High Desert, California!!

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
I haven't got my house set up yet but I am weighing two litters that seem to work for quite a few.

Sand: works great dries up the poo quick and if it collects in one spot you can scoop it out with a kitty scoop. One fellow even uses it in the nest boxes.... And for me its free.

Rice hulls: I have used them for the horse and OMYGAWD are they great bedding for a big Percheron mare who wont lay down on hard ground. for her I piled a pile in the middle of the corral and let her spread them out. Started with five bales in a 24 x 24 corral. After that one bale a week. maybe two. They dont absorb moisture they let it run through and stay dry themselves. Others here have been using them in the coop in a deep litter setup. Starting with four inches deep and keep adding more. Dry dry dry There are some bits of rice still in the hulls so the chickens keep stirring it to find them this rotates the poo and distributes it evenly. They are calling it dry compost. In deep litter method you only clean it all out about once every six months in some cases once a year. I would suspect rice hulls would be ok for waterfowl....?

 

[ChicksterJo]

I would love to get some sand for my run...That would probably cut down on the smell and make the ground softer for the girls' feet to land on.

 

[ChicksterJo]

Does anyone in the High Desert want/need an EE roo? I've got to rehome one. He was supposed to be a pullet but you know how hatcheries and "pullet bins" are...Please PM me if you're interested!

 

[BoondocksHQ]

Hello from Mojave,

I live in a rural area and have 5 acres in the desert and recently decided to raise dual purpose chickens to help provide for my family. As a freshman in high school, my family had chicken, ducks, and geese for a short period of time and we also had quail when I was in elementary. So, Honestly this would be my first time. I was looking on the web to see what info I could fine as to how to raise chickens, what to do, what to get and to my glee I came across BYC. I currently do not have any chickens as I am trying to learn what I need to do and choose a breed that does well in a desert environment. The kids are gone and it is me, the wife and my sister-in-law along with the 4 cats, the Basset Hound and the Chug. So, any help and suggestions would be helpful and welcomed.

 

[flower]

Hello neighbor from just north in Ridgecrest. I have had chickens intermittently since the early 90s and would be glad to help you learn about raising chickens. First you need a safe environment and shade. I use six foot fencing with bird netting and shade cloth made into frames during the summer. I have a few trees over some of the run but not enough. Hawks, owls and roadrunners are just delighted if they can nab a few chicks for a snack. My birds and dog make alert noises but I am not always home. The next predator that I need to worry about are cats and dogs. My run is fairly safe but it has been raided in the past when the links were not secure enough. Well that is a start and honestly BYC has a wealth of information about everything related to raising poultry and more, wonderful people here.

So choosing breeds is some what experimental. You can change your mind about what you like after you get to know the birds. Birds that I would advise against are the heavy breeds and close feathered birds such as Cochen, Bramhas and even Silkies for now. Silkies are bantam, small and light weight but have tones of fluffy feathers and feather feet. I prefer variety and personality is number one next to egg laying capacity. I like NN and EE for their calm nature and also they are both good egg producers. Ameraucans, Welsummers and Polish are my next favorite. And if I get around to moving to my spot with lots of space I will have a bunch of Silver Spangled Hamburgs. Presently I am working toward a mixed flock of standard size birs and another of bantams. Both have NN and EE, a few Ameraucans and Polish and in the Bantam pen Mille Fluer d'anvers with a idea to raise a small flock of Showbirds.

Ask yourself what is you main interest and read the BREED section listed in the top menu bar. Good luck, happy learning and keep asking questions. But first get a safe coop and run.

 

[BoondocksHQ]

Flower, Thank you for the information. I am currently in the Ridgecrest area for the next month on Wednesday, Thursday, and Fridays for work. I have seen a couple of plans for the coops and a couple plans that spark my interest and would work at the house. I want them for meat and eggs and would like to eventually breed to sustain the flock and become self sustaining. I am concerned on getting a breed that does well in our climate (I am a mush at heart). I am still playing around with the idea of just sticking to one breed to raise or multiple. My gut says one but, I'm not sure.

 

[opalwednesday]

I'm excited to try rice hulls, thanks for the tip!

I put sand in my run, it's great. before the girls kicked out all the light top 'soil' and left just hard to rake gravel, now the sand stays put and i have a zen poo garden to rake.

So far, I love the deep litter method, the soil in my floorless barn is turning back into good earth! AND no more awful straw. win.

 

[CityGirl88]

Hello Everyone,


I am new on this site, and so far it seems like it is going to be very helpful and interesting. My name is Jessica and Ive always been a "city girl" till I got with my fiance. We live in Apple Valley. He grew up on a dairy in Chino... and it was one of the first dairys there. So of coarse he grew up around different kinds of animals... but hes not to sure when it comes to hatching chicks. I never had anything besides a dog or cat here and there. Since we have been together... I officially have 2 dogs, 2 cats, 1 fish, 2 goats, 7 hens (3 I raised as babies... the others were given/adopted to us), 1 rooster, and we just added 4 baby chicks (and still counting) as of July 1st

. Hopefully someone can help me with some advise... my babies that I raised previously, I got from the store when they were 3 weeks old. Now... Im new at raising freshly hatched baby chicks. My hen never liked staying in the coop with my other hens plus they picked on her... so we just let her roam the yard. As a result of that she made her nest in our workshop, on top of the work bench. Well, she had been laying on at least 10 eggs that we we are able to see, and now they are starting to hatch. We have been removing the baby chicks as they hatch since the first 2 fell off the work bench (dont worry... they are doing great) but now we are up to 4 and the rest havent hatched. We just went out today... and I noticed that there was a mostly cracked egg under her (which I noticed had been cracked like that for about 2 days). So we removed it and I read online what to do... after reading about how the membrane gets dry after a certain amout of time... it dries out and then the baby dies because it cant break free (natures way of survival of the fitest... getting rid of the weak ones). So I moistened the membrane and slowly started to peel away little pieces of the shell and membrane... sad to say the poor little thing was already dead. The ones that are already hatched... I brought immediately into my house and have them in a dog crate in my laundry room with a heating lamp and a bowl of chick start and have been surrenge feeding them water, since the feed store by my house said they will drown in a regular hen water feeder right now. I want to know how true this is... will they really drown? Also... how and when can you tell the sex of the babies? And another thing... mama hen is a white leghorn... and daddy rooster is a rhode island red... so what will the babies be? Sorry for rambling on and on... but Im new at this and every little bit of advise can help me... thank you so much everyone!!!

 

[flower]

Congratulations on you good fortune to be with your fiance and the animals. Sounds like a good choice.

You wil find answers to most everything here from friendly folks. I believe that you have sex linked babies because of the difference between the hen and the rooster. But I may not be the best person to give the correct information. My guess is that the red colored chicks will be female and the white will be male. I do hope some one comes along to verify my guess.

 

[CityGirl88]

Thank you for your help.