2018 Newbie Chat!

[CannedMonster]

I like the sound of this "sweet pdz" I'm now googling it and looking to see if we have it (or an alternative) here. Do you know if it is safe to use on ducks too?

You could probably do a forum search on “is Sweet PDZ (zeolite) safe for ducks “.
It’s a very sand-like product.
It has many amazing qualities but one of my favorites is how good it is at controlling odor.
It naturally absorbs ammonia.
It’s good for your garden too so I spread some in the poopy bedding when I’m transferring it to compost and mix it in.
And like others have said, you just use a kitty litter scoop to clean up the chickens poo.
Easy Peasy!
It can be dusty but you just have to learn to work with it.
I like to have at least some very small flake pine shavings mixed in with it but many people use it alone. Especially with poop boards.
One drawback is that, like sand, it’s heavy in large amounts so it try not to use too much in my prefab coop tray.
Best of all is that it won’t harm the chickens if they eat some.

 

[PNW_Peepers]

I like the sound of this "sweet pdz" I'm now googling it and looking to see if we have it (or an alternative) here. Do you know if it is safe to use on ducks too?

Oh yes very safe for ducks. It’s purpose as stated above is for controlling ammonia. Most use it in their horse stalls. if it’s safe for horses. It’s safe for everything!

 

[Anna Ranieri]

I have heard Angus scream.
It’s very startling!
He also makes a humorous gurgling/chortling sound that I love because it’s ridiculous and hilarious.
I always try to mimic him when he makes it and he looks at me like I’ve lost my mind.
The continuous clucking is often done when any of them spot a predator to let the others know there’s danger about.
I also believe the purpose of this behavior is to communicate to the predator that it’s been spotted and might as well give up because it’s lost the element of surprise.
You can’t ambush prey if they know exactly where you are lol.
My bantams do this too but it’s not as ear piercing as the larger birds.
When they do this (it’s usually a cat that’s been spotted) they will actually try to follow the cat until they can’t see it anymore.
I’ve seen footage of wild prey animals that will also follow the predators at a distance so they can keep an eye on them.
Angus also makes sounds when they’re all going to bed in the coop and it’s somewhat chaotic.
He sounds like a dad telling his kids to settle down
Silkie used to make a sound when everyone was free ranging and they would all silently and quickly go under the tarp area.
All the bantams and all the teenagers!
It wasn’t even a loud sound.
I can’t really describe it but the response from the others was immediate.
I’m hoping Oliver has learned that from Silkie since he would respond to it also.
Angus has never gotten that kind of a disciplined reaction but his 3 girls never listened to Silkie.

Now that makes a lot of sense! And so clever! This morning it was Pedro clucking full force but in the same area as when Lilah and Jellybean have done it, 9 times out of 10 its the same area but every time I look there's nothing there, not that I can see any way, its a side and corner fence area, there are my bushes and shrubs and on the neighbours side are massively tall conifers, obviously there's something there which I don't see and i'm thinking whatever it is, is silent and very good at hiding. I always go straight in and check, - usually end up with bugs and twigs stuck in my hair but they don't settle down until I go into the bushes and shrubs, then they can see all's ok, they quieten and return to foraging there. I've decided to go straight out and check that area each morning before I let them out, I really want to know what it is, especially if it is a threat to my flocks.
Lilah is a lot more vocal than the others, Pedro is the bravest, she'll have a go at anything, she even takes on birds twice her size! Jellybean has had moments of turning ninja chicken too, the most surprising to me is when she went after Lilah, she's done it a few times now but Lilah has the strength so always wins. One sight I am hoping to get on cam someday is when like this morning, Pedro goes in for attack followed by the ducks, it looks just like a colonel leading their army to battle, the others seem to get braver around Pedro, and always stay behind her as she leads them into attack, even Lilah surprisingly.
Roo is no longer peeping, she's talking pure chicken now, which I much prefer because its easier to decipher than the constant same tone peep that chicks do. She now does the little soft cluck back to me when I talk to her, which the others do too. Her voice is surprisingly deep compared to the others and her size is too, she's 12 weeks 2 days old but is already the same size as the pullets and almost as big as Lilah, I know Buff's are big but i think Roo is going to be huge. My youngest duck has finally evolved from peeping too, she too has a very deep voice, weird how my two youngest have the deepest voices.

I wonder if the following of orders is more about the bird than the one giving the orders, i.e. your girls didn't listen to Silkie either, but the others always did, just like some kids only need telling once where as others have to be told over and over again and usually are the ones who will get into trouble at school loads.

 

[Anna Ranieri]

Oh yes very safe for ducks. It’s purpose as stated above is for controlling ammonia. Most use it in their horse stalls. if it’s safe for horses. It’s safe for everything!

