Oh don't worry about me! I won't do anything stupid or dangerous!!! I am all about self preservation these days, it is really funny. I think to myself, should I be doing this and if I have any inkling of danger I just don't. In fact I went out and took one look at that giant crib and went, oh well, I will just cover the mower with a tarp!
Guys I have been resisting but I dont know for how much longer. I have wanted peacocks since a child. I need someone to school me in peachick and help me find good priced healthy birds.
Glad to hear she is recuperating so well, but do be careful about getting her in and out of the car. The last thing you need to be doing is lifting a dog who weighs more than you do!
You think like me - I'm always finding new uses for feed bags! I think you were right to take down some if you were getting moisture build up. The thing that is most important is ventilation - birds can withstand very low temps, but don't do so well with high humidity. What will cause frostbite on combs is not temps being too low, but humidity being too high. The only time I have seen my birds truly miserable in winter was a few days when the temperatures fell below zero. Any other day and they were still out foraging around for whatever they can find in the winter. You DO want to keep drafts from blowing directly on your birds while they are roosting, but at the same time, provide plenty of ventilation so that the exhalations don't cause a build-up in humidity that can cause frost-bite.
Oh how fun to see Ruby laying her egg. The first time I saw that, was a pullet laying her first egg. I was hanging out a load of laundry and she was at my feet, chattering away to me, when I looked down to see her do the "poop squat", except instead of a poop, out popped a little egg. I don't think she knew that's what was going to happen either. In fact, I'm not sure she ever knew she laid an egg as she just kept walking like they do after they've stopped to poop. Since then I've been lucky to catch them a few times, and it surprised me to learn that they stand up to lay the egg. Because they sit in the nest during the "labor" portion, I just always assumed the egg came out while they were sitting there, but when the time comes, they stand up and start pushing, and sure enough before long, the egg pops out.
Yes I have a different area for the ashes, they use it on their own occasionally, but didn't use it at first. Some people just put the ashes where they dust bath. I put ashes in a different place because their dust bath area where the wind blows, I put the ashes in a place that gets far less wind. My chickens don't like anything new, first time for watermelon, cabbage, squash, BOSS, scrambled eggs & pumpkins they don't want any part of it, I leave it and they will eventually try everything I put out there, after they've tried it, next time they will run to it and try to eat it first. I think meal worms are the only thing they go for first time I introduce them. When I move them to the big pen from the grow out pen it takes them a while to explore, and I don't have ashes in the brooder, grow out pen or chicken tractor. If I think they have mites I'd put some ashes in the the other pens also.
I was surprised how many green tomatoes my frost damaged vines put on. I also found out the chickens love them I had some in a bucket on the back porch and they came and took them all and gobbled them down.
I had that happen once and called the coop. They gave me credit for the bag. Told me they would order in some fresh cause sometimes in the summer it sits too long, and then put a credit on my bill so I could either replace it or use it for something else. It worked out very well actually. The birds loves the bugs!!!! And I got a free bag.
