MJ's little flock

[MaryJanet]

A lot of it looks like small pieces of rock that must have a high iron content rather than hardware.
I have the same issue, the magnet picks up small rocks.
I pick out the hardware (like the staple) by hand and dump the rocks back on the ground.

That's a good idea.

I can't quite tell if they're rocks or bits of dad's rusty old cars that used to clutter up the backyard.

 

[Perris]

the usual batch of mixed scrap metal

Good grief!

I can't quite tell if they're rocks or bits of dad's rusty old cars that used to clutter up the backyard

My first thought was decomposed wriggly tin - those sheets disintegrate into a million tiny pieces (I know because we inherited some as a shed roof when we bought the paddock). But eating fairly neat iron is not a good idea, in whatever form it comes. Better out than in, in any case.

Might iron poisoning explain any of your girls' health issues?

 

[MaryJanet]

Good grief!

My first thought was decomposed wriggly tin - those sheets disintegrate into a million tiny pieces (I know because we inherited some as a shed roof when we bought the paddock). But eating fairly neat iron is not a good idea, in whatever form it comes. Better out than in, in any case.

Might iron poisoning explain any of your girls' health issues?

Katie recently had chelation therapy, so yes indeed. That's the main reason I use the magnet and why I haven't dismissed the notion of digging out and re-soiling the chicken run.

However, Ivy and Mary have never shown any health issues other than accidents and non-dietary things, and Peggy had FLHS which is dietary but not related to ingestion of metal (the vets would have found it), so there's a lot of luck in the mix.

If I notice a hen is sick (and not hungry), I'm pretty quick to take her to the vet, so I don't really spend much time guessing what might be wrong. I just bundle them off to the vet when needs be, like I would any other pet.

 

[MaryJanet]

Oh, and just expressing gratitude to @RoyalChick and @BY Bob for suggesting I get a big magnet on wheels. It's quickly become indispensable.

 

[RoyalChick]

It's quickly become indispensable.

With that amount of metal I am not surprised!

 

[BY Bob]

Oh, and just expressing gratitude to @RoyalChick and @BY Bob for suggesting I get a big magnet on wheels. It's quickly become indispensable.

It's nice to be seen as helpful. I'm so glad it is working for you.

 

[Shadrach]

It is thinner than the coop roof. It's not 3/4 inch. It's 1/2 inch. That's part of the problem but not the whole problem.

Marine ply works best but it's become really expensive. I looked at marine ply, can't remember the exact grade but its full boats, when I was still thinking about building a coop rather than buying one for the field chickens.

I used some ordinary grade ply on a couple of the coops in Catalonia and the edges were peeling after a single winter. They were painted as well!
The bullet proof option I found was half inch marine ply covered with EDPM sheet over the roof and the EDPM sheet edges tucked under the roof and held in place with wooden battens srewd into the ply. Obviously screw length becomes critical here. I know.

 

[MaryJanet]

Marine ply works best but it's become really expensive. I looked at marine ply, can't remember the exact grade but its full boats, when I was still thinking about building a coop rather than buying one for the field chickens.

I used some ordinary grade ply on a couple of the coops in Catalonia and the edges were peeling after a single winter. They were painted as well!
The bullet proof option I found was half inch marine ply covered with EDPM sheet over the roof and the EDPM sheet edges tucked under the roof and held in place with wooden battens srewd into the ply. Obviously screw length becomes critical here. I know.

I like to use marine ply when building things for the hens and I try to buy AA which means there are no blemishes in the grain on either side and that's good because blemishes are more likely to hold water. Sometimes AA is not available and sometimes I can't afford it. The new ramp was made from a BC 3 ply I bought when working on the roosting box. So it's got blemishes on the B side, and significant blemishes on the C side (quite large knots).

Is the A B C ply grading system in use elsewhere?

 

[MaryJanet]

I've just realised my schedule lets me work from home (in the chicken run, by the nest) tomorrow and the next day.

I wonder if anyone will come out of those eggs

 

[MaryJanet]

I wonder if I will hear peeps when I get home later. It's too soon really, but I would be thrilled.