Colorado

[lomine]

I have a 50 gal stock tank and a 200 gal kiddie pool. They can't be lifted to dump out water (I tried). So my choices were a sump pump or toss with buckets. Tossing with buckets does work just fine but it takes a while. I think the sump pump was between $50-$80 at Lowes. It was a few years ago so I might be remembering wrong. It still works after two summers worth of use. I say it's well worth it. Plus with a long enough hose you can reach more plants.

I'm sure the chickens will venture into the duck coop if you let them. Having them toss the litter is a lot easier than doing it yourself.

 

[lomine]

Big R had chicks today. The manager told me they got 800 this morning and they’ll be gone before Monday. I saw a bunch that I didn’t recognize. They were so cute and I was very tempted but didn’t get any. On a different note, I’m thinking of getting bees. I’m going to a class tomorrow.

 

[PirateGirl]

@lomine I saw all the chicks at Big R in Conifer, they were all just mixed in a stock tank, straight run, mix of breeds, total mystery! I really want bees, but did some research and concluded with my altitude and weather it's not feasible if I ever live lower with less winter I will investigate beekeeping again. Have fun with it!

 

[Mtn Margie]

My neighbor has bees. They were even flying around today. If you have meadows and a hot-wired shelter for them, I think they can do okay. I am not sure how much honey she gets or how much she has to feed them in sugar water if needed. All I know is that they are everywhere over the raspberries and down in the garden and seem to be very healthy.

 

[lomine]

Oh boy this wind is crazy. I don’t like it when it blows the opposite way of normal because it does more damage. Currently it’s trying to rip the roof off my quail coop and it’s doing a good job.

Sounded like being in a tornado while underneath. I put the quail in a temporary cage in the barn. They don’t have as much space but they’re safe.

 

[Mtn Margie]

Hope everything is okay!

 

[PirateGirl]

@lomine about a week ago when it was blowing all the wrong ways the smoke from our wood stove was backing up into the house and it wouldn't draft right. It was a scary night.

I understand moving the quail. My chickens hate when their plastic is flapping about in the wind. They hide from it.

The temps dropped sooo much too. Saturday it got up to 50 degrees, this morning was below zero. Anything goes this time of year. I suppose I should be used to that by now.

 

[lomine]

The quail can fly right out of the run if it doesn't have a roof. They have no sense of home so they would be gone for good. Learned that the hard way. That's why I moved them. I didn't lose any this time and none were hurt, thankfully. They seemed pretty relaxed this morning in the barn. Luckily, it looks like the wind just broke the bungees and not the tarp itself. I think what happened was the bungees were getting worn down by rubbing against the wire and some just couldn't hold anymore. Once the wind caught a big enough section it pulled the whole side off. When I was in there it was lifting one side a little bit so I know there was a lot of force created. All the flapping also broke the entrance panel off but that's not part of the main run. I think some t-posts and some strong wire will fix that. Now that I know it is a possibility for the bungees to wear down, I'll add that to my list of things to inspect periodically. Lesson learn.

@PirateGirl Oh that would be scary. It was your only heat source?

 

[PirateGirl]

@lomine the wood stove is our main heat source, but we do have propane as well. We try and only use the propane for cooking and our hot water because so far wood has been more economical for heat.

I think with bungees it's partly the UV in Colorado that breaks them down over time. Plastics seem to get brittle and eventually crack/disintegrate too. Maybe not the most predator proof, but I bungee the gate to the chicken run shut. It seems to be holding up ok, but the bungee on the compost bin is falling apart even though it's not as routinely stretched and restretched, so not all bungees are created equal either!

Glad you got all the quail safe and hopefully they aren't too stressed. I would have thought they'd have some sense of "home" but when home becomes a dangerous and scary place (like the roof blowing off) maybe they are less likely to return. The whole state looks to be windy today.

 

[lomine]

My heat is propane too so I know what you mean about trying not to use it as much. I wish I had a wood stove. I love the way they look. I don't even have a fireplace.

That tarp and the bungees get moved a lot so I'm not surprised they broke. I'm out on the plains so the wind blows almost every day. At least it isn't too strong that often. And this tarp is lasting much longer than the old ones I have used. I would rather replace bungees then pay for another tarp.

I like my quail but honestly they aren't very smart and don't have the greatest sense when it comes to survival. They get settled into home like any animal but once they are out they don't seem to think about going back in. I'm sure it's because they have been domesticated.