Getting the flock out of here - a diary of a crazy chicken man

[ozexpat]

Pig, you should think about starting a massive compost too (unless you've got that going already). Then you could just switch out some of the dirt you've already got with the fresh stuff you're making, since the goat house probably doesn't mind if the soil under it is a bit low in nutrients. And keeping stuff from going to the landfill is always a great idea. You should never underestimate the effect of interior or exterior design on chickens. Viiru was quite happy with their new curtains. Oz, that garden is looking lush. I'd be a bit worried with rain going in under that top profile on the roof though.

There is silicone and a caulking rubber under the ridges. We had gale winds as the typhoon went through without a leak. 11 inches of rain in two days. Its pretty well done

 

[vehve]

There is silicone and a caulking rubber under the ridges.

We had gale winds as the typhoon went through without a leak. 11 inches of rain in two days.

Its pretty well done

I was just looking at the top end of it (closest to the camera in the image), but perhaps it's since been covered as well as I see some sort of tools in the picture too. Some silicones are a treat for birds though, my parent's windows needed to be redone after a few years when the birds had pecked all of it to crumbles.

I have to say, it looks pretty well done. You've got some excellent craftsmanship put into making that roof, which is good since a leaky roof will destroy everything under it. Some people try to cut corners when building houses, but the roof is the last place where that should be done.

We don't get that kind of rains that often, but I do remember a bit of summer rain a few years back when I was wading through the center of Helsinki. It was pretty cool, there was about a foot of water on the streets. I just threw my shoes into my bag and walked around barefoot. Two hours later it had all disappeared. Did cause a bit of havoc to the foundations of some houses though. Companies that specialized on water damage made a pretty penny that year.

 

[ozexpat]

An intresting article from http://www.fao.org/docrep/008/y5169e/y5169e05.htm

Skip it if its too much

Scavenging commercial hybrid layers in Sri Lanka
In a study carried out by Roberts and Senaratne (1992), Sri Lankan villagers reared hybrid egg layers in a semi-scavenging system. Day-old hybrid chicks were brooded under the heat of a small kerosene lamp. The chicks were provided with a little mixed supplement of local crop by-products, comprising 40 percent rice polish, 50 percent expeller coconut meal and 10 percent broken rice. The Proximate chemical analysis of this supplement was 16 percent Crude Protein, 8 percent Crude Fat, 7 percent Crude Fibre and 7 percent Ash.
The amount of the supplement increased from 8 to 60 g/bird/day until 12 weeks of age, and was maintained at 60 g thereafter. The growth rate was 38 g/bird/day up to 20 weeks of age. The mortality rate of the chicks was only four percent in the period up to ten weeks, which compared favourably with mortality of 68 percent up to six weeks in Indonesia (Kingston and Creswell, 1982) and 25 percent up to eight weeks in Thailand (Thitisak et al, 1989) in chicks hatched and reared by village hens. The comparative advantage of the Sri Lankan performance was attributed to supplementing the competitive scavenging, and to the protection against predators provided by the semi-intensive management system. It is probable that chicks would also benefit from the use of a simple creep feeder for feeding kitchen waste. The mortality rate, in the Sri Lankan example, increased after reaching eight months of age, perhaps due to a greater need for scavenger free-ranging, and almost reached a cumulated 60 percent loss by 13 months of age. Of the 142 hens lost up to 13 months of age, records were kept for 92. The causes of mortality were:

• 32 percent predators (such as dogs, mongooses, pole cats and snakes);
• 26 percent disappeared; (not stolen? lol)
• 15 percent Newcastle disease;
• 15 percent intestinal infection;
• 5 percent stolen;
• 4 percent accidents (vehicles and falling coconuts); and
• 2 percent attacked by humans.

Hens laid their first eggs when they reached 21 weeks (146 days) of age, although 40 percent production (on a hen/day basis) was not achieved until they were 30 weeks of age. Peak egg production was just over 60 percent. A severe drop in production (beginning when the hens were eight months of age) corresponded with an outbreak of Newcastle Disease in local village birds and the start of the long dry intermonsoon period. Production fell to below 30 percent when the hens were ten months of age, and slowly rose again to over 60 percent at 13 months of age. The recovery in production began during the dry period and was maintained into the next season. Egg production was comparable with that of hybrid egg layers, which were introduced into the village as pullets, provided with a supplement and allowed to scavenge.
The production was much better than the 12 to 21 percent reported in village birds in Indonesia (Kingston and Creswell, 1982) and in Thailand (Janviriyasopaki et al, 1989) and (Creswell and Gunawane, 1982). The egg weight reported by Roberts and Senaratne (1992) was 60 g compared with about 40 g for village hens (Kingston and Creswell, 1982).

 

[Yoyo with chick]

I hope you see this post. But oh do I know it's like chasing a wild turkey trying to find some things in baja. Like one time I tried to find lemons... I looked at every store couldn't find one...

I find every post lol

Nice to see you here

I have lemons but cilantro....

lol

 

[Tomtommom]

Cilantro isn't hard to grow, but in heat it bolts fast.. and then you have coriander

(if you can find whole coriander, you can sow it)

 

[VioletandBodie]

gosh i finally made it to the end! how long have i been gone? but anyways this has been one heck of a story with many plot twists. what an adventure.

 

[ozexpat]

Cilantro isn't hard to grow, but in heat it bolts fast.. and then you have coriander

(if you can find whole coriander, you can sow it)

I have coriander/cilantro seeds.

Bolting is an understatement. We need to plant every week just to keep up LOL

 

[ozexpat]

gosh i finally made it to the end! how long have i been gone? but anyways this has been one heck of a story with many plot twists. what an adventure.

I love seeing posts by the brave that start at the beginning.

I hope to have the first book of the story finished this year.

Please come back!

 

[piglett]

Pig, you should think about starting a massive compost too (unless you've got that going already). Then you could just switch out some of the dirt you've already got with the fresh stuff you're making, since the goat house probably doesn't mind if the soil under it is a bit low in nutrients. And keeping stuff from going to the landfill is always a great idea.

You should never underestimate the effect of interior or exterior design on chickens.

Viiru was quite happy with their new curtains.

Oz, that garden is looking lush. I'd be a bit worried with rain going in under that top profile on the roof though.

 

[ozexpat]

we have two compost areas that are 8ft x 8ft.

The first is two feet deep and will be ready in a week or so. The second will be good in six weeks.

With the wet season rainfall keeping everything soggy and the temps we have, compost develops really fast.

All our pig poop goes in each day. We then cover it with a layer of sawdust. The chicken poop goes in as well but weekly.

We have access to all the sawdust we can haul. Its just a matter of having enough nitrogen component to balance it.

I would like to develop 20 cubic meters of compost a year to fold into our sand.

My next construction project is to enlarge the piggery by 12-16 feet. Originally we were going to add 24 feet but I dont need that many pens yet and I dont want to fell trees for lumber unless I really need it.

After the piggery, we will be doing new raised garden beds. I want 6 beds 4ft x 24ft. The goal is to make them three cinder blocks high, so 24" and fill them with 75% composted material and 25% sandy soil.

That should make for pretty good growing conditions and a growth medium that holds some water. Currently we water and 20 minutes later its gone completely.

We are due a lot of rain for the next three months so its not an issue now, but I dont want to have to set up drip watering to keep plants alive once we get to the dry season next January.