Maine

[CoopChick719]

I use bagged leaves, dried grass clippings, hay & shavings. I have a lawn sweeper I pull behind the garden tractor. I use old feed bags for storage. DH just mowed the lawn for the first time. I'll probably sweep but put everything directly in the run to refresh the DL in there.

Not sure if I posted this before but I hung a tarp behind & under the roost for most of the winter then did DL. It only took me an hour to clean out the DL--rolled it up in the tarp like a taco and dragged it out the door! It was slicker than...well you know what!! Unfortunately that tarp had some holes in it so I put my cement mixing trays back under the roost to catch the poop. I guess this will be a good week to dump those.

Still battling the rats! Bought a pellet gun--did not realize you can only load 1 pellet per shot. I told DH if I had known that I might as well just buy .22 bullets. He said you can't shoot a rifle on this side of the interstate. I said I'll just tell everyone I'm lighting fire crackers.

Good news...I've got a broody!! I left some eggs in a box hoping she'd take the hint since she'd given herself a broody patch. Left them there 5 days and then took them out because she was not interested in them and was roosting with the others at night. The next day I did a headcount and was missing 1. She was in a box just sitting. I'm going to give her to the weekend to see if she stays then give her some EE eggs from a friend.

 

[buckabucka]

Big time rats here. I haven't had time to do proper battle, -too much going on with getting the garden ready and school, but summer is coming.

I just use shavings in the coop. It stays fairly clean and dry because I have poop boards. Once a year, I clean it out. The only downfall of poop boards is that it creates a daily chore. I don't mind doing it, but I don't like to ask chicken sitters to take it on if I am away (they have all been volunteers).

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Knock on wood but my rat issues are gone (but not forgotten)

Couple of sulfur bombs and the peanut butter poison bait...

I'm sure they'll be back at some point, but I've been rat free for a few months now.

 

[mlowen]

Coop question....what to use on floor??? Shavings? Sand? or hay? I have seen in other forums some use sand and they say it is easy for clean up, I know a lot of folks that use a combo of hay and shavings or just shavings. anyone have pros and cons on these materials?

I use only leaves from the trees in my yard. Oak, maple, birch and beech, mostly. I bag them in the fall, store them in a diy "leaf barn" hoop house made from cattle panels and spread them out as the hens break them down into lovely dirt for my garden.

 

[longgrove]

Coop question....what to use on floor??? Shavings? Sand? or hay? I have seen in other forums some use sand and they say it is easy for clean up, I know a lot of folks that use a combo of hay and shavings or just shavings. anyone have pros and cons on these materials?

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I, too, have rubber on my floor. I bought stall mats, the half inch thick kind, I think. It keeps the coop warmer in winter and protects the floor.

 

[buckabucka]

Knock on wood but my rat issues are gone (but not forgotten)

Couple of sulfur bombs and the peanut butter poison bait... 

I'm sure they'll be back at some point, but I've been rat free for a few months now. 

I am envious of your rat-free life!
I think your rats hit the road and settled in up here. We need to do battle in both coops, plus the compost. Then just today, DH found a large tunnel in the pea patch. It's a ways from the compost, so we're not sure if those two groups are related or separate. I got an email at work saying he bombed that tunnel today, but it was written in some kind of code language because he was afraid to put the word "bomb" in a school email .

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Is he still using propane?

And what's code for bomb?

And don't envy my rat free life. What I lack in rodents I make up for in other amazing ways.

 

[buckabucka]

Is he still using propane? 

And what's code for bomb?

And don't envy my rat free life. What I lack in rodents I make up for in other amazing ways. 

Yes on the propane. The code for bomb was "advanced gardening techniques that may have singed them"

Since my chickens decided early this spring to eat our foundation, we've been keeping them in their barren runs. I want them to have greens though, so now I'm using chicken tunnels to direct them down paths I want cleared, and around garden edges to tackle weeds. It was a lot easier to set up than I imagined and fun to watch.
I also got seed for orchard grass, clover, forage chicory, and Japanese buckwheat. I've sectioned off two tiny areas, and finally, the greens are coming up. I think it was too cold when I planted initially. Eventually, I'd like to get the whole run growing stuff, and let them attack one section at a time.

 

[lazy gardener]

Yes on the propane. The code for bomb was "advanced gardening techniques that may have singed them"

Since my chickens decided early this spring to eat our foundation, we've been keeping them in their barren runs. I want them to have greens though, so now I'm using chicken tunnels to direct them down paths I want cleared, and around garden edges to tackle weeds. It was a lot easier to set up than I imagined and fun to watch.
I also got seed for orchard grass, clover, forage chicory, and Japanese buckwheat. I've sectioned off two tiny areas, andEventually, I'd like to get the whole run growing stuff, finally, the greens are coming up. I think it was too cold when I planted initially. and let them attack one section at a time.

Love the advanced gardening techniques. I planted the first bed in my garden almost 2 weeks ago. The stuff is now sprouting. Unfortunately, I will often plant an area, then go back 4 or 5 days later, and forget where I left off, and plant it again with something else. I'm always too busy or too hurried, or don't have materials handy to mark stuff. And if it does get marked, the markers then get misplaced. In the run, have you considered planting frames? You could make them out of 2 x 4's with wire over the top. That way, the girls could eat the green without disturbing the roots. With the help of my GS, I've now got my entire run covered with a deep mulch. Awesome! No more mud. I like the idea of chook tunnels.