“So lucky, you get free eggs”

[BDutch]

If I were interested in just eggs, the 3 almost 5 yo hens I have would be culled and replaced by chicks. I can't do that. I just... can't. It doesn't make sense for self-sufficiency, or economically. But even though they are my least friendly birds (my fault: I should have handled them more as chicks), I can't end their lives just because they've outlived their productive years.

About the same here. Only my older hens are way older (9+ and 10+). They still lay (laid) part of the year and are the best broodies/mothers. Unfortunately for them I don’t need more chicks upcoming year.
This probably means I have a few more bantam eggs , to please my family and friends.

Okay, I must confess, I did name my rooster...he is Rooster Cogburn!

Since we can't have a real rooster we have a metal one.

His name is Gregory Peck.

Splendid names!

My last cockerels name was Whiskey . I found him a new home to rock the boat. His Amrock sisters are Gin+Tonic.

 

[RennaeHanson]

Since we can't have a real rooster we have a metal one.

His name is Gregory Peck.

That's awesome! I was just at Tractor Supply, they have a metal rooster that's as tall as I am and I am 6' tall! I was very tempted to buy him! LOL!

 

[JenniMcChick]

I'm curious, how many of you actually name your chickens?

I don't name mine, they are farm animals and meant for consumption either for their eggs or for meat so naming them would not be wise.

I've named mine Didn't in the past, but I had a lot more of them back then (all buff orpingtons because I had young children) and not nearly the time on my hands that I have now as an empty nester & post full time employment.

Started my current flock last Spring with 2 Rhode Island Blues & 4 buff oringtons.

The two RIBs got named in the brooder: Dot & Penny, based on markings used to tell them apart. Penny had white around her beak & face that made her look like a Penguin. & Dot, well duh.
The buffs hard to tell apart so I just called them the Golden Girls.

But then one of them didn't grow at the same rate as the rest & faced a few consequences because of it (pushed from feed & water by bigger ones when they wanted in, pushed off or out of the box & baby roosting bar I put in the brooder for them, etc). So I often found my self saying "Oh, honey." & helping her out. So that's now her name.

& once my husband went above and beyond what I requested when he built their coop, it's was dubbed the Taj-Mahal, & of course I just HAD to make some wooden signs.

Initially sign was to read: The Taj Mahal. Name plaques underneath were: Dot, Penny, Honey, & The Golden Girls.

But after deciding to name each one since as they got older, the saturation of color is slightly different so easier to tell them apart. I realized I already had a semi-theme going so just went with candy names. & lettering on sign was changed to "The Taj Mahal Peeps"! & each girl has her own name plaque: Dot, Penny, Honey, Butterscotch, Laffy Taffy & Lemon Drop.

Jelly Bean, Gumdrop, Snickers & Licorice were coming in the Spring as I planned on adding a couple lavender chicks (EE, OE or orpingtons, depending on what I could source), both black & blue Australorps & maybe even a Splash Australorp or chocolate orpington if I could get my hands on either of those. But Honey's been brooding for almost 2 weeks, & my chicks aren't due to arrive until 3/5. So I'm really thinking I'm gonna ditch my current plan and get some day old chicks from my local feed store next week and let her do all the work in raising and integrating them. My husband is planning to build me a brooding coop over the weekend for Honey & the new babies.

Please say a quick prayer for our new endeavor!

 

[JenniMcChick]

Yep, it's all those startup costs that really put you behind the financial profit curve. I was able to build my chicken coop for around $600.00, using about $700.00 additional in reclaimed lumber. Even so, it will be a while before I break even on this adventure.

I built a nice, elevated chicken coop on an old boat trailer. It's great for the chickens. However, if I had to start all over again, I think I'm leaning towards building a shed conversion. That way, if a person stops raising poultry, you still have a useable shed for storage. In my case, my chicken coop is really only good for keeping chickens, and not much more.

I make a lot of Black Gold chicken run compost every year. In fact, hundreds of dollars equivalent of bagged compost at the big box stores. I get more value from making compost with my chickens than I get from selling our excess eggs. In that respect, I recoup my startup costs every year!

Here's a picture of my real money maker in my setup...

View attachment 4050720

I encourage anyone raising poultry to make compost and use it in their gardens to grow more food. To me, there is a lot more value in chickens than just all the "free" eggs we get!

I compost it, too!

 

[JenniMcChick]

Well, I want to be clear that my cement mixer compost sifter is only used for sifting my chicken run compost. I don't compost anything in the cement mixer.

My chicken run litter is mostly leaves, grass clippings, and used chicken coop bedding. All the chicken poo gets mixed in with the coop litter, which for the past couple of years, I have been using paper shreds. When I clean out my coop, I toss all the used bedding into the uncovered chicken run where it is exposed to the weather. It takes a few months to compost in place, with the chickens scratching and pecking through it every day.

In my cement mixer compost sifter setup, the finished compost drops down into the black wagon and any chicken run litter that is too big for my composting screen gets reject out to the gray wagon.

