The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Sally8]

Pretty sure I know the answer to this, but here it is. My hen (turkey) was broody, so I gave her 8 eggs. My other hens were pushing into her nest to lay and smashing eggs. I now have them straightened out and laying elsewhere. But the eggs were covered in yolk and muck. Also, she was sitting on BBB eggs. I had more in the incubator (for the 4th time) and they never developed. So today, I removed all 12 of the eggs and gave her some I bought. She had 6 BBB eggs left and 6 of her own eggs that she continues to lay. I tossed 3 of hers that were not developed yet, but 2 others are and one looks freshly laid. One is very dirty, one is smudgy and the new one is clean. I already have a staggered hatch in the incubator. I'm afraid to put the dirty eggs in. Should I just sacrifice them for the good of the others, or is there a way to clean them? I really need poults, but don't want to risk everything.

I am no expert by any stretch of the imagination but I would go ahead and set the eggs. I actually bought eggs and had them shipped to me, and they were so dirty. I put the 14 dirty eggs in with my other clean ones and 6 of the 14 hatched. The 8 that didn't hatch were pretty scrambled from the shipping. I was afraid of bacteria but it turned out ok. My eggs were not terribly valuable but I also set my turkey eggs too. The only time nI wouldn't set them would be if they were covered with yolk and I don't think they could breath very well. I'm sure others will disagree with me but that's my opinion. (You could take a soft cloth and try to rub some of the dirt off, very gently. There again, my eggs were not valuable. I found the pics of the eggs, they were dirty from mud.

 

[gevshiba]

I am no expert by any stretch of the imagination but I would go ahead and set the eggs. I actually bought eggs and had them shipped to me, and they were so dirty. I put the 14 dirty eggs in with my other clean ones and 6 of the 14 hatched. The 8 that didn't hatch were pretty scrambled from the shipping. I was afraid of bacteria but it turned out ok. My eggs were not terribly valuable but I also set my turkey eggs too. The only time nI wouldn't set them would be if they were covered with yolk and I don't think they could breath very well. I'm sure others will disagree with me but that's my opinion. (You could take a soft cloth and try to rub some of the dirt off, very gently. There again, my eggs were not valuable. I found the pics of the eggs, they were dirty from mud.

Thanks Sally8. Mine did have some yolk on them. When I went in to get them, I saw I was wrong, I had 4 eggs. I did set the 2 cleaner ones. They really didn't look bad at all. Besides, I'm getting too greedy. My incubator's full!

 

[subhanalah]

I am no expert by any stretch of the imagination but I would go ahead and set the eggs. I actually bought eggs and had them shipped to me, and they were so dirty. I put the 14 dirty eggs in with my other clean ones and 6 of the 14 hatched. The 8 that didn't hatch were pretty scrambled from the shipping. I was afraid of bacteria but it turned out ok. My eggs were not terribly valuable but I also set my turkey eggs too. The only time nI wouldn't set them would be if they were covered with yolk and I don't think they could breath very well. I'm sure others will disagree with me but that's my opinion. (You could take a soft cloth and try to rub some of the dirt off, very gently. There again, my eggs were not valuable. I found the pics of the eggs, they were dirty from mud.

Never mind. I tossed the dirty ones. Didn't want to risk it.

the eggs I've set after rubbing them to get poop off turned into stinkers. The dirtiest egg that I had on that set, that I didn't rub at all was the first to hatch.

 

[gevshiba]

the eggs I've set after rubbing them to get poop off turned into stinkers. The dirtiest egg that I had on that set, that I didn't rub at all was the first to hatch.

I have shipped chicken eggs and paid for turkey eggs in there, so the yolk was my main concern. The other eggs aren't too clean either. Actually, I have 4 of my own hen's eggs in there and they are all cleaner than the shipped and paid for eggs. So far though, I've got 17 of 18 chick eggs doing well at day 9.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I use the house Pine pellets in my breeding pens and on the paths that get worn to just dirt. Awesome stuff... packs well, is very long term, and not dusty at all.

@RedRidge and @HollyDuckFarmer
Could you please elaborate a bit. Do you use them in your regular housing or just the breeding pens? Could you post a link to the kind you use so we know we're talking about the same thing?

