ALABAMA!!

[Tomtommom]

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

I've got multiple locations.

A 40 gallon barrel with soldier fly larvae. That's the barrel dead critters go into, as well as not edible kitchen scrap (pinapple tops, banana peels, coffee grinds). They're amazingly fast. From time to time I put a couple of shovels of chicken litter in or some raked leaf...

I've got two wire composts I mostly put things like grass clippings and raked leaf in. Don't mess much with them.

And our main compost is in my run, I dump all chicken litter in it and they love digging in it for wriggly things. When I rake leaf in fall I dump it in the run, the chickens scratch it up, and I scoop it back up and dump it in their compost. Lather, rinse, repeat.



Wire composts






Oldish pics, I have an old sheet of plywood in the opening now, keeping the litter in. Also have a second "roost" on it. My muscovy practically live on those walls, one on each end on the little blocks and some on the wall behind it.

I need to get some new pictures. Our rain barrel area is all finished up these days.

 

[Tomtommom]

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.

My beds are much the same. I refill them twice a year with leaf, clippings and droppings... and the next season it's all shrunk down again.

I just received a box in the mail from Ikea... I got giddy because it was filled with compostable packing material. You know you're a weirdo when...

 

[Razadia]

Speaking of pineapple tops, we grow them. The pineapples are small, but they're normally five times better than one it came from. They're easy to grow too.

 

[1chickenmomma11]

My girlies

 

[Tomtommom]

Speaking of pineapple tops, we grow them. The pineapples are small, but they're normally five times better than one it came from. They're easy to grow too.

Details!

I've gotten one to root once.. but well, that was about it.

I actually managed to grow a plant from a storebought mango seed. I had it for 2+ years. I think I killed it this year

It got too big and I planted it outside, made a greenhouse for it... but that insane frost in November did it in, I think... maybe it's come back from the root next year. I had a fig that I thought was dead and this spring it came back twice as vigorous

 

[1chickenmomma11]

All of this rain has the slugs crawling all over my porch and outside walls. So, I went and collected them all and fed them to my girls! Haha! I think they were pretty happy with that treat!

 

[rancher hicks]

Well now I haven't been here in a long time and the kids have been transferred to Florida from Millbrook but I still love Alabama.

Anyhow I want to offer my condolences to those Alabama fans who are down over their loss.

I still have not chosen a team, like I was told I had to do. (I'm from NY) I prefer both Alabama and Auburn since they're both from Alabama.

The kids have sold the house so we've no where to go now. Unless we find temporary winter grounds.

Take care down there and I wish everyone a safe winter.

Lord have mercy! I can believe why they call Nature a female. "Mother Nature" cuz she sure can't make up her mind. It's 50's today but going to get cold tomorrow. We just had a green Christmas then snow now 50's and next the teens, freezing temps.

Might better than ask, "what's the weather ?," ask "what mood is Momma in today ? ".

Take care, love ya,

Rancher, in the cold north, Hicks

 

[Tomtommom]

All of this rain has the slugs crawling all over my porch and outside walls. So, I went and collected them all and fed them to my girls! Haha! I think they were pretty happy with that treat!

That so funny, I did the same thing. I went outside during the worst of the rain, to see if everyone was ok. My porch was COVERED with slugs, they even got inside the feed. So I did a little slug cleanup.

 

[rancher hicks]

All of this rain has the slugs crawling all over my porch and outside walls. So, I went and collected them all and fed them to my girls! Haha! I think they were pretty happy with that treat!

The slugs or your girls?

 

[Orps]

That so funny, I did the same thing. I went outside during the worst of the rain, to see if everyone was ok. My porch was COVERED with slugs, they even got inside the feed. So I did a little slug cleanup.

Happy New Years everyone!!!

I tried that as well with the slugs. My hens looked at the slugs and ran away.