INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Leahs Mom]

Seriously, though, for dust bathing I would on occasion toss out some peat moss. I had a peat moss corner. You'd have thought they were cats in a field of catnip the way they reacted to that stuff!!!!

But they weren't always confined in the run either so there were other places they could do a dust bath if they chose.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Oh...
Does anyone here know anything about Sand Hill Preservation? Anyone purchased from them before or know anyone who has? Your experiences?

@racinchickins covered it quite well, but I wanted to reply to this as well. I got a group of chicks from them this year (split with Racin) and I'm quite satisfied. It was harrowing, having never gotten chicks in the mail before, but it actually went quite well with only one DOA, so that was a bit of a relief. I went into it aware that they don't communicate well. I researched what others' experiences had been and read enough about them, so I was comfortable without having to call or ask about anything. If you want to ask them about their operations, etc, they recommend on their site to send an email with multiple questions so that they can answer them all at once.

One thing I think Racin touched on is that they fill your order with what they have, and if something doesn't hatch well or their breeders aren't producing enough eggs, they refund you and fill your order with what they have on hand. Someone here on BYC recommended to pick one or two breeds you want in particular, then fill the rest of the order out with breeds you could do without and make note of that on your order form so that they know what to prioritize for you. I didn't see that recommendation until after I had sent in my order, so I did miss out on the Colored Dorkings I wanted really badly, but they gave me a full refund for them and filled the order with Dark Dorkings instead, which are growing into gorgeous birds with the Dorking personality I love, so I don't feel any worse off for it.

All in all, I'm satisfied with what I got and would order from them again.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

You could dig a pond down there since you already have a beach
View attachment 1019954 View attachment 1019955

With all the rain we've been having, it would probably fill itself, too!

Seriously, though, for dust bathing I would on occasion toss out some peat moss. I had a peat moss corner. You'd have thought they were cats in a field of catnip the way they reacted to that stuff!!!!

But they weren't always confined in the run either so there were other places they could do a dust bath if they chose.

I have a small kiddie pool on their deck that I fill with dry dirt I find around the property. I was planning on storing away some dirt for the winter, but I may just have to try out peat moss instead now. Of course, our cats react very strongly to catnip, so maybe the picture in my head of the chickens reacting like that to it is swaying my decision here.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Since I mentioned them, I thought I'd introduce y'all to my girls from my Sand Hill order. I got at least one pullet of each breed I got, so that was a surprise! With my luck with straight run chicks, I was expecting one or two pullets, period! I actually didn't do too badly overall, 6 pullets and 8 cockerels.

Anyway, my Red Dorking pullets. Here is Perdita:

And Vida, who just really loves sun bathing.

Wheaten Marans pullet, Reinette:

Black Copper Marans pullet, Nadine:

And the two Dark Dorking girls, Echo:

and Tessa:

Edited to fix wording.

 

[hbrown322]

I got it thanks!!

@hbrown322 I just PMd you and thanks - well I take that back, I can't figure out how to send on the message on my computer- hmm. I'll try and my phone. But I basically said we'll be in next week but not exactly sure when till the weekend is over!@Nyla

 

[Leahs Mom]

@pipdzipdnreadytogo
Thanks for the Sandhill input. Do you foresee ordering again next spring with @racinchickins ?

I just want Dominiques and Buff O's, but not very many.

Oh...
8 cockerels? Whatcha gonna do with 8 cockerels?

Great photos of your birdies!

 

[Faraday40]

I like the sand in the coop/run. Things stay clean & dry with very few flies. My girls can sand bath in any season & I no longer find as many "chicken holes" in my flower beds.

If you're planning on a small group, river sand is great. I give a daily 5 min sweep with a kitty litter scooper & it always looks clean. I dump the droppings into the compost tumbler and use it for the gardens. (The neighbors also use it when I have surplus.) But if you want more than a dozen chickens, it might be too much surface area to clean daily.

I really like the idea of the deep litter method but live in a suburban neighborhood. If I ever get my dream rural house, I would try deep litter.

