Recent content by deserthomestead

The WalMart at Serene and Eastern (near I-215 and Eastern) also sells the Family Farm layer feed.

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I have 10 hens and live in southern NV -- daytime temps around 105 F recently. We had been getting 5-7 eggs a day, but for the last 2 days I haven't found ANY eggs. My hens do free range, but there's really nowhere for them to hide eggs. They've never laid anywhere but the nest boxes in the...

I ordered a thermostat from China last week and the stupid thing won't even turn on. Now I'm returning it and looking for alternatives. I found this thermostat designed for seedling heat mats: Has anyone used one of these? Do they work well?

Thanks so much!

I bought this thermostat: And found this wiring diagram here on BYC: When I strip and split the cords, I'll end up with two wires from each power cord. Using the power cord (slots 3 and 4) as an example, how do I know which piece of my power cord goes into slot 3 and which one goes into...

I finally got an egg! I think it came from one of the 25-week olds. I'm so happy! Now I'm just waiting for the other 17 to start laying...

totally gives me the heebie-jeebies just thinking about it! And it seems like such a waste of a potential source of meat...

A neighbor has offered me pine needles if I want them. Is there any reason not to use those (they're free!)

It is indeed alfalfa! Can sand be used by itself in the boxes?

Most of my girls are 16 weeks old, with a few 17-18 week olds mixed in. I just put in next boxes 2 days ago and filled them with hay. They keep eating all of the nesting material! I've refilled them at least 4 times already! They have PLENTY to eat -- homemade fermented feed, kitchen scraps...

I just have to say, that's a really cute coop! I'm afraid I can't be helpful with the egg thing, though.

Thanks for the tips on long-term vacation! I may just have to switch to dry feed during that time. There's 18 birds, and in my region the standard temps during late December are 40s-50s during the day, and down to the mid to low 30s at night. The dog's outside water dish tends to freeze at night...

Does anyone have any tips for FF while on vacation? I'm going to be gone for at least a week around Christmas, and can't figure out how to automate wet feed.

The fridge sounds like a great idea! My only concern would be air circulation, but it's definitely worth a try!