Poultry

At the eco village, there are a lot of birds. When I say a lot, I mean A LOT. Every morning we are woken up but a wide range of bird calls. Birds that sound like a laser beam, monkeys, alarms, or normal parakeet bird calls. At first it was annoying but I’ve grown to enjoy it, I would however like to see what birds make what calls, and I have yet to see them. There are many poultry species, ducks, geese, pigeons, quail, and guniea fowl.

Ducks are omnivorous and are much hardier than hens. They can withstand colder temperatures and less comfortable environments. They lay much bigger eggs and more often than hens would. However they do not last as long. Ducks can be used for down pillows and blankets. Their manure is a very good fertilizer. It is organic, and can increase fish production if kept on dams. They are easy to keep, dry house, and shelter from predators.

Geese, on the other hand are much noisier, and mainly eat grass although sometimes they will eat clover. They can be used commercially to be weeders in crops. In the Roman times geese were used as watchdogs because they would call out, but they would often times do false alarms. Their feathers are also used in pillows and blankets. Their eggs can be harvested and feathers plucked for meat.

Quail eggs are harvested as well, a small flock of 20-40 birds can support a family. They can produce up to 300 eggs their first year. They are simple to care for and have easy, inexpensive living requirements.