Add me to the list! I don’t clean out except for large pumpkin shells or something that they don’t eat...but that all gets added to the compost pile...I let the run get wet too...and turn it once in a while when it gets compacted with a garden fork to aerate and promote good soil composition for...
How weird...I’ve seen some sick and some funky birds before but that one takes the cake...I’m actually surprised you still dressed her out at almost 3 lbs after all of that.
But the liver could be a clue with the color and then all of the fat being produced...or a pancreas/liver combination issue.
I’ve cleaned probably hundreds of birds (quail, duck, pheasant, geese, grouse etc) and I have never seen that let alone ever heard of that....that’s pretty whoa! 😧
I’m with fox also....I’ve heard them literally scream like a young girl in trouble in the woods before...bone chilling and scary the first time you hear it....but was just a fox
I’m in central Florida so feel your pain! I have my own wood chipper and a decent amount of pepperwood, camphor and laurel oaks on my property so I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to make my own, but it’s mulch mixed with a garden fork in the soil and then layered with dry on top every now...
Sitting down in the dirt or grass with them with some treats at first works best for me...even my flighty, pain in the neck leghorns will come to me when I do that! But for ducks, me sitting with them got them used to me and not perceiving me as a threat fairly quick. You’re not so scary and...
We used to free range Pekins in the yard and there are a few feral cats around but not one of them would ever dare get near them...they were the sweetest birds but don’t get ‘em mad! Would chase a cat in a heartbeat....just wish they were a better match for the raccoons 😕...Even our dogs would...
Now see...this is why I like it here...I’m not so crazy after all then. (My wife thinks I’m nuts with the chickens lol)
I have a wireless camera with 2-way sound in my coop and I like listening to the girls just before they go to sleep once in a while and I’ve even said goodnight to them a few...
Hello central Florida chickie owner too! I’m down in Sebring, not too far from you up there in Lakeland.
Still looking through the forums and for other local BYC folks but this place is huge! I’ll be a while catching up...
This is how mine is setup...I have a 10’x12’ coop with a deep litter floor and several roosting shelves. Under the long roost I have poop boards and under the smaller ones I leave for the litter. Makes cleaning up easier and it sort of forces me to keep the litter turned over and cleaned more...
Yeah...he’s either not expecting heavy traffic or heavy loads I guess...we used to burn coal patch to fill pot holes sometimes without an aggregate...burning would burn some of the oil out and make it harden a little better...but eventually it either breaks apart from freezing and thawing or...
Quite normal...known as oil and stone pavement...he’s just melting down either coal patch or roof sealer to smooth it out. Most smaller neighborhoods have similar roads of just sprayed hot oil and topped with stone of some sort instead of standard bituminous asphalt. I used to work for a county...