Maine

[MEMama3]

Luckily it's supposed to warm up this weekend.  Do you think it'll be enough to thaw things out for you, perhaps with generous addition of Calcium Chloride... or would that be a no-no around poultry?  when I get around to building my portable gait, it's going to have a 1' solid piece at grade level with the gate opening above that to prevent the freezing issue and also to deter chickens from making such an easy exit when ever it's opened.

a wise decision. I'm not sure if it will drain when it warms up or puddle again so it refreezes. I'm thinking the calcium chloride would be a no no. Maybe I can squeegee a bit with the shovel to relocate it.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

.

SCG--I'm happy to hear you say that about the eggs. It's been a hot topic in our house. I certainly wouldn't sell any eggs after meds but have eaten them after Frontline with no effects. After worming have given the first few days worth to the dogs then eaten the rest. I did read 1 of the wormers could bother people who are allergic to penicillin so we did feed those ones to the dogs. My sister feeds her dog a special diet with eggs so she got a lot of them too.

First things first, I'm a pharmacist so I'm exposed on a daily basis to a lot worse than a one or two time application of Frontline. And the wormer albendazole is a drug that is also used in humans, so I'm not worried about that at all, either. Everyone has to make their own choices about what is and what isn't worth their time and effort to avoid...

Well, it turns out I won't be snowblowing the run for the chickens anymore this winter. In fact, I won't be going out there at all. With all that rain we got, my gate is in 1" of solid ice. Bugger!

As someone who has routinely had to climb up and over my goat gate, had to open the duck door with a hammer and chisel two weeks ago, and as someone who routinely slides down the driveway and path out to the animals... I'm feeling your pain, but I'm giggling slightly. I am lucky enough to have two gates to my chicken run, one of them is also sadly frozen in over an inch of ice and likely won't budge until March. The other one is luckily on higher ground and under a tree, so it still works (for now). I did use some calcium chloride on it after the ice storm and got it unstuck (but it wouldn't shut so I had to use a stretchy tie thing to keep it reasonably closed). I used a crowbar and hammer to beat the ice, and sprinkled some calcium chloride on it right after I locked up the girls so their exposure to the actual granules would be less, but I do think the CaCl2 would likely injure their feet if exposed. It's too icy for them to walk out to the gate right now, so I went ahead and used it.

 

[quailtrail]

Are you saying you're only treating one bird? If one has mites, the others do too. Gotta treat them all.

No just checked one really well and nothing. ..hoping the same goes for the rest

 

[quailtrail]

On the mite issue, I've read 1 type is pretty cold hardy so heat & steam works well to clean your coop...not your birds...that wouldn't be pretty! I usually take them off the roost at night w/a helper. DH holds, I put the drops on. I wear a headlamp or hold a small flashlight in my mouth. I also have 2 small solar lights in the coop-- the really cheap stake ones that give off enough light for me to see where I'm walking and who's next on the roost. I put them at floor level each night & stick them in the window or through the pen wire each a.m.

SCG--I'm happy to hear you say that about the eggs. It's been a hot topic in our house. I certainly wouldn't sell any eggs after meds but have eaten them after Frontline with no effects. After worming have given the first few days worth to the dogs then eaten the rest. I did read 1 of the wormers could bother people who are allergic to penicillin so we did feed those ones to the dogs. My sister feeds her dog a special diet with eggs so she got a lot of them too.

great idea using solar lights! !!!

 

[yankeehill]

Well, it turns out I won't be snowblowing the run for the chickens anymore this winter. In fact, I won't be going out there at all. With all that rain we got, my gate is in 1" of solid ice. Bugger!

Salt it well, and then chip the ice away. I had to do this last week to a gate, and it worked very well.

 

[MKandtheforce]

I sprout a combination of lentils and wheat and barley (with the hull intact) from the health store and BOSS from my bag of bird seed. Use a 1 qt mason jar with a needle point plastic canvas mesh under the canning ring. It takes about 3 days to get a good sprout going with a good soak to start the process followed by several rinses/day. When the sprouts get the size you want, give a final rinse and either feed directly or store in the refrigerator. I'm finding that when the temp is below 20 degrees the sprouts freeze as soon as they hit the ground, so the girls aren't as apt to eat them. I can't blame them there! If I had a larger flock, I'd buy the grains by the 50# bag, but with 5 girls, that does not seem feasible.

