Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[hendricks115]

Can I whine a little about being a renter? We rent a house on a 3/4 acre lot in a little development in a rural area...north west of Pittsburgh so still a pretty depressed area. The development was built in the 60s on terrible clay soils, and naturally, the septic systems are all failing... ours is failing especially hard since there are also wetlands in our back yard, just below the drain field. We've had issues since we moved in with water backing up into the basement; he came out and dug up the yard to check the pipes and had the septic tank pumped. That was 2 years ago... the tank is full to overflowing again. He knows about it and was here to see it leaking sewage water in the yard, but we haven't heard anything about it in weeks. Apparently the township keeps talking about plans to put in a central sewer (we already have public water) and so no one wants to spend the money to replace their septic systems if they're going to have to pay big bucks in a year to two to hook up to a sewer line. Personally, I don't see it happening any time soon for the simple fact that the people who live here don't have the money to tap in. Replacing the septic system probably wouldn't help much anyway considering our neighbor had to replace his last year to sell his house and the new owners are already having problems with their brand new septic system.

Why am I whining about this on a chicken group? Because I can't expand my chicken run until the septic issue is resolved... the tank is just on the other side of a big bush and weed area, the plan was to make the run go around the bush to let the chickens keep the weeds down. It wasn't until we were scouting out the run area that we saw the tank was overflowing. There is no way to get a fence through the bush to exclude the tank from the run and I can't let the chickens have access to it.

We've been tossing grass clippings in the run whenever DH mows but it doesn't last long and their run is back to bare dirt (mud lately with all this rain). I made a temporary little extension into the corn bed last week but they've already eaten that down and the extension also gives them access to our porch & steps which are super annoying to have covered in poop (apparently they like to hang out on the steps, and it shows!). They need more space, but I have nowhere else to go except around the bush & septic tank.

Their current run (without the corn bed) is about 80sq-ft with ~25sq-ft of that being under the coop. Technically, that should be enough for our birds (7 now since we lost two)... but it just doesn't feel like enough. Would it help to throw some sand down in there?

We dealt with the exact same issue in a place we rented early in our marriage. Crappy septic, didn't want to fix because may have to hook to public lines. Complete headache and sometimes a smelly one too! We decided to move, I know that's not always an option but it was the only one for us. Believe me, although it is a completely sucky situation and I sympathize, it could be worse! Our pump in our septic tank broke this past winter while there was approximately 2 feet of snow in the yard. At the time we didn't know if it was the pump or an electrical problem. You don't even want to know the quotes we got to come take a look at it and potentially fix the issue while there was all that snow. So for over 2 months we had to use a sump pump to drain the water holding tank in our sand mound once a week until the snow melted. By that point we knew it was the pump and not electrical. We had to have someone look at the tank, empty the tank and then have them back to fix it.

As a suggestion, maybe you can arrange to have it emptied and take the amount off your monthly rent. I know it doesn't fix the big problem but it fixes the short term. I have family that rents and when they have to repair something that is the arrangement they have with their landlord.

 

[LittleMissPurdy]

How much is a dressed out rabbit, Wing? I did find a place that would order them but they'd be about $25 per rabbit. That seemed a bit high to me to just try it. I've never had rabbit and my husband has only had it once. Before I start building hutches, I need to know if we even like it.

tastes just like chicken

I never thought of doing that! I used to feed them the eggs we would miss or whatever. To them or the chicks. Next time

**Anne- coyote scat looks like dog poo, but has little "things" in it..hahahha, that did not sound good...anyway, there is stuff from what they were eating in it..like...fur and such....do I make any sense?..hahahaha..ummm, if you want I can try to take a pic of it tomorrow...if you want...we have had rain, so i am not too sure what "condition" iy will be in..hahahaha..never thought I would say that....oh boy...

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Thanks everyone. Hubby is actually really upset about losing the yellow baby. He was instantly attached to that little one. This is the first time he's really been attached. I told him about it and he said "go get them, all of them. Cloud too. Bring them all inside." I did get a broody coop mostly put together. The floor is a 4 x 3 pallet covered with thin wood then plywood sides and slanted roof. Pictures when I can. I put a divider in the middle so it's actually two compartments of 2 x 3. I know that's not very big but it'll have to work for now. I plan on putting it right beside the main coop and run (it'll have a run of its own too) so that everyone can still see each other. Hopefully that way I can integrate the flock together easier.

 

[fisherlady]

Thanks everyone. Hubby is actually really upset about losing the yellow baby. He was instantly attached to that little one. This is the first time he's really been attached. I told him about it and he said "go get them, all of them. Cloud too. Bring them all inside." I did get a broody coop mostly put together. The floor is a 4 x 3 pallet covered with thin wood then plywood sides and slanted roof. Pictures when I can. I put a divider in the middle so it's actually two compartments of 2 x 3. I know that's not very big but it'll have to work for now. I plan on putting it right beside the main coop and run (it'll have a run of its own too) so that everyone can still see each other. Hopefully that way I can integrate the flock together easier.

Sorry about the little one... it sucks no matter how many times you tell yourself that things can happen....

My DH is the same, the little ones have him wrapped around their little tiny feet from the start, and he usually favors the smallest or weakest of any hatch and fusses over them daily.
It sounds like your broody apartments should do just fine... the inside dimensions are not a problem since they would only be inside for a day or two anyway before they start roaming out.

 

[emorems0]

Sorry about the little one... it sucks no matter how many times you tell yourself that things can happen....

My DH is the same, the little ones have him wrapped around their little tiny feet from the start, and he usually favors the smallest or weakest of any hatch and fusses over them daily.
It sounds like your broody apartments should do just fine... the inside dimensions are not a problem since they would only be inside for a day or two anyway before they start roaming out.

