Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[Mommy 2 Wee Ones]

To Everyone on this posting...

May I wish all of you a Very Merry Christmas, and a Safe & Happy 2012.

Enjoy your families, enjoy all the yummy food, say a prayer for the Military Personal who are still coming home, may they all come home safe to their families.
May our winter not be too harsh, our chickens & livestock be safe & warm, and please let the fools who are out there, call a friend, taxi or AAA and let them drive you home if you enjoyed the holidays a bit too much. I want to hear happy news reports on TV the new couple of weeks.

Brenda

 

[BWKatz]

perchie.girl :

Quote:
That is a Wild form of Bermuda called Devil grass. Very common in hot dry climates because it is sooo tough. When we lived in Las Vegas we had an above ground swimming pool. that stuff would skewer the bottom of the pool and grow right up through four feet of water. Every point where leaves grow out is a joint.... that joint will grow roots. So it daisy chains itself along under the cover of all sorts of objects till it finds a good place to sent up shoots.

deb

That's what we call wire grass. I consider myself a "middle" too. Got lot's to learn. That said ..I use grass clippings in my nest boxes and sand in my run. My eggs stay clean and they love to nibble on it. My grass is wire, burmuda, centipede and fescue. Also lots of clover in field.The variety makes em happy. Oh and no chemicals, fertilizer or weed killer, just water and chicken poop.

Merry Christmas to all and may Santa bring our heart's desire. Fa.la.la...la.la.....la.la..la.la........!​

 

[Gypsi]

perchie.girl :

Quote:
That sounds like my regular bermuda! this stuff dies if you throw carpet over it, just rots. (while bermuda just sends out runners), I don't know what it is. I call it pony tail grass. It is rough and scratchy, but it was better than nothing in my nest boxes, and it dries totally out and doesn't mold. I stored the surplus in some plastic hardware cloth in one of my sheds, up high so it will dry if rain gets in. For true bedding desperation, it's a something. I've gotten it almost cleared off the garden half of my lot. I will let the hens tear it up on the back half next summer. (but I am not letting the girls in my garden, I have almost no "fallow" time when I have nothing planted.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynodon_dactylon Pretty interesting read... Devil grass is the wild version​

That devil grass is my regular yard bermuda - cheap, hardy and all over lawns in North Texas, and everywhere else. Won't punture POND liner, but it will nail pool liner. Roundup won't kill it. Chickens finally got it out of their run, but it will be back if they ever quit digging it out. I
am removing it with a shovel from the garden part of my lot. And digging sheet metal in a foot deep around the perimeter outside my fence to block its underground runners. It's awful for asparagus.

 

[kathyinmo]

Fred's Hens :

In the winter, there is no algae issues and such here, as it is just too cold. I swap out one gallon pails from heated dog dish bases. Easy. I am not fussy with any kind of waterer in zero weather. The swapping of pails means no messing with water outside.

One gallon pails in the dog dish? I don't get it. How does that work? Please tell me.​

 

[ajlynco]

And a Very Merry Christmas to ALL BYCers and a Happy Prosperous New Year folks, and Al, it looks like you're gonna have a white one too

Quote:

 

[GreenGoddess]

I would like to wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! May Santa bring you all you wish for!!!

Goddess

 

[scottcaddy]

perchie.girl :

Not an OT but I clean it when it gets dirty. Or really what I do is drag it out dump and rinse it then put an already clean one in and let the dirty one get baked by the sun. I dont think I have ever scrubbed a water dish..... But then I use those black rubber tubs made from ground up Car tires.

I love those tubs, easy to knock the dirt and/or ice out of and right chick-proof da boot!​

 

[Gypsi]

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! (I love the classics) and Hopefully 2012 will be better for all of us. With the bizarre weather patterns, it was certainly a hard year for many between droughts, floods and tornadoes. Hoping 2012 will be an improvement.

 

[galanie]

Merry Christmas to you all! Some of my favorites have been regulars here and I hope to keep hearing from you all here through 2012.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Quote:
One gallon pails in the dog dish? I don't get it. How does that work? Please tell me.

Hi Kathy, I LOVE your birds, btw. Sometime, somehow, someday, we must connect. Perhaps eggs or some way to get some of your strain of BR.

OH, you asked a question,

I just use some of those giant sized heated dog dishes. I'd guess the interior diameter to be around 11 or 12 inches. I just re-cycle those one gallon ice cream pails. Sometimes fancy diced fruit comes in a pail similar in the frozen food section. Anyhow, I've a dozen of those saved pails. They are somewhat thin and flimsy, but that's OK. They don't cost anything. I probably have a dozen of those pails. I am guessing the heated dog dish itself might hold a few quarts of water, which isn't enough. But I just set the gallon pail in the bowl. I fits easily. That way, I'm not unplugging the heater itself and taking it out to clean and re-fill everyday. It serves merely as the heating element. Just the pail gets swapped everyday. I can clean the pails inside. A blessing in zero weather.

I usually have a couple gallons of water I take to the barn in the afternoon as well. I just use gallon milk jugs. I can then "top off" the pails with water as needed.