SCG: Priceless word picture!

How much seed should I put into a quart jar? Halfway? Less? And how long should I let them soak before I start doing the rinsing process? When are they suitable for the birds to eat?

Growing lettuce on the window sill has not worked well for me either!

Cold frames are very easy to build, and pretty cheap too- you don't need much lumber, and there are always windows somewhere for free- either on the side or the road, or maybe on craigslist. I had a great little one that got snowed on and then destroyed by the plow man last year.

And lucky you on the Nigerians! I've been stuck on the idea of Nigerians for years now- husband is finally saying "when we get goats" instead of " we are not getting goats."!! Maybe in another year or two!

I'm glad I'm not the only lettuce-killer.

I'll definitely give a cold frame a try!

Probably TMI, but I'm going to go for it anyway... I don't wear shorts. Unless it's really truly 95 degrees out or hotter, which is only about 2-3 days a year. I don't own shorts, so I just wear a pair of BF's boxers. The goats LOVE it when I wear those, they're so much easier to pull down. They also love to pull off my hats, gloves, etc, so they're not just underwear eaters.


I found a cute little grow box pattern for using a piece of plywood, some hardware and your choice of "window" (we used plexiglass). You'll need a handsaw and a way of clamping it (we already own pipe clamps) but it looks like this:





It was pretty cheap to make, with exception of the plexiglass. You could probably also use the hoop house plastic, but I wanted to have a clearer view on it, and have it be more stable so I sprung for the plexiglass. It can get really hot in there on a pretty cool, but sunny day. Our hoop house plastic did not survive its second winter - it is a tattered version of its glorious former self.

Your cold frame looks awesome!! I'll definitely be borrowing some of your ideas... Is your hoop house thing thing just a second cover for he cold frame?

 

[buckabucka]

Well, it turns out I won't be snowblowing the run for the chickens anymore this winter. In fact, I won't be going out there at all. With all that rain we got, my gate is in 1" of solid ice. Bugger!

Salt it well, and then chip the ice away.  I had to do this last week to a gate, and it worked very well. 

I have no trouble with my latches, but the bottom of my run door was also cemented into the ice, and it is my only entrance. I used a pick-ax to free it. It has two heads/blades, that are at perpendicular angles to each other. I used one to get up very close to the base of the door, and the other to clear away a large arc for the door to swing open (it opens out). I just kept chipping until I hit bare ground. The door now swings easily (until the next storm).

Another slow egg day today. I'm hoping this is the slowest week of the winter.

I'm still trying to decide what I will do this spring. Since I don't seem to be able to let go of my older hens, and no one is dropping dead yet, it would make sense not to hatch or purchase anything. Yet I still find myself studying the hatchery catalogs that arrive, thinking maybe I can squeeze in a couple younger birds somewhere, or perhaps hatch just a few of my own birds, or buy hatching eggs of other breeds I want to try. It seems like spring will be kind of dull without eggs to candle or chicks running around in the brooder.

 

[Widget]

No matter what the reason it is always a difficult decision to have to make but one we take on when we choose to have animals in our lives. I would say to bring the dog to the vet and at least get a medical opinion. It could be something easily treated. Or it may not be. I know from experience how hard it is to lose a companion but I always ask myself a simple question am I doing it for me or for the animal? It always comes down to quality of life not quantity.

Quote
We might have to put one of our pugs down. She can't keep any food down, she just tends to wander around in a daze... My mom seems to think the right thing to do would be just to put her down. She's been like this for weeks. She's able to eat just enough to cling on, she throws up bile, she's incontinent... does anyone here have any thoughts?

 

[IZZYBELLA]

sadly it's not the hinges. The whole bottom was sitting in a rain pond. I like the torch idea, but I don't think the hubby would appreciate me playing with fire right near the dry cedar fence and gate. This is seriously 1" of SOLID ice and I'd have to do the whole area where the gate opens into too.

I am in the same boat. I doubt l'll be able to open my run door until spring. Instead of fixing it I crawled through the pop door instead - haha!

MK - sorry to hear about your pug. :-(. What does the vet say?

 

[Cknldy]

Just loose dirt or potting soil is good for dusting if you don't have wood ashes. Wish I lived closer cuz I've sure got a lot even with all my bins full. One winter of ashes usually lasts until next Fall when the stove's fired up again. (Okay well, last year I had less than 10 chickens. There's way more than that now!)