MJ's little flock

[MaryJanet]

It never ceases to amaze me how much stuff comes up.
Of course it won’t pick up anything stainless or made of copper. But still worth getting rid of the iron stuff IMHO.

I think so too.

Surprisingly big chunks come up sometimes.

 

[MaryJanet]

Indeed. But farming animals doesn't have to be like that - indeed, until very recently, it wasn't. It's not the cow, it's the how.
https://www.theguardian.com/food/20...time-vegetarian-became-beefs-biggest-champion

I'm surprised farm animal welfare isn't better regulated.

 

[Perris]

I'm surprised farm animal welfare isn't better regulated.

Me too. I think most of us have little or no idea what goes on; I found that Guardian photo essay from yesterday really shocking, yet before reading it I thought I was well informed and the EU regulations good.

The regulators are always playing catch up on new methods in big ag, and I think they are lobbied hard to ignore it unless there is loud public outcry, which usually doesn't happen because most of us don't know what's going on behind those shed walls. Even that article was mostly about the smells, which can't be contained within the sheds' walls.

 

[BDutch]

Do you have red mites in Australia too?
If not a new wooden chickhouse would be a nice option too IMO.

Personally I dont like to buy (new) plastic for environmental reasons. Also because the cheaper plastics wear down very quickly and the durable plastics are vinyls/PVC and are poisonous and even worse for the environment.

Thats why I bought a childrens playhouse not so long ago. The playhouse is of much better quality than the cheap prefab coops. It’s size inside is about 90 cm * 100 cm and has two windows and a door. If I add a sturdy package box or a cat litter box Im sure it is a great place for a broody with chicks.

To avoid red mites coming in I painted the walls with a DE paste.

I don’t know how long the playhouse-coop will last, but I managed to keep a prefab coop alive for 12 years. I made a new roof, and added some EPDM around the hinges, after a few years. Recently I made a new lid on the nestboxes. Also painted it with a natural preservative a few times. It stands on sandy soil and has pavement tiles /bricks around it against predators. I had red mites in it last year. But managed to overcome the problem within a month, mostly with cleaning and reapplying DE a couple of times. Only a broody was treated with a permethrin spray for birds once and I used the spray in a few difficult cracks.

Edited typo

 

[RoyalChick]

Do you have red mites in Australia too?
If not a new wooden chickhouse would be a nice option too IMO.

Personally I dont like to buy (new) plastic for environmental reasons. Also because the cheaper plastics wear doen very quickly and the durable plastics are vinyls/PVC and are poisonous and even worse for the environment.

Thats why I bought a childrens playhouse not so long ago. The playhouse is of much better quality than the cheap prefab coops. It’s size inside is about 90 cm * 100 cm and has two windows and a door. If I add a sturdy package box or a cat litter box Im sure it is a great place for a broody with chicks.

To avoid red mites coming in I painted the walls with a DE paste.

I don’t know how long the playhouse-coop will last, but I managed to keep a prefab coop alive for 12 years. I made a new roof, and added some EPDM around the hinges, after a few years. Recently I made a new lid on the nestboxes. Also painted it with a natural preservative a few times. It stands on sandy soil and has pavement tiles /bricks around it against predators. I had red mites in it last year. But managed to overcome the problem within a month, mostly with cleaning and reapplying DE a couple of times. Only a broody was treated with a permethrin spray for birds once and I used the spray in a few difficult cracks.

I believe the Omlet coops are made from new plastic. Solway I think is recycled plastic.
I looked at plastic coops way back before building the Chicken Palace so that info may be out of date.

 

[MaryJanet]

Do you have red mites in Australia too?
If not a new wooden chickhouse would be a nice option too IMO.

Personally I dont like to buy (new) plastic for environmental reasons. Also because the cheaper plastics wear down very quickly and the durable plastics are vinyls/PVC and are poisonous and even worse for the environment.

Thats why I bought a childrens playhouse not so long ago. The playhouse is of much better quality than the cheap prefab coops. It’s size inside is about 90 cm * 100 cm and has two windows and a door. If I add a sturdy package box or a cat litter box Im sure it is a great place for a broody with chicks.

To avoid red mites coming in I painted the walls with a DE paste.

I don’t know how long the playhouse-coop will last, but I managed to keep a prefab coop alive for 12 years. I made a new roof, and added some EPDM around the hinges, after a few years. Recently I made a new lid on the nestboxes. Also painted it with a natural preservative a few times. It stands on sandy soil and has pavement tiles /bricks around it against predators. I had red mites in it last year. But managed to overcome the problem within a month, mostly with cleaning and reapplying DE a couple of times. Only a broody was treated with a permethrin spray for birds once and I used the spray in a few difficult cracks.

Edited typo

The hens have had many vet appointments and have never shown evidence of mites or lice. Float tests never indicate problematic internal parasite load.

Aside from ease of cleaning and curiosity, there's no particular reason to buy plastic instead of timber.

The hen will most likely be Ivy, but could be Mary. Either way, she'll need a sheltered environment and the chicks need to be safe from Peggy - the fencing will keep Peggy at bay and shelter can be arranged.

After only one out of six eggs hatched in a raised box at my place, I not confident that raised boxes are what a hen would choose if she had access to a safe nest on the ground. Raised boxes are a human convenience, right? Hens in nature lay eggs wherever they feel safe, like under bushes.

So, I may even use the existing nest boxes on the ground with the floor removed, a table above for shade, and add an extra shade cloth above the table on very hot days. The advantage is that the hens are familiar with their nest boxes already. The boxes are the right size and nice and dark.

Edit: I've thought about using the big coop and I've thought about placing the ground nest under the roost. The big coop keeps everyone very safe but there's no chance for socialising and building familiarity between chicks and hens, and between chicks and the run. Under the roost is lovely and cool but if there's rain, all the hens will need to crowd under, so it can't be fenced off.

 

[MaryJanet]

I believe the Omlet coops are made from new plastic. Solway I think is recycled plastic.
I looked at plastic coops way back before building the Chicken Palace so that info may be out of date.

I looked at Solway coops yesterday. While they will ship anywhere, it's by special arrangement and that usually means very expensive or very slow.

 

[MaryJanet]

I'm very satisfied with yesterday's work in the run. A few more sweeps with the magnet and it'll be ready for little ones.

 

[Perris]

I'm very satisfied with yesterday's work in the run. A few more sweeps with the magnet and it'll be ready for little ones.

have you kept any garden for yourself, or has it all gone over to chicken run now?

 

[MaryJanet]

have you kept any garden for yourself, or has it all gone over to chicken run now?

It's a big run at present with only five hens, but it'll feel smaller next year if pullets hatch.

There's more garden than I can cope with and once a secure front fence is in place, the hens will be helping with all the weeding in the front garden that I can't make time for. They've been extremely good at weeding so far. The weeds used to be higher than my head where the run is and they've done a great job eating them up while nourishing the soil and laying eggs. They've been brilliant.