Fuzzy's Farm

[gigiok]

Umm sorry tee, that was Rusty's knee I was thinking of.

Went out this morning and saw smoke rising from the compost pile. SMOKE, not steam. I ran in and got DH and we shoveled all the stuff out of the pile and spread it around. Scared the beejeesus out of me. Our house sitters had cleaned a bunch of straw and "stuff" out of the barn while we were gone and piled it all up. Then we had all the storms and tons of rain and now lots of heat. Perfect combo for lots of composting except that my pile got REALLY hot. So hot that it would burn you seriously if you stuck your hand in. How do you avoid that with compost? Manure management is something I'm needing help with.

 

[NovaAman]

Wow, there was alady on the MI thread just talking about hay bales getting that hot because they got a bit wet. I think you'd just have to turn it alot more... I have no idea... I haven't tried composting yet.

 

[teeville5]

Gigi, that's ok.

DH says you have to turn the pile quite often to keep the 'contents' cool. Then limit the depth of your pile. Also, less green matter (poo, grass, hay) more brown matter (twigs, wood chips) to help lower the nitrogen levels.

eta- he also is saying something about making sure your pile has adequate moisture not so much for the cooling aspect, but for more to keep the good microbes in your pile happy.

 

[gigiok]

Thanks Tee and Nova. And tell your DH, Tee, thank you also. I hadn't been turning it at all - just letting it sit. My neighbors who have a wonderful garden were coming down and shoveling the "done" compost out of the bottom for their garden but that's the only turning that was done. I also saw on google that someone had used cinderblocks to make a C shape and piled the hay etc inside. That made sense as then if it did get too hot it couldn't go anywhere. I'll definitely turn it more and maybe make the pile a bit smaller so it's manageable. That's another summer project - LOL.

Seems like this could be a pretty good energy resource. Get rid of the trash and create heat all at the same time...

 

[gigiok]

I was thinking of the three birds I've lost in the last two months. Both if the orpingtons had purple on their comb. I'm not sure about the Brahma. That's an indicator of heart problems isn't it?

 

[NovaAman]

Yes. Blue comb. Lack of oxegen circulation, bad heart... there is also a disease called blue comb disease... might want to check that one out to and see if any of those symptoms matched anything your girls had. It does tend to effect younger hens...

 

[NovaAman]

Common Chicken Symptoms

The comb turns bluish / greyish / purplish. This symptom could be caused by any of the following:

• Blood flow is compromised for some reason, such as cold comb, heart failure, liver failure, and so on poor blood circulation
• Occurs when they get frost-bitten – if that is the case, covering the comb with Vaseline is common practice.
• Also occurs when poultry gets stressed
• They could have eaten some toxin/poison
• Some genetic problem that caused something internal to fail at an early age (likely only if the affected birds were related).
• Some infection (viral / bacterial) could also be the cause.

The comb turns yellowish

• May be a sign of jaundice / liver disease. Often caused by an infection or toxins (feed, environment, etc.).

As in my case... antifreeze...

 

[gigiok]

Thank you, Nova. I've just no idea. Their combs just had bluish edges, not all the way. I wish I did know so could prevent it.

Really hot and humid here. I've got to clean out the coop but am not looking forward to it.

Hey Savannah and Fuzzy. How are the trailers coming? Fuzzy, yours sounds really cute.

 

[teeville5]

stupid

stupid

stupid!

I lost 2 chickens tonight to a raccoon and it was totally my fault. My son met up with a few friends at the store tonight and I let him go hang out with them for a bit. I told him I would get the coop door shut when the chickens go in for the night, but I forgot. DH, my oldest DD, and I got caught up in a conversation and I didn't notice how dark it had gotten. We heard a ruckus outside and I saw a few of the chickens running in the yard and I realized it was dark and I freaked out 'holy crap, the chickens!' My youngest DD and I grabbed flashlights and ran out there. DD started gathering the runners (2 roos, 2 hens), while I ran to the coop. Started to do a head count, but then I noticed the white feathers. Counted the white chickens and found out we lost a silkie. DD calls for me to come look at what she found.and it's another pile of feathers, this time black. Lost a jersey, too. I could really smack myself right now.

 

[NovaAman]

Oh, so sorry tee!