ALABAMA!!

[bamadude]

Thanks Bama -- they are COCKY little things. Excellent little representatives of the word. I'm only hatching a few of these this year and have 14 or so 1/2 cooked. So I've got some eggs that I'll give to a 4h'r free for pickup. Of course the hens will insist on hatching a few later on, but I won't let them till it warms up some.They're cocky little things too  'cept they call it somethin different for a female....  

no prob. Lol we started out with brahmas and they are cool. We have now got into some of the more "challenging" breeds to keep. We have a houdan that is a nightmare. He flies like a hummingbird and crows constantly. He attacked the ups guy a few days ago.

 

[Wisher1000]

LOL! Go little bird, get that scary man!

 

[kimberly35042]

That's sortof hilarious. Our UPS guy is used to the geese in the front yard, but round Christmas with all the extra delivery people it is sort of funny to watch.

I almost took on a Houdan project--almost. They're related to the Dorkings with the 5th toe, right??

 

[bamadude]

Ours is a "white houdan". Parents are a 5 toed mottled houdan over a white polish. He has 4 toes. When we bought him he was supposed to be a male polish.....sneaky houdan...

 

[bamadude]

LOL!  Go little bird, get that scary man!

lol. It was a funny sight. If only I could have video taped it. The ups guy looked like he was playing hop scotch or something. Im glad it didnt get in the cab of the truck with him. Both side doors were open

 

[kimberly35042]

We had a nasty swedish flower cock that stood guard over the front door. He made a nice stew that went well with a good chianti.

 

[Tomtommom]

I hope to get to a point that the kiddos can get into 4H or doing some shows.. it's quite the drive from here to Beeswax, and we couldn't in our current home (neighbors wouldn't be pleased with us having roosters). Part of the dreams for the future

 

[1chickenmomma11]

Alright- how many of yall compost in your chicken run? Good idea? Bad? And why?

 

[gclark94560]

Alright- how many of yall compost in your chicken run? Good idea? Bad? And why?

I compost large amounts of yard stuff like leaves and grass clippings. I plan to shovel it all out and into the garden in the spring.

The Blorps do a great job of turning it over and helping it decompose by adding large amounts of nitrogen.

 

[Wisher1000]

I compost in a pile near each of the coops and also right in the planting beds.

After many years of learning to garden in red clay (at three locations in this county) I found myself on our current property. It has many different soil types, depending on where you dig, but where the house is built is sandy. I have had to re-learn how to deal with soil that must be amended to be productive. When I say sandy, I don't mean sandy soil, I mean beach sand. You can dig yourself out of sight with a teaspoon.

I am slowly creating foundation beds around the house and the easiest way I have found is to compost in the planting bed. I outline where I want the bed, cover the grass/weeds that are already there with cardboard, and start piling organic material on top. I use raked leaves, grass clippings, chicken litter, paper from the shredder, newspaper, finished compost, whatever I have on hand. I have been known to swipe curbed bags of leaves, and to ask DH to cut the grass just for clippings. I pile it all on in the summer and fall, as high as I can, and then I cover it with pine straw mulch for the winter. If I managed to put enough raw material in, I can plant it in the spring after turning it in. It will break down to less than 1/4 of where it started. Sometimes I have to turn it in and start layering material on again.