Cherwill, I found the same thing when I tried to dig over a row to plant seeds - it was just too wet and sticky to be able to do it. That was a couple of days ago so with luck I can plant today if it doesn't rain again. I am amazed that all of the straw bedding I pulled out after doing DLM for 6 months, and spread onto the garden, is almost gone. There is just a thin layer on top now. It didn't blow away either - it has been incorporated that fast. I can't dig without encountering numerous earthworms, some of which are so large they look like small snakes, so I suspect they are behind the incorporation of the bedding into the soil so fast. I also take my kitchen compost and "bury" it in holes I did in the garden area. I've been doing that ever since it was tilled in February and last week while I was digging, I encountered a spot where I had previously buried my compost and it was only barely recognizable so the worms must have been having a field day with that too. I figure any organic material that is incorporated can only improve it as a growing medium for my garden so I am really thrilled by all of that.
One of our dogs got skunked last night. Times like this I am *really* glad they are outside dogs!
I just moved my poults and their tutors to a bigger brooder. I had kept them in a small cardboard box that only had room for the EcoGlow at one end, food and water at the other, and about 8" in between. I didn't want them to get so far from either heat or food and water that they couldn't keep up in those first few days. But now that they have figured out their legs (poults seem really slow to get to walking well, unlike chicks, who seem to take off running), and also figured out the food and water, I decided it was time they were in a bigger space. They are running around happily whut-whuting, exploring their new space now.
One of the tutors may have to be culled. It has really crooked toes. I didn't notice when I picked it out of the chick bin a few days ago (or maybe it wasn't crippled then), but next morning one foot was crippled. I made it a splint out of a round disc cut from a cereal box, and fixed it on the foot with a bandaid, making sure the toes were flat. That afternoon I found the other foot was crippled too, so I made it a splint too. It seems to do okay with the splints, but loses them regularly and as soon as they are off, the toes curl again and it starts walking on its "ankles". I wish I knew what is causing it. It doesn't move around much and stays under the EcoGlow almost all the time, but does come out to eat and drink. I don't need any special needs chicks - especially chicks that were only purchased as tutors in the first place. Actually, it isn't even working as a tutor since it rarely comes out from the heat, so the poults have figured it out with the help of just the one tutor. However if there is something simple I can do to cure it, I am willing to do it. Is it possible this is a dietary thing? They are on gamebird starter since I wanted to give the poults a good start and figured the extra protein (28%) in the short term wouldn't hurt the tutors. I don't have any Poly Visol on hand but could go and get some if you think there is some nutritional deficiency causing this that would be fixed by a few drops a day of the vitamins.
she is a tiny little cross breed and she is around 4 months and is very tiny, I'm worried that she wont live long because something of her size is bound to have problems later in life.
