of mixing mulch with leaves and straw. I can get quite few cottonwood tree leaves in the fall. Do you just fill up the run and let them be all winter, or do you store the leaves and add more periodically? Don't have great places to store them, I guess I could just pile them and...
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    Debate on food, free range and egg quality...

    Don't worry, I make things complicated...
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    Debate on food, free range and egg quality...

    I knew this was true for the roots. but I hadn't heard this about the leaves. Supposedly all nut bearing trees do this, but for some reason Black Walnut is a much worse offender.
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    Debate on food, free range and egg quality...

    I saved a bunch of watermelon last year and froze it. Knowing that I would have chickens this year. They gobble it up as it thaws. They dig the mulberries too.
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    Debate on food, free range and egg quality...

    I think my wife mentioned that... That sounds familiar. She threw quite a few five dollar words at me.
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    Debate on food, free range and egg quality...

    The two biggest issues around soy, that I have read, is the GMO and the estrogen... I think. Some people are very sensitive to soy, other's not so much. The non-GMO thing is possible, but I know it adds to the prices and there is really no way to know if it is really non-GMO. I am not sure how...
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    Debate on food, free range and egg quality...

    I think the mistake is more about terminology than about cause and effect. The idea is that we want the healthiest eggs (and chickens) that we can get. If the feed costs a bit more, so be it. If free ranging a bit is helpful, so be it. She doesn't like the idea of corn and soy for a variety of...
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    Debate on food, free range and egg quality...

    Unfortunately, the bulk of the yard is open. The crows do a good job of chasing the hawks. If I made a larger "day-time run" it would be from cheaper fencing and bird netting on top. They would not have access if we were not out and about.
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    Debate on food, free range and egg quality...

    Don't get much by the way of leaves. I guess I can try to save the cottonwood tree leaves in the back... are there any types of leaves to stay away from?
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    Debate on food, free range and egg quality...

    I have 216 sq ft run with 7 birds. Not planning to get any more for a couple years.
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    Debate on food, free range and egg quality...

    Yeah. Not sure all the sources, but mostly doctor/health/holistic type sources I would say. The focus of the date was not from the farming perspective, but from the shopping perspective. I am trying to translate what the people said about which eggs from the store are the healthiest to doing...
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    Debate on food, free range and egg quality...

    We eat a lot of eggs. We are new to chickens. We have a small flock of seven chickens that are soon to be egg layers. Their run is 12x18, floor is currently grass, will add dye free mulch this fall when grass is gone. My wife wants the healthiest eggs (and chickens)... She reads and watches...
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