INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[browncow15]

Quote: [quote url="[URL]https://www.backyardchickens.com/content/type/61/id/5373331/[/URL]"] Something that might be helpful for the future... To keep my runs from getting flooded or packed down into hard earth, I do a deep litter in the outdoor pen. When I first put up the pen/run, it was grass. As they wore that down over time, I began to fill it with wood chips, the wood shavings that I cleaned out of the indoor coop, and whatever else was available. The goal is to keep the ground underneith "alive"...to make a deep bedding that they can hopefully scratch through even in winter and still find worms under there. I keep dumping more and more into that run and it is awesomely alive instead of impacted and muddy and dead. The deep mulch keeps water from pooling too. I had the people who cut down some trees leave the wood chips and then let them "cure" in a pile for about 6 months before I used them. When you see worms in the pile it's good to go. Many places that cut down trees are willing to dump chips on your property FREE when they're cutting something down in your area. Call a few and ask. They don't like to have to haul them back to their place and dispose of them. It's free mulch. But...if I didn't have the wood chips I could have used raked up leaves, grass, etc. I also put ALL INDOOR WOOD CHIPS out there when I clean them out. I just haul it in there and dump it in a pile. They love to dig through it and distribute it when you first put it out. Here are some photos inside the run area when I had just dumped in some chips. They go to town and dig through for whatever is alive in there. You can see in the next photo what the run looks like from the side. They go out of here to free range most of the time. However, it gives me a pen to close them in when necessary. Notice the deep mulch/litter. Lots of worms and bugs under it that they dig through when they're stuck in the pen.

And a couple of winter photos. [/quote] That's awesome! Maybe I'll try that with our abundance of leaves this fall!!

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

I worry about people who have been mounting chickens for that long......poor little chickens....

Glad the pup is good again!

Is that the lie your telling about why you dye your hair?!?

Does he ship chicks? I will possibly be looking for more Delaware chicks in spring but would like better quality than the hatchery babies I have now.


I put down straw to cover some of the water damage in my girls pen...they are now busy putting it where it really needs to be according to them! silly little girls. Then this morning I added insult to injury by throwing in some old raisin bran, a little scratch and some grapes (also known as chicken crack at my house) which all sank into the straw so they had to forage for it all. Too funny watching them try and find the good stuff.

Later today or tomorrow they are going to go next door to my brothers house as his backyard is full of baby crickets which I am pretty sure they won't mind helping eradicate for him!

Welcome all newcomers and hope everyone had a good weekend even though it was rather wet!

I finally caught up!!! and I am claiming post 15259 as my 50th post!!!!

im confused. i have died my hair before but have decided i am not going to for a while. Ic you ate wanting to know if i am just pulling your leg about it turning my hair orange im not. It real does turn my blonde hair orange. the only reason i have ever died my hsir is to try snd cover up the orange but it just fades right back to blonde in two weeks and is not worth the money. So now i have to get malibu treatment every three weeks to a month. I ocassionally use iron out on my hair too, but that is bery damaging to your hair. None of those special shampoos gool you they dont work. trust me, been there dine that

 

[Old Salt 1945]

Hey guys, my silkie roo broke the tip of his beak off on the hardware cloth in his run today. Just the very end of it. It bled a little bit. Will it heal on its own?

Yes. In 2 or 3 weeks, you won't know it ever happened.

John

 

[Too Fast]

We are on well too, even with the option of city water. I was rather suffer iron then the chlorine smell.
We removed the ironide rod, and just do a yearly drain and rinse. The softener drain is close enough that we do as old salt said and attach the hose pipe to the bottom and snake the pipe down the drain.
Recently changed from a gas to an electric. Using less than $5 a month on gas but the fees on the gas means each bill was almost $20. Kinda felt ripped off.

We thought our well dried up about two years ago, that was on my list of least fun jobs I have done (drywall sanding being number 1 of course). Turns out it needed around 10ft of extra piping. Dealing with all the junk that stirred up was awful. Several weeks before we had potable water in our house.

Well if you need a gas water heater let me know, we have one that has become a piece of furniture in my dining room.

Did a quick search for ironide rod, found nothing. Did you mean the anode rod? You really don't want to do that, it will shorten the water heater life. I know what you mean about the gas dilevery charges. Seems very high!

We have enough stuff in our dining room, thanks. Always nice to have the ole' trusty water heater in there for conversation, eh?

