Maine

[suzMEchicks]

Lg: what's a wry tail?

 

[lazy gardener]

Crooked tail. When you look down on the top profile of the bird, the tail feathers veer off to the side instead of lining up at the midline. Sometimes shows up early, sometimes later. I don't think it affects laying, but not a characteristic you want to pass on.

 

[spook]

My other half puts clean out into the garden, he also adds wood ash and Epsom salts. If your manure is concentrated, set it into a place that it can mellow out such as compost area so to rid of the amonia. Often growing up, we took a 5 gallon pail with, cow, hen, and horse (sounds like duck is great)manure mix in water and pour it towards the base of the plants.
Also if your soil needs nitrogen, plant beans + peas, we do rotate our crops. Good luck.

 

[spook]

...

My other half puts clean out into the garden, he also adds wood ash and Epsom salts. If your manure is concentrated, set it into a place that it can mellow out such as compost area so to rid of the amonia. Often growing up, we took a 5 gallon pail with, cow, hen, and horse (sounds like duck is great)manure mix in water and pour it towards the base of the plants.
Also if your soil needs nitrogen, plant beans + peas, we do rotate our crops. Good luck.
(Ding bat here, I think I either answered in the wrong spot or late. Forgive me

 

[IZZYBELLA]

Quote:
Don't worry... it was actually perfect timing! I was thinking the other day that I need to read up on crop rotation for next year's garden and this reminded me.

 

[dowgirl71]

Hi there. Unlike so many on here, neither my husband nor I are very handy. So, I bought a water heater. It works great and made life so much easier.

I'm in the minority here, but I do turn on a heating lamp when it is under 15-20 degrees at night. Last year my girls were 6 months old when winter arrived and they started getting very lethargic in the cold. They perked up when I started using the heater. I know most people do not heat and have success with it, though. There are definitely risks with the heating lamp - fire, losing electricity, etc. Maybe see how they do without it, but add electricity to your coop so you can add it (and a heated bowl) if necessary.

___
In other news, I'm in the process of trying to integrate teenagers with my existing flock of four hens. It is brutal. I have put a chicken wire fence down the middle of the run, so they can't get at each other, but they still peck through the fence. Am beginning to understand why I had several people tell me to just start over fresh instead of trying to integrate... :-/

Izzy, me too-integrating younger chicks! I really should down size and if these 2 Speckled Sussex chicks weren't so sweet, I would've really made things easy for myself and found them a new home, but they've become my favorites. One of them is a rooster, so he will be going to a new home, when I've successfully integrated his sister. I just don't want her to be alone. This process has not been easy! I thought I'd have the most trouble with my 3 older hens, but they seemed to be almost like, "Oh man-more kids!" Then, just went about their business. They really didn't bother with them much, but my 5 "teenagers" were awful to the little ones! So, at this point, they are all in the outside run together, during the day, but the 2 SS go into a separate tractor house, at night. They hide out together during the day, for the most part inside the chicken coop. It is finally going much better. I think I could complete this by just going out and putting them in the coop, while everyone is sleeping, but I just get comfortable here on the couch, this time of night!

 

[SanCarlos6127]

Izzy, me too-integrating younger chicks! I really should down size and if these 2 Speckled Sussex chicks weren't so sweet, I would've really made things easy for myself and found them a new home, but they've become my favorites. One of them is a rooster, so he will be going to a new home, when I've successfully integrated his sister. I just don't want her to be alone. This process has not been easy! I thought I'd have the most trouble with my 3 older hens, but they seemed to be almost like, "Oh man-more kids!" Then, just went about their business. They really didn't bother with them much, but my 5 "teenagers" were awful to the little ones! So, at this point, they are all in the outside run together, during the day, but the 2 SS go into a separate tractor house, at night. They hide out together during the day, for the most part inside the chicken coop. It is finally going much better. I think I could complete this by just going out and putting them in the coop, while everyone is sleeping, but I just get comfortable here on the couch, this time of night!

I have a section of the coop in which all "new" chicks or chickens get segregated to for a few weeks before they get directly mixed into the flock. So far things have gone smooth when I let they intermingle after their quarantine period... Although they will still need to figure out their pecking order when they do get merged...

 

[lazy gardener]

If you do a google search for companion planting or rotation crops, you'll get more information than you ever thought you needed. There are some interesting charts out there. One of my favorite interplanting mixes is potatoes with sweet corn. The potatoes really seem to benefit.

I finally clipped wings tonight. didn't get them all done, but quite a few. It was ridiculously easy. I waited until they had gone to perch, and just plucked them off the perch. They seemed totally perplexed when I put them down. I'm thinking of clipping all the youngsters except for the cockrel. The older girls are too fat and lazy to fly over the fence. I figure that if I leave the boy's wings intact, he'll stay with the girls anyways, and better for him to be fully "armed". Am tearing down the electronet, repositioning it to get them where I want them when the crew shows up to cut trees. Hope to get them settled in the new configuration by this weekend, with a top over their much smaller run to keep them contained while the work gets done.

I'm not sure, but thinking the cockrel is sizing me up... getting ready to "take me on". He started to drag a wing in front of me the other day. I've been walking him around the yard, have pulled him off a hen to give him flying lessons a couple of times. Plan to get a super-soaker to deal with the crowing. He always seems to be "just a bit too close" when I'm out dealing with the flock. He could be just a curious boy who wants to see what's going on, but, I don't want to give him even a chance to get "too comfortable".

 

[Widget]

I love my Speckled Sussex. I have five pullets that are about four months old. They are very friendly. Sometimes too friendly since they love to be underfoot especially when there is food. Know I am regretting I did not get a SS rooster when I ordered the girls this past spring.

Izzy, me too-integrating younger chicks!  I really should down size and if these 2 Speckled Sussex chicks weren't so sweet, I would've really made things easy for myself and found them a new home, but they've become my favorites.  One of them is a rooster, so he will be going to a new home, when I've successfully integrated his sister. 

 

[Cknldy]

Okay folks...here's your laugh of the day: I stopped in at a dollar store for candy. (We'll just say it was for the kids;-)) A couple of women in front of me used coupons to get the Airborne Immune Booster, got 2 boxes for 11 cents. I said 'Couponing at its best' which struck up a conversation on extreme couponing and time spent clipping coupons. When I said I don't have 60 hours to devote to coupon cutting because I have a family and farm to raise the teenage cashier says "Oh you play Farmville?" My sweet reply was 'No honey, REAL animals and REAL poop." Teenage cashier then says "Oh I have always wished for 500,000 dollars so I could start a real farm!"