Why do we do that I wonder... forming attachments to the smallest/weakest ones? Other than the freak accident when my 3yo fell into the brooder and squished a chick (first loss, it was very sad), the only chicks that we lost were ones that had names... Henny Penny had foot problems (which I was so proud of myself for fixing, but it set her behind the other chicks), and Juliet and Buttercup were both much smaller/weaker than the rest. The only named chickens we have left are the roosters, which we aren't keeping. I think the remaining pullets will remain nameless, just seems like a bad omen!

 

[Blarneyeggs]

Unfortunately, we lost the little yellow one somehow both chicks fell out of the nest box and the rear of the chickens style and killed it. I got out there in time to save the little black one. It's a bit heartbreaking. I was so excited for the little wheaten one I had to take the risk and move Cookie, even though her other two eggs haven't hatched yet. She's content in a small dog carrier right now, still covering her eggs and caring for her little baby. I'm quickly trying to throw together a small broody coop just big enough for 2 broody girls at a time with a divider down the middle. Hopefully I can get it done quickly since Cloud's brood is due on Thursday. In lighter news, one of Cookie's other eggs has pipped and the other is peeping

Oh NO! Heartbreaking. I'm glad you moved her. If Cloud is a first time broody, you may want to wait until at least one chick hatches before moving her and the eggs, and do it at night. This way she'll be more inclined to stay on the new nest.

 

[emorems0]

We dealt with the exact same issue in a place we rented early in our marriage. Crappy septic, didn't want to fix because may have to hook to public lines. Complete headache and sometimes a smelly one too! We decided to move, I know that's not always an option but it was the only one for us. Believe me, although it is a completely sucky situation and I sympathize, it could be worse! Our pump in our septic tank broke this past winter while there was approximately 2 feet of snow in the yard. At the time we didn't know if it was the pump or an electrical problem. You don't even want to know the quotes we got to come take a look at it and potentially fix the issue while there was all that snow. So for over 2 months we had to use a sump pump to drain the water holding tank in our sand mound once a week until the snow melted. By that point we knew it was the pump and not electrical. We had to have someone look at the tank, empty the tank and then have them back to fix it.

As a suggestion, maybe you can arrange to have it emptied and take the amount off your monthly rent. I know it doesn't fix the big problem but it fixes the short term. I have family that rents and when they have to repair something that is the arrangement they have with their landlord.

Oh, I know it could be worse... we had issues selling our old house when we got relocated out here. Hubs' relocation package looked awesome on paper, but in reality it turned into a nightmare. Despite being completely gutted and remodeled ~10 years prior (including plumbing, electrical, windows, siding, roof, etc.), the relocation company wouldn't qualify our old house to participate in the relocation package because there were too many things that didn't pass inspection (bogus stuff that would be impossible to change, like the neighbors property slopes toward our house, evidence of water seepage in the [135 yr-old stacked slate] foundation). We spend months trying to jump through all of their hurdles, rebuilt the front porch, re-charged the central a/c, got additional inspections to clarify some of their bogus complaints. In the end, there is nothing we could do to appease them because the bones of the house were too old (built in 1875). Of course, they didn't tell us that they came to that conclusion until 8 months later when we were already moved out here. So our only choice was to sell that house as a short sale which took nearly a year (one of the great perks of buying in 2007

). It was awesome trying to pay for two houses, while dropping down to a single salary... we had public water and sewer at the old house and they wouldn't allow us to 'turn it off' despite the fact that no one lived there so we had to keep paying the connection fee, and it was winter so we had to keep heating oil in the tank so the pipes wouldn't freeze, then summer came and we had to pay someone to keep the lawn mowed since we were 6 hours away.

After all of that mess, we decided it would be easier for us to rent for a while since he'll likely be relocated again. Decent rental houses that allow pets and are not in town are pretty slim pickings, we NEVER would have bought this house, it has been nothing but problems and would never pass a home inspection. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful that we aren't responsible for paying for the repairs... my complaint is that they aren't getting done and it's a frustrating (and unsafe, really) to live with. I have small kids that play in the backyard, we had to put a pallet over the stream of sewage as a 'bridge' of sorts to keep the kids out of it. I really want to give the chickens more space and let them manage the weeds around that bush but there's no way to keep them out of the septic mess. What I really need to do is get my house cleaned up (so hard to stay on top of with 2 littles and a newborn!) and call him and force the issue. I need to get the new fence in before it gets too cold out, their current run fence was just meant to be temporary and is definitely not predator-proof. He has certain people he uses for all this stuff so we need to let him call to get it pumped. There are so many things falling apart in this house that he isn't dealing with and we've considered moving several times. There just aren't other rentals in this school district, even harder to find any that allow pets and don't mind me digging up some yard space for veggie gardens.

Anyway, sorry for rambling and thanks for letting me whine here

 

[fisherlady]

Anyway, sorry for rambling and thanks for letting me whine here

You don't need to apologize for venting... it is what we are here for and it isn't rambling!

I'm sorry it has been so miserable for you in the rental, especially with the little ones to deal with.... hopefully things get better soon and the landlord gets the sewer problem fixed.

 

[barbiegirl]

Don't forget to watch the lunar eclipse! If you are cloudy you can watch live. http://wnep.com/2014/10/08/watch-lunar-eclipse-live/

 

[Housemom408]

105 little yellow nuggets went into a brooder today..

I must be nuts, that means I will be processing in December,,,bbbrrrrrrrr...
Hope people want chicken for Christmas.

Wished I lived closer. We are going to try it for the first time in the spring.