 

[Too Fast]

Someone was asking about new water heaters in previous posts - we went to a tankless , & love it . I think we use less propane than when we had the tank kind. It costs a lot more initially, but long term should save $$$

If I wasnt all electric I would put in a tankless. We have one here at work and the hot water never runs out. It only calls for hot water when the water is turned on hot. Big money saver.

I've looked into the tankless kind, we have only 1 bathroom so no huge demand for hot water. Pretty sure it could keep up. The well would be ok also, since it works fine now. The tankless would save money in the long run, especially if it lasts 35 years with no repairs! I'd have to re-route the exhaust to install the tankless, as the tanked exhaust goes up the (retired) furnace chimney. If I could get rid of the old furnace chimney, I could squeeze in a small 1/2 bathroom at the top of our staircase for the 2 bedrooms up there, and make a skylight where the chimney went thru. That'd be nice, since we sleep upstairs. The house was built in the mid 1920s, with real 2x4 wood.

 

[Leahs Mom]

That's awesome! Maybe I'll try that with our abundance of leaves this fall!!

If you keep adding to it a bit at a time as you have time, it can get nice and deep and keep the "critters" from getting totally frozen out in the winter. I just add to it as I go.

Kind of like making a "forest floor". The leaves fall, wood pieces are deteriorating and bugs and good microbes are at work. As they dig in there they actually get some good bacteria (think probiotics) that helps them build a good immune system.

It's a win-win situation and they also have something to do with themselves when they're stuck inside the run.

Only 1 thing I don't use is straw. Straw takes a LONG time to break down and the hollow "straw-like" pieces can harbor lice. It also tends to mold since it takes so long to break down. I used some straw bales to sit on and as a wind-break during the winter last year but at the end of the season I removed them and tried to get any stray straw off the ground. I actually burn the stuff to avoid the molds and bad bugs.

 

[Old Salt 1945]

im confused. i have died my hair before but have decided i am not going to for a while. Ic you ate wanting to know if i am just pulling your leg about it turning my hair orange im not. It real does turn my blonde hair orange. the only reason i have ever died my hsir is to try snd cover up the orange but it just fades right back to blonde in two weeks and is not worth the money. So now i have to get malibu treatment every three weeks to a month. I ocassionally use iron out on my hair too, but that is bery damaging to your hair. None of those special shampoos gool you they dont work. trust me, been there dine that

I bought a standard sediment filter and installed it on the outlet side of the well pressure tank. Before installing it, a bucket of water had a orange hue to it. Afterwards, it is completely clear.

I was surprised at the difference.

The filters for us last 2 or 3 months before they start to plug up and constrict water flow. The filters are 2 or 3 bucks. The filter holder contraption was 20 or 30 as I recall.

With all the iron rust removed from the water, my chickens weigh less and can fly to the top roost more readily.

John

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

I bought a standard sediment filter and installed it on the outlet side of the well pressure tank.  Before installing it, a bucket of water had a orange hue to it.  Afterwards, it is completely clear.

I was surprised at the difference.   The filters for us last 2 or 3 months before they start to plug up and constrict water flow.  The filters are 2 or 3 bucks.  The filter holder contraption was 20 or 30 as I recall.

With all the iron rust removed from the water, my chickens weigh less and can fly to the top roost more readily.

John

wow sounds like i need one of those!

 

[Old Salt 1945]

Did a quick search for ironide rod, found nothing. Did you mean the anode rod? You really don't want to do that, it will shorten the water heater life. I know what you mean about the gas dilevery charges. Seems very high!

We have enough stuff in our dining room, thanks. Always nice to have the ole' trusty water heater in there for conversation, eh?

vickichicki -- Too Fast is right. Put the anode rod back in the tank. It's purpose is to provide a sacrificial metal that will corrode away rather than the inside of your tank. It is VERY necessary for the long life of your tank.

Also, don't fiddle with the safety valve at the top of the tank. It is usually connected to a long pipe that goes down the side of the tank to a drain at the floor. It has a lever that you can lift and let steam or air or hot water out of it and through the pipe. They sometimes leak and are replaced with a cap. This is bad. Mythbusters set one up like that and then overheated it until the tank burst. The tank flew up from the basement through the 1st floor, 2nd floor, ceiling, roof, and continued to an altitude of 150 feet. Not good, particularly if your bed is directly above it. It would mess up your fancy new bedspread.

John

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I'm near Columbia City, maybe 15 minutes away. I also make regular trips to Fort Wayne if that's any help.

aww, I was hoping you were closer. Fort wayne is closer than columbia city but that still an hour drive.

I'd be willing to make an hour trip so that he can go to a good home. That is, if you're still interested.