 

[Finnie]

@racinchickins covered it quite well, but I wanted to reply to this as well. I got a group of chicks from them this year (split with Racin) and I'm quite satisfied. It was harrowing, having never gotten chicks in the mail before, but it actually went quite well with only one DOA, so that was a bit of a relief. I went into it aware that they don't communicate well. I researched what others' experiences had been and read enough about them, so I was comfortable without having to call or ask about anything. If you want to ask them about their operations, etc, they recommend on their site to send an email with multiple questions so that they can answer them all at once.

One thing I think Racin touched on is that they fill your order with what they have, and if something doesn't hatch well or their breeders aren't producing enough eggs, they refund you and fill your order with what they have on hand. Someone here on BYC recommended to pick one or two breeds you want in particular, then fill the rest of the order out with breeds you could do without and make note of that on your order form so that they know what to prioritize for you. I didn't see that recommendation until after I had sent in my order, so I did miss out on the Colored Dorkings I wanted really badly, but they gave me a full refund for them and filled the order with Dark Dorkings instead, which are growing into gorgeous birds with the Dorking personality I love, so I don't feel any worse off for it.

All in all, I'm satisfied with what I got and would order from them again.

That's good information to know about Sandhill. I hope to order from them someday, but this year was not the year. I read over their website, but I still wasnt sure how their procedure actually works.

 

[Nyla]

I currently used sand in my duck pen. I have found that sand works best for me.
Reasons Why:
My duck pen is all Muscovy's now, but I had 10 commons ducks also (just sold all 10) they were all on a nice patch of fresh grown grass and turned it to mud over a week of nothing but rain. The smell got so awful. I couldn't stand it. Smelled like something had died and rotted. I was getting tired of stepping in mud all the time to lock my ducks up at night, (I don't have automatic doors, so I do it by hand). Also I hatch ducklings and sell them or raise them for people them sell them, and with the ducks constantly muddy, it didn't look very good for sales. Not to mention the flies and bugs were getting pretty horrible from my big German shepherd who roams the yard. So I put sand in the ducks pen. Instant Oder was gone, barley any bugs, my ducks love it, (and I do mean LOVE it!), makes the pen look better, ducks were no longer muddy and no more stepping is mud! I love sand and wish I did it in the first place!

So I'm trying to come up with some sort of odor control. With all the rain here in Anderson, my pen is a sloppy stinky barf inducing mess. Would sand be my best bet? And if so, is there any specific "brand" I should go with?

I like the sand in the coop/run. Things stay clean & dry with very few flies. My girls can sand bath in any season & I no longer find as many "chicken holes" in my flower beds.

If you're planning on a small group, river sand is great. I give a daily 5 min sweep with a kitty litter scooper & it always looks clean. I dump the droppings into the compost tumbler and use it for the gardens. (The neighbors also use it when I have surplus.) But if you want more than a dozen chickens, it might be too much surface area to clean daily.

I really like the idea of the deep litter method but live in a suburban neighborhood. If I ever get my dream rural house, I would try deep litter.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

@pipdzipdnreadytogo
Thanks for the Sandhill input. Do you foresee ordering again next spring with @racinchickins ?

I just want Dominiques and Buff O's, but not very many.

Oh...
8 cockerels? Whatcha gonna do with 8 cockerels? View attachment 1020048

Great photos of your birdies!

Really missing the email notifications for mentions...

Anyway, I've thought about ordering again next spring, but I think I've reached max capacity for my coop at this point and have to think about the comfort of my girls first. I'd love to get some Colored Dorkings, but it isn't in the cards right now.


As for all those rooster boys, well, I definitely can't keep them all, on top of the 8 roosters I already have. The plan is to raise them up to see who's got the best personality to be in the flock (initially, I wanted to keep a Dark Dorking rooster and a Red Dorking rooster, but the Dark boys are little butts so far, so it may just be one or both of the Red boys... ). The rest of the boys will be given a comfortable place to live, get to free-range when the hens aren't, and be taken good care of, and then we're going to send them and a few of the adult roosters who don't get along in the flock (or aren't safe to be out with my niece and nephew) to process in the fall. Needless to say, this is extremely hard for me to do, but something I think is necessary. I have too high of standards for the care of these birds just to rely on the word of companies or big farms claiming to raise their mass-produced birds humanely.