MJ's little flock

[MaryJanet]

Good job assembling that!

Thanks! I took it slow.

 

[Perris]

I'm going to line it with something insulative. Not sure what, will keep thinking.

I'd make sure that whatever it is, it's easy to clean, and hard for ectoparasites to hide in.

 

[MaryJanet]

I'd make sure that whatever it is, it's easy to clean, and hard for ectoparasites to hide in.

Any suggestions? I was thinking of wetsuit material.

 

[Perris]

I don't know anything about neoprene (if that's what they still use to make wetsuits; and if they make them out of something else now, I'm obviously equally clueless about it ). But chicken claws and beaks can cut through a lot of stuff, and you might want to bear that in mind too with any sort of fabric.

Have you considered an upturned turf?

 

[MaryJanet]

I don't know anything about neoprene (if that's what they still use to make wetsuits; and if they make them out of something else now, I'm obviously equally clueless about it ). But chicken claws and beaks can cut through a lot of stuff, and you might want to bear that in mind too with any sort of fabric.

Have you considered an upturned turf?

No, mainly because I assumed (perhaps incorrectly) that it would harbour parasites. It would be easy for me to get some. One of my friends lays turf.

 

[MaryJanet]

I don't know anything about neoprene (if that's what they still use to make wetsuits; and if they make them out of something else now, I'm obviously equally clueless about it ). But chicken claws and beaks can cut through a lot of stuff, and you might want to bear that in mind too with any sort of fabric.

Have you considered an upturned turf?

And, yes, I think neoprene is the right word! It wouldn't come to mind when I needed it.

 

[Perris]

No, mainly because I assumed (perhaps incorrectly) that it would harbour parasites. It would be easy for me to get some. One of my friends lays turf.

I don't think that sort of turf would work, as it's very thin and barely rooted. Does your garden not have a neglected area with green stuff growing in it, where you could take out a piece about 6"/12cm deep and length / width as required to sit neatly in the nest box? Then you just invert, excavate a shallow dip in the soil now topside, and let the broody do the rest of the remodelling to suit herself.

It occurs to me now that the nestbox might not have enough height to do that. But as the whole thing is serving as a broody coop, the upturned turf could go in the main body of the coop couldn't it?

 

[MaryJanet]

I don't think that sort of turf would work, as it's very thin and barely rooted. Does your garden not have a neglected area with green stuff growing in it, where you could take out a piece about 6"/12cm deep and length / width as required to sit neatly in the nest box? Then you just invert, excavate a shallow dip in the soil now topside, and let the broody do the rest of the remodelling to suit herself.

It occurs to me now that the nestbox might not have enough height to do that. But as the whole thing is serving as a broody coop, the upturned turf could go in the main body of the coop couldn't it?

The thing is, the whole peninsula on which these few suburbs are built is sand all the way through and down. So I don't have any turf or any soil that would hold sufficient moisture to clump together. The sand dries quickly and would simply fall through the slats.

She could have her nest in the roosting section of the new coop as it won't be used for roosting. That would enable the avoidance of ants and bugs and prevent draughts from cooling the nest.

 

[Perris]

the whole peninsula on which these few suburbs are built is sand all the way through and down. So I don't have any turf or any soil that would hold sufficient moisture to clump together

good grief; that must make gardening a challenge! Are you working on incorporating organic matter into it, or some part of it; or do you just go for what I think is called arid gardening? or just leave it to its own devices?

 

[MaryJanet]

good grief; that must make gardening a challenge! Are you working on incorporating organic matter into it, or some part of it; or do you just go for what I think is called arid gardening? or just leave it to its own devices?

I'm very fortunate to live in the house my great grandfather built for his family. After him, it was my Nana's house, then Dad's and he pulled out Nana's garden in order to underpin the house down one side. He never got around to completing the house's renovation and the gardening was never on his to do list, although I'm sure he would have had plans for it. It was 2017 when I moved in, by then the house had been empty for a few years while we sorted out his estate. The house was derelict without hot water or flushing toilets and the weeds were higher than the fences. I've done a lot of renovating since then, which is ongoing, and the chickens have been an enormous help in reducing the weeds in the backyard. Earlier this year, a rebuild of the front veranda was completed, and I didn't see much point in gardening the front yard until that was finished. At this time, my spending money is rather focussed on the chooks and cat, but there will be dog and chicken proof front fences put in next year (I hope) and then the chooks can get to work weeding the front yard. In due course, maybe a couple of years from now, I'll start gardening.