Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Mugshots for Monday

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Hello speed demons.

I don't see any snow out those windows. Could it be that it has melted?

 

[drstratton]

It's a volcanic-type rock that absorbs ammonia and stores it as nitrogen...how, I don't know. but it works. I know the Z stands for zeolite. Then when you clean out the bedding and compost it, the nitrogen is there and is available to plants, and the pdz is just tiny rocks and is neutral....People use it in horse stalls all the time. BYC people use it often on poop boards, like cat litter, makes it easy to scoop and keeps the odor way down. I use granules, sprinkled on the litter in the run when necessary, and under the roost on the poop tray there topped with hemp. Here's a picture of a bag I googled. A search on BYC will provide a lot more information.
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Thank you so much, we use something like this in some of our potted plants!
How do you like using hemp? If I could source it for a decent price I would be tempted to use it.

 

[BY Bob]

Good luck to you, hope you end up with a very successful hatch. I go on Chickmas day watch tomorrow. Technically momma hen wont be at 21 days until Thursday, but, she's always hatched her chicks about 2 days early. When she was off eating yesterday I picked up one of her eggs and listened, no cheeping but could hear a chick moving around inside. Cross your fingers everyone, as the one egg I have candled twice and last time had a bouncy chick in it, was the BUTTER egg. Mom may get her Butter baby after all.

O I sure hope it turns out well for you. That would just be awesome!

 

[ChicoryBlue]

I don’t even know how to process what is supposed to be happening at 8am today. My small town name cropped per Bib’s sensible suggestion.
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This is similar to us, though we are a bit colder. Folks on the hill are heavily into maple syrup production now - freezing temps at night and beautiful sunny days is perfect for the sugarbush. The sap is flowing!

 

[drstratton]

Mugshots for Monday

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I love the pictures you all get with your video cams. I can't wait until we find the time to set mine up!

 

[RoyalChick]

Hello speed demons.

I don't see any snow out those windows. Could it be that it has melted?

Mostly yes. There are a few stubborn patches in shady North facing areas. The Chicken Palace faces South so plenty of sun.

 

[RoyalChick]

I love the pictures you all get with your video cams. I can't wait until we find the time to set mine up!

I just discovered that as well as listen to them through the camera I can also talk to them. @BY Bob, does yours work that way? I had no idea!
It was actually very touching - I tried it out and just very quietly said “Hello chickens” and they all came running.
I know they come running for me in person but I always kind of assumed it was as much about the bucket of treats they could see and I assumed they didn’t really think of me as an individual. But they sure know my voice!
I don’t want to use this feature too much because of course I wasn’t there to reward them with a treat - but is is good to know I can summon them if I need to.

 

[drstratton]

I just discovered that as well as listen to them through the camera I can also talk to them. @BY Bob, does yours work that way? I had no idea!
It was actually very touching - I tried it out and just very quietly said “Hello chickens” and they all came running.
I know they come running for me in person but I always kind of assumed it was as much about the bucket of treats they could see and I assumed they didn’t really think of me as an individual. But they sure know my voice!
I don’t want to use this feature too much because of course I wasn’t there to reward them with a treat - but is is good to know I can summon them if I need to.

That is way cool. That is a good thing to know! I need to see if the one my husband bought will do that. What camera do you have RC?

 

[RoyalChick]

That is way cool. That is a good thing to know! I need to see if the one my husband bought will do that. What camera do you have RC?

I got the same one as Bob got. It is called Arlo. They are pricey but the system has given me so much joy I count it as multiple birthday presents to myself!
It is really intended for home security and I keep saying I will deploy one of the cameras on the front door for that purpose (one day!), but it is also great for chickens and wildlife.
It has a base station which connects to your home router, and then the cameras talk to the base-station, and then you can see it all via an app or by logging in on your computer. I am not at all tech savvy but I set it up myself. I have a wireless extender for my router in the garage and the base station plugs into that in the garage and that is probably 200 feet from the Chicken Palace.
I mainly use mine on my phone. It records video (motion triggered) and you can take still shots from your phone.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Thank you so much, we use something like this in some of our potted plants!
How do you like using hemp? If I could source it for a decent price I would be tempted to use it.

I use hemp in the poop tray only because of the price. I have been using aged tree-trimmer wood chips ("ramial chips") in addition to baled pine shavings in the run. I think I get a 33lb bag of hemp for $60 (it would be way less, at least half or more less, if I could buy it locally and cart it home, I think it is $20-$25?).

I like it, the chickens did NOT eat it much, which I was afraid of, after they inspected it when I put some down in their run. I think they found it boring. I am interested in composting all the litter and stuff but don't have long-term experience with hemp yet. I am told it composts faster than wood chips and is great that way. So I have a pile started since late Fall that is poop and only hemp and kitchen waste (that did not go to the red worms, my other "farm").

I have an earlier pile from July - Nov 2020 that is mostly poop and ramial wood chips which I will inspect for "doneness" once the snow cover goes. I expect it will need a month or maybe two of warm weather to be fully ready.

The chicken's run litter itself isn't composting much though it is breaking down into tinier bits because it's kept fairly dry throughout the winter with the tarps. That's ramial chips, some hemp, pine forest floor raked stuff, fall leaves, PDZ, wood ashes, and of course lots of chicken poop. So I expect to clean that out and make a pile with it and let it compost through the summer somewhere. Alternatively, it might be great for the perennial plants that need lots of mulch like the blueberry bushes and maybe could compost on them. I have to see about the potential nitrogen levels and what blueberries want.

Sorry for the long post! Chicken tax soon. Still have the video to deal with!