Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[aart]

There isn't anything wrong with deep litter method.

Big difference between deep litter(composting-needs moisture) and deep bedding(drying).
Terms are mixed up and misused constantly.
Do you use your poop and shavings from coop as mulch on the garden paths @1muttsfan ?


Another gorgeously sunny day here!
Moved (most) the rest of the last 6-8" of snow off the patio,
in prep for the coming 8-10".
Shoveling doesn't appear to be much hindered by the sore shoulder, thankgoodness.

 

[Sally PB]

Got the plow on the Falcon last night in preparation for the coming snow.

Check out the interior shot. Won't that look sooo much better with Jag leather bucket seats?? This is hubby's toy to play with and learn on. A lot of "projects" to do on it.

Him NOT having to snow blow a 1/4 mile driveway is worth the price right there. We're getting too old for that. ("TOFTS" = too old for that $#!t)

 

[aart]

Check out the interior shot. Won't that look sooo much better with Jag leather bucket seats??

Maybe a real steering wheel first?

So has he taken it for a test run and pushed some snow with it?

("TOFTS" = too old for that $#!t)

 

[Sally PB]

It would have to be a very small steering wheel, as otherwise your hand won't fit between the window crank and the steering wheel. Besides, the current set up is "part of the charm." (His words.) The steering column is from the Bronco frame, so there has been a lot of "cut to fit" to marry that to the Falcon body.

The friend we bought it from used it to plow his own driveway for years. Hubby has ridden shotgun with him, and driven it. It was understood that part of the price we paid was for the friend's tutelage for working on it.

Hubby has been in love with this thing since the first time he saw it and said he would love to buy it, so could he have first dibs? (He was willing to pay 2x what we paid for it. Thank goodness they wouldn't take that much.)

Merry Christmas, dear. Please learn a lot, and don't hurt yourself.

 

[RaZ]

A good compost pile is "as damp as a wrung out sponge." Sounds like deep litter is a recipe for disaster for chickens.

Deep litter is wonderful for the birds. Softer landing when jumping off the roosting bars for one thing. It also helps insulate the floor somewhat. I use a mix of straw from a local farmer and wood shavings from the farm store. I've never had DLM start to decompose. All through winter I keep adding material on top of the existing layer. I leave the fresh material in clumps and let the birds work it in. In spring, I will remove all of the litter and take it to the compost pile or start a new pile. I usually start the new DLM with hay because it has seeds and weeds mixed with the grasses that the chickens can eat if they want to. I try to get Timothy hay because it smells so nice. Early fall is when I start with the straw and wood chips. I'll fluff the summertime floor with a manure rake and pitchfork to keep it from getting too poopy. In the winter I just turn the DLM every few weeks or so or when there is a heavy layer of poop under the roosting bars. I'll be doing that tomorrow since I have the day off.

It is supposed to be nice in the morning before the snow starts in the late afternoon. I hope I don't sleep too late.

 

[1muttsfan]

I do like Raz and pull everything out once a year. Then I start new with bagged flake Pine shavings. In the summer I keep enough in there to completely cover the bottom of the coop, scooping out the wettest spots as needed. Once the weather starts turning cold I just start adding layers of shavings as needed to control moisture. once the really cold weather hits everything in there freezes solid, so there's no fluffing or removing areas with more waste.

Removed bedding goes into a pile that's turned over a few times for at least 3 or 4 months, the manure has not had time to decompose so I would not use it straight into a garden.

 

[Sally PB]

I'm imagining deep litter as a compost pile, which to actually compost, has to be damp, so I guess I got the wrong idea about the whole thing. I can see that set up out in a run; in fact, my run has the beginning of that going on with the fall leaves I dumped in there. You wouldn't know there was 4" of leaves now... they're broken down, shredded, tracked into the dirt. Wish I had a bale of straw or another pile of leaves to give the chickens to play with. They sure did a good job!

That area is going to have some of the best dirt in the whole side yard.

 

[Frankiegirl]

Him NOT having to snow blow a 1/4 mile driveway is worth the price right there. We're getting too old for that. ("TOFTS" = too old for that $#!t)

That makes me belly laugh!! I would love to have one of those....it will be EPIC when it is reborn into the the Snowmagetton machine!!

 

[Frankiegirl]

I do not have electricity to my coop yet for an electric waterer and the outer run is caged up so well that I cannot get an extention cord in there without creating a breach in the wire or the door. Any suggestions how to keep water from freezing other than going out to replace it on the hour?

 

[aart]

I cannot get an extention cord in there without creating a breach in the wire or the door.

Two pieces of wood, one with hole big enough for cord end(screwed to inside of mesh)
and another with a slot the same size as cord(screwed to the outside of mesh-after cord is in position).