Eastern Washington

[Vickis Girls]

Oh good grief!

That must have been so scary for you, chickenwings! Are you o.k? Was she just cruising along on a cross street or something? she's lucky she wasn't hurt a lot worse. Try to relax today, the weather should be great all week.


VF. Thanks for the compost lead. It's mostly hay, but will compost nicely anyway. I ended up going back for a second load Monday.


Honeysucle01, Your little girl is adorable. What a special thing for her to find that first egg. Is that Bowtie that she's holding?


Rusty hen, I think you're the one from Hermiston? (I'll lose everything if I go back a page) Well, I just wanted to tell you we're glad you're here. I don't know where Hermiston is, but I know we get watermelons grown your town.

lovinchickypoos, I'm sorry about Jenny-O. Do you have other turkey friends?

It's sad, huh.

On a sort of funny note, I'm so sick of our 5 month long winters(just now ending on the east slopes of the Cascades), and having so many winter months to get fat, I joined a Zumba class yesterday. Now don't be mistaken, this isn't just any zumba, it's senior zumba!!! I don't mean to poke fun, but some of the ladies sat in chairs and just moved their feet. I guess they need to work up to senior zumba.

It was a great workout, and LOTS of fun! I'll be doing that Every Tues. am. until I get too busy around here to make time for it.

Everyone have a great day!
Vicki

 

[VelvettFog]

Vicki,

Keep an eye on craigslist - there is compost or manure for cheap quite often. Maybe some can be used this year, but in any event you can get a good pile cooking for next year!

Cow Manure is better than Horse. Horse will have viable seeds in it - Cow will not.. If you get your compost pile over 160 degrees weed seeds should not be an issue for you - but in case you want to do a cold pile, I'd skip horse manure in favor of cow/steer. I have no experence with goat poo. Rabbit is supposed to be the best - I sure have a lot of chicken poo

I think I ended up with a ton (litterally) of compost this spring - and it is looking like I'll end up cooking two piles this year - so I should have twice as much next spring as this.

that's a lotta poo.

 

[VelvettFog]

Speaking of compost, here is a link to a book on the subject

.Compost Book

 

[lovinchickypoos]

Vicki, I have one more turkey, Butterball. He/she hangs with the chicks and is doing great! Glad Butterball has other friends or I would have to track down some more buds!

 

[Honeysuckle01]

No, she's holding Flower in the picture. Here's her with Bowtie.



So while the day started off rather gray and dreary, it's so nice outside now. I love it!!

 

[Cam-n-Sara]

Regarding compost as well, There is a company here in Spokane that composts the leavings of the septic plant. The stuff is awesome. Neutral PH so it can go directly on beds or into the garden. And high in nutrients for fast absorption and usability.

 

[Vickis Girls]

Cam-n-Sara, I'm sure the product is great for the flowers, but I'd think twice before putting it in my veggie garden. I would never trust that the chemicals from prescriptions, and some soaps had really been removed. I'm a huge sceptic when a company says something is safe. Looks what's happened to our food.

 

[RustyHen]

Cam-n-Sara, I'm sure the product is great for the flowers, but I'd think twice before putting it in my veggie garden. I would never trust that the chemicals from prescriptions, and some soaps had really been removed. I'm a huge sceptic when a company says something is safe. Looks what's happened to our food.

X2

 

[Cam-n-Sara]

I agree, the persistence of "stuff" in everything is a concern for me as well. The process that the material goes through is pretty extensive tho so i am giving it a shot. I would think most of the chemical residue would be neutralized by the heat treatment and then several years of weather exposure and mixing with other composted material would do the same thing as what is done with animal waste for use in garden amendments.

 

[Vickis Girls]

I agree, the persistence of "stuff" in everything is a concern for me as well. The process that the material goes through is pretty extensive tho so i am giving it a shot. I would think most of the chemical residue would be neutralized by the heat treatment and then several years of weather exposure and mixing with other composted material would do the same thing as what is done with animal waste for use in garden amendments.

You're probably right, after several seasons, I would imagine any chemical residue would have probably leached into the soil, and be long gone. But then what? Does it end up in our water supply? Just remember that they say not to use pressure treated lumber in raised veggie beds because of the chems. I don't even know if there's a way to research this, but just be cautious. Once you add that stuff, what if you're wrong? I don't know. I'm too sceptical for my own good.

Honeysuckle01, your daughter is so darned cute! I have a 5yr. old granddaughter. It's such a sweet age. Did she name the chickens?

lovinchickypoos, I bet that big Butterball turkey feels like fat kid next to the chicks, but so sweet that they're all friends.

VF.Thanks for the compost info. I didn't know it made a difference which hay burner the manure came from. I used to use steer, but only because of the availability here. Now the cattle farmers in the area have turned to Timothy. The stuff I got from CL. is rabbit, but barely smells like a barn, so I think it's cage must be cleaned daily. I guess it's just not as stinky as I had expected. I haven't ever got my compost pile cooking. I usually just pile it up, and forget about it for a year. Then maybe I'll stir it up with the tractor and let it sit some more. Sounds pretty lazy, huh?