Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[Sally PB]

@Mfranks, I was in the same boat. I have chicken wire over the roof of the run, then tarps over that. The plug end of a cord will fit through the opening of the chicken wire. So I have a heated dog bowl kind of waterer with the cord going straight up to the roof of the run, and the plug sticking through. The extension cord is on top of the chicken wire, but under the tarp, so it stays out of the weather.

The tarp is held down with bungee cords hooked through the grommet holes of the tarp, then hooked on the fencing of the run. I unhook the tarp at the corner, fold it back, plug or unplug as needed, then resecure the tarp.

We've used what @aart described to take care of the hole we cut in the garage wall that we strung the extension cord through, as there is no exterior outlet.

 

[1muttsfan]

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.

I think as Aart said there is an issue with semantics, we should probably be calling it the deep bedding method and not deep litter, but old habits are hard to break.

When managing a compost pile moisture content is important - there has to be enough to allow decomposition, but not so much to turn the pile sour with bacterial growth.

When managing a coop, you do not want wet litter, so anything you add should be dry - the birds will add plenty of moisture, so you need dry bedding to balance that out.

 

[aart]

I think as Aart said there is an issue with semantics, we should probably be calling it the deep bedding method and not deep litter, but old habits are hard to break.

Indeed they are.
And 'deep bedding' is not an old term....think it was coined out of the many discussions here on BYC. Many don't understand either term.
What cracks me up is those who use nothing but shavings and whinge about no heat or composting happening.

This is the definition I frequently post:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-method-with-this-coop.1075545/#post-16440037

 

[RaZ]

When managing a compost pile moisture content is important - there has to be enough to allow decomposition, but not so much to turn the pile sour with bacterial growth.

Around 30% moisture is great, someone said earlier, about like a damp sponge. It also helps to turn the compost periodically to both aerate the pile and redistribute the decomposing organisms. You get the sour smell when the conditions turn anaerobic.

There is a lot of duality in the science of composting. Hot/cold, aerobic/anaerobic, active/passive, pile/layered, large scale/small bins and even bucket composting. Everyone who composts has their favourite way to do it. I'm happy that people are doing it rather than sending the materials to landfills.

And speaking of composting...I'm meeting with my estate lawyer today to finalize plans for my eventual demise. My carcass will be donated to a cadaver farm where I can become part of the ecosystem. Anyone want my flock when I'm gone?

 

[aart]

My carcass will be donated to a cadaver farm

Which one?

 

[1muttsfan]

And composting does not need to be complicated. Even if you just toss stuff into a pile, it will all eventually disintegrate. It just may take a while.

 

[RaZ]

Which one?

NMU in Marquette.

 

[chickflick]

I deep clean my coop 1-2 times a year. The coop doesn't get too nasty since I clean the poop out every day. Clean the run as best as I can. I snagged a few bags of leaves, so add that to the run as needed. Chickens have fun scratching to find their scratch. Let the chickens out yesterday. It was so nice and sunny. They sure did enjoy the sun.
Have a good day all. Hope the snow that is suppose to fall tonight and tomorrow doesn't mess with you too much. Stay safe!

 

[Swiss]

Woah! I didn't realize I hadn't been on here since early December, and there is waaaaaaay too much for me to even hope to get caught up on. So, hello again everyone!

I pray you've all been well!

 

[RaZ]

Snow started a little while ago. Bella was out for about 5 minutes and came in completely covered with snow. By the time I got the camera she was half-melted.