I have read so many people say they didn't like them or they didn't work that I'd like to hear more about your experience with them.

Do you deep litter with them? How long does it take for them to become soft?

 

[FridayYet]

For those of us who don't have dirt floor hen houses:

Who uses dropping boards?
Do you like them?
How often to you clean/maintain them?
Are yours removable?
Do you like them?
If you could re-make them, is there anything you'd do differently?

1) The whole bottom of my hen house is like a dropping board, it's covered with about an inch of PDZ/Sand mix.
2) I love it!
3) I have a long-handled kitty litter scoop and I scoop about every other day. Droppings go into the compost.
4) Not removable .
5) Still love it!
6) If I built the coop again, I'd place a lip all the way around, caulked at the bottom. Right now bits of PDZ/sand sift down around the edges of the plywood. Not much, but enough to bug me. If I ever finish working on the coop, I'll install some 1x2 or something.

My coop - the henhouse is small since I live in a mild climate and they are in the covered run even when it's raining or cold. This is what it looked like before I finished and put in the PDZ. I like how it cleans their feet as the walk to the nest box, so the eggs are always really clean.

 

[Toast n Jelly]

Quote:
I used them under the litter and it was fine until it broke down and turned to dust.

The pellets broke apart more from the hens stomping on them than liquid.
but thanks for the idea .

 

[Toast n Jelly]

Quote: I agree. Going from free ranging to shut in for 6 months must have tripped them off, though I know of others that spent the same winter and did not feather pick, so...

 

[RedRidge]

I use the house Pine pellets in my breeding pens and on the paths that get worn to just dirt. Awesome stuff... packs well, is very long term, and not dusty at all.

@RedRidge
  and @HollyDuckFarmer

Could you please elaborate a bit.  Do you use them in your regular housing or just the breeding pens?  Could you post a link to the kind you use so we know we're talking about the same thing?

I have read so many people say they didn't like them or they didn't work that I'd like to hear more about your experience with them. 

Do you deep litter with them?  How long does it take for them to become soft?

It's the moisture that causes them to break down so it takes several weeks in the breeding pens due to simply pulling moisture from the ground. This is the first season I have used them and really like what it did in the pens. They are on high ground so I never have standing water but the natural ground moisture combined with a little rain blowing in is a perfect combination to break them down but not make a mess.
Originally I began using them on pathways. .. You know those common paths you walk every day that wear the grass down and become mud holes and slippery during a rain? Perfect solution. I put a bag along the path behind my breeding pens where I collect eggs and fill water every day. The first time it rained it became a poof of wet sawdust type looking stuff - yes it expands so don't use as much as you think - and then it all settled into a nice packed path that had stayed just like that since last Nov. It doesn't move or shift or become dusty.
In the pens the chickens of course scratch in it but that's fine... prevents them from scratching way down into the dirt in the pens and making deep holes. Deep litter basically. I have a small scoop I go in with about once a week and sift what is under their roost... I haven't changed it out or added to it all winter. The way it is lasting I figure I will only need to strip it down and replenish once a year.
If I was going to use it in the 2 big coops I would make sure to provide wood ash in a pan if they were confined. They can dust in it but I'm not sure how effective it would be. My coops are dirt floor. I may use it in the coops next winter since I've been so pleased with it this winter in the pens. The chickens who are cooped over the winter have "their spots" in the dirt floor where they dust so I haven't wanted to mess with their "interior decorating" over the winter until I saw how this stuff would work long term. So. .. I think it would be ideal for deep bedding and that's what I will do in the future... That's basically what I have in the breeding pens.
I'll take pics layer this morning.
Here's the kind I use. ..
http://m.tractorsupply.com/en/store...tall-bedding-40-lb?localStore=LENOIR+CITY,+TN

 

[Sally8]

the eggs I've set after rubbing them to get poop off turned into stinkers. The dirtiest egg that I had on that set, that I didn't rub at all was the first to hatch.

I never tried to get any of the dirt off and hatched as it was. The only reason the others (dirty ones) didn't hatch, I presume, they were so scrambled from shipping. I broke them open and the yolk was all over.