Great, as its mostly for the ducks I want it, their duck house often gets the ammonia smell, ammonia can be dangerous for ducks and is one of the most common causes of respiratory infections in ducks. The chickens house never smells of ammonia, and although I might open them up to there being the odd - make my eyes cross and my nose turn inside out - smelly poop but on the whole they don't smell. I'm going to message my supplier to ask if he has any or can get some in for me. Thanks for the heads up

 

[Anna Ranieri]

I have heard Angus scream.
It’s very startling!
He also makes a humorous gurgling/chortling sound that I love because it’s ridiculous and hilarious.
I always try to mimic him when he makes it and he looks at me like I’ve lost my mind.
The continuous clucking is often done when any of them spot a predator to let the others know there’s danger about.
I also believe the purpose of this behavior is to communicate to the predator that it’s been spotted and might as well give up because it’s lost the element of surprise.
You can’t ambush prey if they know exactly where you are lol.
My bantams do this too but it’s not as ear piercing as the larger birds.
When they do this (it’s usually a cat that’s been spotted) they will actually try to follow the cat until they can’t see it anymore.
I’ve seen footage of wild prey animals that will also follow the predators at a distance so they can keep an eye on them.
Angus also makes sounds when they’re all going to bed in the coop and it’s somewhat chaotic.
He sounds like a dad telling his kids to settle down
Silkie used to make a sound when everyone was free ranging and they would all silently and quickly go under the tarp area.
All the bantams and all the teenagers!
It wasn’t even a loud sound.
I can’t really describe it but the response from the others was immediate.
I’m hoping Oliver has learned that from Silkie since he would respond to it also.
Angus has never gotten that kind of a disciplined reaction but his 3 girls never listened to Silkie.

Meant to say, when my daughter first heard the "scream" she ran to me in a panic thinking someone was being attacked and when I thought about it, I thought for someone who doesn't know its a chicken it is understandable that they'd think it a woman because it is a very similar sound and tone.

Incidentally, I've worked out Lilah does the growl either when she is uncertain of a creatures motive i.e a pigeon, sparrow etc, or when something is disturbing her, i.e aeroplanes, birds fluttering in near by trees, I guess more like potential threatening stuff rather than actual threats - that's when she growls, shes the only one who makes that noise. I really hope to someday capture these things on cam, but like in most things in life, by the time I get hold of a camera, its over!

 

[Anna Ranieri]

My sex link Red, and my SLW were all hatched in late August.
Red started laying at 20 weeks in January and the Wyandottes started a couple of weeks later.
My 11 teenage girls should start in December, I think.
I’ve tracked their ages on the calendar so it’ll be cool to compare with yours.

When we got Pedro and Jellybean, they were in the 1-3 weeks section, we think Pedro was closer to 3 weeks because on that day the remainder chicks/ducklings were moved to the 3/5 weeks area and Jellybean we think was closer to one week when we got her because we got her a week after we got Pedro and on the day we got Pedro, Jellybean wasn't in there, so are assuming she was amongst the smaller chicks in the up to 1 week pen, next to the pen Pedro was in. We got Pedro on 14th May, and got Jellybean 20th May this year, so Pedro approx 27 weeks, and Jellybean approx 25 weeks, neither are laying yet, Jellybean still has a little yellow yet to turn red and Pedro although completely red now still has very short comb and wattles, neither do the submissive thing POL's and hens do, so I think they have a way to go as yet.

 

[llombardo]

I like the sound of this "sweet pdz" I'm now googling it and looking to see if we have it (or an alternative) here. Do you know if it is safe to use on ducks too?

I have mixed that in with the ducks, but it's not needed with bedding I use anymore.

 

[llombardo]

Great, as its mostly for the ducks I want it, their duck house often gets the ammonia smell, ammonia can be dangerous for ducks and is one of the most common causes of respiratory infections in ducks. The chickens house never smells of ammonia, and although I might open them up to there being the odd - make my eyes cross and my nose turn inside out - smelly poop but on the whole they don't smell. I'm going to message my supplier to ask if he has any or can get some in for me. Thanks for the heads up

Do you have access to flax bedding? I highly recommend it.

Here are its benefits(great for ammonia--100% dust free)

 

[llombardo]

Here are the benefits

 

[llombardo]

When we got Pedro and Jellybean, they were in the 1-3 weeks section, we think Pedro was closer to 3 weeks because on that day the remainder chicks/ducklings were moved to the 3/5 weeks area and Jellybean we think was closer to one week when we got her because we got her a week after we got Pedro and on the day we got Pedro, Jellybean wasn't in there, so are assuming she was amongst the smaller chicks in the up to 1 week pen, next to the pen Pedro was in. We got Pedro on 14th May, and got Jellybean 20th May this year, so Pedro approx 27 weeks, and Jellybean approx 25 weeks, neither are laying yet, Jellybean still has a little yellow yet to turn red and Pedro although completely red now still has very short comb and wattles, neither do the submissive thing POL's and hens do, so I think they have a way to go as yet.

I think you are closer then you think. Mine never squatted-not one of them. 2 laid at 18 weeks and the 4 younger ones were 23-24 weeks. I thought they were not going to ever lay because of the 2 older ones. I do believe stress played a role in the delayed laying of eggs with the younger 4.

Now they all lay everyday. One laid an egg at 6 pm last night. There is nothing normal about any of mine.