View attachment 4051844

I can change out the compost screen inside the barrel. I have a 1/4 X 1/4 inch screen for fine potting and seed starting mixes. I mainly use my 1/2 X 1/2 inch screen for compost in my raised beds. And the outside screen on the barrel itself is 1/2 X 1 inch, which still gives a nice finished compost, but not as fine.

Of course, the smaller the compost screen used in the compost sifter means the finer the finished compost that goes into the black wagon, but more chicken run litter would be rejected with the smaller screens.

For the most part, I just dump the rejects in that gray wagon back into the chicken run for some more breakdown time. However, sometimes I use that rejected rough material as top mulch in my gardens.

I mentioned that I primarily use shredded paper as coop litter, which composts in probably less than 2 months when exposed to the weather outside. Wood chips would take longer, maybe around 4 months. In any case, since I converted my entire chicken run into a chicken run composting system, I can harvest as much compost as I need at any time with lots of ready to use compost left over. Last year, I filled 4 new raised beds, and top filled another 6 beds and used maybe only 10% of my available chicken run compost.

Bottom line, I don't even have to worry about how long it takes for my chicken run litter to compost in place because I now have more than I would ever use in a year. All that Black Gold compost sitting in the chicken run is like money in the bank!

Quick question, if you don't mind: I use pine pelleted bedding, same as indoor horse stalls in my coop. Once I replace it I spritz it just a bit with water to get some of it to fluff up a little so it's easier on the chickens' feet. Ok to throw this in the compost pile?

 

[Bekawrk]

All of last year View attachment 4049886

That's the cutest total tally

 

[TooCheep]

Quick question, if you don't mind: I use pine pelleted bedding, same as indoor horse stalls in my coop. Once I replace it I spritz it just a bit with water to get some of it to fluff up a little so it's easier on the chickens' feet. Ok to throw this in the compost pile?

Pine is perfectly fine for compost. The only question is if there are any additives.

 

[Squawkers]

That's the cutest total tally

Thanks!!!

 

[gtaus]

Quick question, if you don't mind: I use pine pelleted bedding, same as indoor horse stalls in my coop. Once I replace it I spritz it just a bit with water to get some of it to fluff up a little so it's easier on the chickens' feet. Ok to throw this in the compost pile?

I compost just about everything organic. I have never personally used pine pelleted bedding, so I did a quick search on MicroSoft Copilot about composting it. Here is the response I got...

***********************

Yes, pine pelleted bedding used for horses can be composted. Composting pine pelleted bedding is a great way to recycle the material and create nutrient-rich compost for gardens and landscapes.

### Tips for Composting Pine Pelleted Bedding:
1. **Mix with Other Materials**: Balance the carbon-rich pine bedding with nitrogen-rich materials like kitchen scraps, grass clippings, or manure. This helps create a healthy compost balance.
2. **Maintain Moisture Levels**: Keep the compost pile moist but not waterlogged. Pine pellets tend to dry out quickly, so monitor the moisture levels and add water if necessary.
3. **Turn the Pile Regularly**: Aerate the compost pile by turning it regularly. This helps speed up the decomposition process and ensures even breakdown of materials.
4. **Avoid Overloading**: While pine bedding can be composted, avoid adding too much at once. Gradually incorporate it into your compost pile to maintain a good balance.

By following these tips, you can effectively compost pine pelleted bedding and produce high-quality compost for your garden. If you need more information or have any other questions, feel free to ask!

*********************

Sounds like it would be great to add to your compost pile and/or chicken run if you compost in place there.

 

[JenniMcChick]

I compost just about everything organic. I have never personally used pine pelleted bedding, so I did a quick search on MicroSoft Copilot about composting it. Here is the response I got...

***********************

Yes, pine pelleted bedding used for horses can be composted. Composting pine pelleted bedding is a great way to recycle the material and create nutrient-rich compost for gardens and landscapes.

### Tips for Composting Pine Pelleted Bedding:
1. **Mix with Other Materials**: Balance the carbon-rich pine bedding with nitrogen-rich materials like kitchen scraps, grass clippings, or manure. This helps create a healthy compost balance.
2. **Maintain Moisture Levels**: Keep the compost pile moist but not waterlogged. Pine pellets tend to dry out quickly, so monitor the moisture levels and add water if necessary.
3. **Turn the Pile Regularly**: Aerate the compost pile by turning it regularly. This helps speed up the decomposition process and ensures even breakdown of materials.
4. **Avoid Overloading**: While pine bedding can be composted, avoid adding too much at once. Gradually incorporate it into your compost pile to maintain a good balance.

By following these tips, you can effectively compost pine pelleted bedding and produce high-quality compost for your garden. If you need more information or have any other questions, feel free to ask!

*********************

Sounds like it would be great to add to your compost pile and/or chicken run if you compost in place there.

Awesome! Thank you so much!!
I think after reading this I'll just spread it in an area of their run vs going through the trouble of transporting it from coop to compost pile. After adding some dried leaves that the girls LOVE to scratch through, they can then entertain themselves while helping me out with all the turning. Win-win.