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(fwd) Re: Anybody got info on hormones...?



On Fri, 28 Apr 2000 11:3:59, in market-farming "Ava Devenport"
<essenheal@iname.com> wrote:


Dear Joseph:

I have never personally raised chickens, but my mamau did.  Her
chickens 
were always extremely healthy and good producers.

The main thing she said to always do was let the chickens have free
range, 
where they can get sunshine and fresh air.  Scratching and picking the
earth enabled them to obtain and absorb their nutrients better.  She
also 
would place a pile of wood ashes in the chicken yard, they would use
it as 
a 'dust bath' and it kept them free of lice.

She never fed them hormones but she did plant an herb called
Shepherd's 
Purse as a tonic for the chickens.  It's an excellant calcium
supplement, 
very important for egg production and also the health of the chicken,
as 
they use the calcium within their own bodies to develope the egg
shell.  It 
also builds bone mass as well as correcting fluid balance within the 
chickens body.  They eat the flowering tops of the herb.  Mamau also 
maintained an area of fresh water, a pile of small gravel and grit
(for 
their digestion) and she cleaned and crushed all of her egg shells to
mix 
in with the grit, adding to their calcium levels.

Grandad said "a good, cocky rooster" was one of the most important
elements 
in getting those chickens to produce more eggs, and you have to keep
taking 
the eggs already laid away on a very regular basis.

Personally, I always pay the extra cost of good farm fresh,
free-range, 
hormone free eggs.  Not a better egg in this world!

Blessings,
Ava


Lawrence F. London, Jr. Venaura Farm ICQ#27930345
lflondon@mindspring.com  london@metalab.unc.edu
metalab.unc.edu/intergarden InterGarden
metalab.unc.edu/permaculture PermaSphere
metalab.unc.edu/intergarden/orgfarm AGINFO