Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[fuzzybutt love]

sorry, computer is double posting?

 

[fuzzybutt love]

Whew! that would be a lot of pine shavings for me! I had 4 pkgs of compressed pine shavings in there and barely got a couple inches deep! My leaves (which were fresh and dry) were about a foot deep, and had started composting by the end of winter. They stank when the warm air returned, but i haven't tried the stall fresh stuff. The top layer stayed dry, and towards the bottom it was faintly damp, to keep it turned i used a pitchfork and sometimes threw corn in there and the birds would get busy! Would look for hours for bits of corn, lol.

I have heard that if it's done proper it don't stink; i turned away and it didn't work. Idk. I only had 6 birds in a 8x16 space? And they ranged when the weather was good. (my bird are sissies, they refuse to go out in the wind and snow, if i throw them out they march back in!!!)

so maybe if i had muscled through the smell, it would have worked? If i use the stall freshener will that kill the microbes? My big concern is ammonia, of course, and how this works when you deworm; wouldn't the worm eggs still be in there?

My flock got mg last year, so another concern is keeping things somewhat sanitary since the primary cause of sickness or death in mg is not the mg itself, but the e coli infections they can pick up easily (from breathing in poopy air or picking around in it, drinking poopy water) or flock stress (so hence the small flock) Contrary to what i was led to believe the babies hatched from my MG hen aren't weak and sickly, they are robust and seem to be the hardiest in the bunch! But my sterile hatched hatchery birds are very prone to getting sick for me.

So in a way i also think germs are beneficial, a little germs when little help build immune systems, but i guess my question is about later in life? Seems like if there was an illness it would concentrate the exposure?

 

[1muttsfan]

Yay Chickflick! And thanks

 

[fuzzybutt love]

Ok, folks. The date of Chickenstock 2013 is June 22nd. 10am to 3pm. Let the planning begin.

already feels like spring is closer just from hearing that!

eta that no, i don't sell or buy from this, i just think it would be a fun time . And yes i know how to put on clean clothes and shoes, i know better than to track stuff to there!
I have my own ways but i truly love birds and no matter what the belief a bird person is a good person by my standards

 

[BackyardFarmMom]

Ok, folks. The date of Chickenstock 2013 is June 22nd. 10am to 3pm. Let the planning begin.

YAY!!!!!!

 

[snowflake]

I have made a chicken resolution for the year although not sure if I can keep it. I said I wouldn't buy chicks or birds this year, only eggs. However, I didn't say how many eggs I would buy! I've got my list started!

wow! I clean my coop 2x a month or more...and I put maybe 2-3" down each time...maybe less. Just enough to cover the linolium (sp?) flooring. I worry about mites though if the coop isn't being completely cleaned. Is that ever a problem when doing this method?

OH! And I need some help from my BYC friends!!
I have 2 nesting boxesn the floor.

I just keep moving them out of the box's, takes a few days, then some others will try,,so I keep moving them to the roost.

One part green and two parts brown, Makes the compost turn to ground.
Add some water and some soil. Turning is the only toil.

There is a lot more that I could ramble about but I'll stop now.

don't stop, how long will it take my pile of hay, shavings, poo to compost if I just pile it up and leave it?I am never sure how often to water or turn

Ok, folks. The date of Chickenstock 2013 is June 22nd. 10am to 3pm. Let the planning begin.

THANK YOU mark your calendars!!

 

[swampducks]

Good afternoon. Hope everyone is well. Had quite a few posts to catch up on as I've been gone for weeks and I'm afraid I didn't really read them all, so, does that thread still exist with the weekly highlights?

 

[RaZ]

Quoting "The Small Scale Poultry Flock" again, dried leaves, woodshavings, hay or anything else that you would use for your brown/carbon composting parts will work.

It's a really great book if you're the reading type, it took me 3 days to get through it all. Loaded with information. He also talks about other poultry besides chickens. He likes ducks for slug control.

I'll have to get a copy.

Chicken poo is the "green" that makes the whole process work. As far as soil microbes, my birds track in Plenty of dirt from the outdoor run.

Dirt floors are impractical for me - the "soil" here is rocks and clay, very poorly draining, cold, and sticky when wet - and the vinyl-covered wood works fine as long as you keep on top of the moisture content. While all of the above substrated CAN be used, some work much better than other - straw not so much as it tends to pack down and be hard to keep fluffed up.

You have to do what works best for your particular situation. There is no one "right" answer.

Ok, folks. The date of Chickenstock 2013 is June 22nd. 10am to 3pm. Let the planning begin.

I'll start the pot-luck food thread...

Whew! that would be a lot of pine shavings for me! I had 4 pkgs of compressed pine shavings in there and barely got a couple inches deep! My leaves (which were fresh and dry) were about a foot deep, and had started composting by the end of winter. They stank when the warm air returned, but i haven't tried the stall fresh stuff.

It sounds like the leaves were whole and became layered. If they become matted, the stink develops because there isn't enough oxygen so the decomposing goes anerobic and produces methane. Shred the leaves first, if you can. Little pieces break down more quickly which is why some people have problems with straw. Those big strands get matted and don't break down quick enough.

I'll say it again, there isn't one way that is "right". You just need to find what works best for you and your flock.

 

[Opa]

OH! And I need some help from my BYC friends!!
I have 2 nesting boxes that are about 3.5ft off the ground and are just a framed in rectangle with a wire bottom.(with bedding) I have birds sleeping on this at night! They are pooping all over my nesting boxes where they are supposed to be laying eggs! I blame the silkies...I raised some speckled sussex with silkies this year and those darn birds think they are silkies and they don't want to roost. I have adequate roosts for them but they keep insisting on sleeping there. Any ideas? I have to keep moving them to the roosts at night and it's a pain...I'm about to rip it out and put the nest box on the floor.

The only effective method to keep chickens from sleeping in nest boxes is to close them before they go to roost.

Last week I made a batch of cinnamon glazed pecans. I normally get pecans when I go south so I was shocked when I had to pay $10 for one pound. Today's mail contained a package from an aunt in northeast Arkansas. You can imagine my glee to open it and find 10 pounds of shelled pecan halves.

 

[RaZ]

Food thread has been started...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/734796/michigan-chickenstock-2013-pot-luck-food-thread

ETA: fixed typo bee = been