Recent content by mmerritt

  1. mmerritt

    Cicada treats

    Good morning! My 6-year-old son came home from school yesterday and said his teacher told them that chickens LOVE to eat cicadas. As we're in cicada swarm at the moment, I grabbed a couple live ones and threw them in the run. Well, they didn't last long. My 8-week old girls swallowed them...
  2. mmerritt

    Stinky Coop Problems

    Eggscellent8 - By the way, you can see my coop at https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/occupy-the-backyard. About halfway down is a picture of the inside of the coop and the chicks in the pellets right when I put them in for the first time. Here is a close-up of how it looks now after a month...
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  4. Deep litter method with wood pellets in a 4' x 8' coop. These are about 4 inches deep or so, and have been in use with 10 chickens for about a month. There is NO chicken smell that I can perceive, even though you can see that there is plenty of dung laying around. It just smells like wood. I rake it with a steel rake every 2 or 3 days to keep it mixed up. Just to the right of the center of the picture you may be able to see an indentation. The chickens will dig holes in it and take dust baths pretty much every day. I'm very happy with how this is working.

    Deep litter method with wood pellets in a 4' x 8' coop. These are about 4 inches deep or so, and have been in use with 10 chickens for about a month. There is NO chicken smell that I can perceive, even though you can see that there is plenty of dung laying around. It just smells like wood. I rake it with a steel rake every 2 or 3 days to keep it mixed up. Just to the right of the center of the picture you may be able to see an indentation. The chickens will dig holes in it and take dust baths pretty much every day. I'm very happy with how this is working.

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  5. mmerritt

    Comment by 'mmerritt' in article 'Occupy The Backyard'

    Canesisters - Nice. As I was trying to decide whether to build or to buy, my sister told me about a local landscape company that had an old used shed for sale by the road. I went to see it but it had been sold already. I would have bought it on the spot, but it wasn't to be. Best of luck! Be...
  6. mmerritt

    Stinky Coop Problems

    Quote: Eggcellent - I only used wood shavings when I had tiny chicks in a plastic bin, but not in the big coop, so I'm not sure. I don't think I would like wood shavings as well which is why I'm using the pellets. I keep reading how sawdust is great bedding. Well, these wood pellets are...
  7. mmerritt

    Stinky Coop Problems

    Eggscellent8 - Go to Lowes.com and search "wood pellets". The first result should be "40 Lbs. Wood Pellets". They are $5.97 per bag. I've gotten different brands from different Lowe's stores, so the brand isn't specified. If you go to a Lowe's store, ask somebody in the outdoor/gardening...
  8. mmerritt

    Stinky Coop Problems

    Eggscellent8 - Each 40 lb bag was around $5 and change. I started with 8 bags, which was plenty for 4' x 8', and I shouldn't need more for a good long while.
  9. mmerritt

    Comment by 'mmerritt' in article 'Our Recycled Shed Coop'

    Nice work, and thanks for the idea for the run. Check me out at http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/occupy-the-backyard and see if you recognize anything. :-)
  10. mmerritt

    Comment by 'mmerritt' in article 'Beckyinmas Chicken Coop'

    Thanks for the guidance! Check me out at http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/occupy-the-backyard and see if you recognize anything. :-)
  11. mmerritt

    Stinky Coop Problems

    Are you familiar with the deep litter method? I'm just learning about it, and we're becoming BFF's. If you're not, read about it here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/deep-litter-method-the-easiest-way-to-deal-with-chicken-litter-dlm. I'm using hardwood pellets I got from Lowe's, though...
  12. mmerritt

    Comment by 'mmerritt' in article 'Occupy The Backyard'

    Dolly - I'm using the deep litter method (read about it here - http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/deep-litter-method-the-easiest-way-to-deal-with-chicken-litter-dlm). I'm picking up some guidelines as I read about the deep litter method, but it appears that there are no hard-and-fast rules...
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