I will have one or 2 go broody if I put curtains across the openings to the box(s) so I take them off when I do not want chicks. I don’t have a rooster, which I have been told tends to trigger broody
I buy sand from a sand a gravel business or from a landscaping materials supply. It is course enough to not be dusty and at a fraction of the price from a hardware or a home improvement store. Either I can get it myself or have a lot delivered and dumped on my property
Sounds like he is getting fixated and overworked about the chickens. Smile, and tell him kindly that you have looked into all the laws and everything is fine as it is. Wave, and smile nicely again and walk away. Avoid escalating the situation. If he is retired then he has all day to think about...
I love sand for the coop and covered run. I use course sand that has small pebbles and is used under road pavement so it is course like river sand. Maybe it was this post I read 4 years ago and convinced me to use sand? It takes me just minutes to clean each morning with 2 kitty litter shovels...
Paul Drake will soon be the lone pet duck at our home and that will be unfair. Willing to re-home him for 0$ to someone who has ducks and looking for a male, but not just free duck soup. We are located in Springfield, OR
In the process of adding metal fabric, right now the front in the photo opens to the poultry yard and a back door (looks like a fireplace chimney door) opens to my large garden. it acts as a bridge, and allows me to keep the chickens out of the garden and keep the ducks in the garden during the...
Yesterday morning around 8am I took 3 hens over to the compost bins where I had thrown meal worms on top of the piles. They ate the worms, then raced back to the chicken yard and found comfy spots under the apple trees. Maybe my mistake was not using scratch so they would be inclined to use...
In a few months horse manure looks broken down, but is not to the state of crumbly dark soil where the fibers of the hay have broken down and it will have a soil smell rather than a manure smell - that is when it has been completely composted
Silly! Of course I don't expect them to eat POO!
I want them to scratch it up and look for the worms, undigested grain, grass seed, etc. so it breaks down the poo more quickly. I will put the composted manure onto the garden, flower beds, and field when it has composted.
Chickens CAN speed up...