Nevadans?

[SparksNV]

Thanks for the info Sunny. What a mess my run is now - but the girls looked like they had fun trashing it! (typical adolescent girls that they are!) I am going to remove it this weekend. I can't see the poo now so I can't keep the run as clean.

How frequently do you remove your shavings out of your coop? Mine has been in there for 3 months now and is about 3" deep. I go in the coop every few days to remove the bigger droppings. Should I replace it before winter really gets going? There is no smell in the coop.

Thanks again!

 

[Echetino]

SparksNV, I don't know that it's an option for you, but if you look at the poo tray I installed in my coop you'll see that it hangs directly below their roost. It catches 90% of the litter that would normally hit the ground. It's easy to remove/clean and keeps the floor almost poo-free. Consider it, if you can, I think it's going to save me a lot of effort in the long-run. I've been somewhat astounded at the amount that is captured.

 

[shanyalv]

EchetinoLove your coop ~


vegaschickohhh I emailed that one too. Like I really need any more chickens ! Considering I have an order of meaties coming in.




SunnyDawn Beautiful eggs, One of these days my girls will start laying and I can get some eggs period. Thanks for your well wishes as well. I am glad to be home.



daegornHopefully the chickeys come today... I am all anxious now. Jason is like what in the heck did you buy those for ?!


Paladare

I think you posted to CL about looking for Chickens. I emailed you on there because I have some extra buffs that I am just not wanting to keep. Too many of the same bird is a bit confusing to me.

 

[Eglyntine]

FYI... Stay away from the Wal-Mart on Kietzke Lane down by the Sam's Club in Reno.

RGJ.com :

Update at 11:55 a.m.

A gunman was holed up Friday at a Walmart in Reno after he allegedly shot three employees who have been hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries, police said.

About 100 people in the store were safely evacuated, police said.

The lone gunman entered the store about 8:30 a.m. and started shooting in the direction of an employee or employees, Reno Deputy Police Chief Mike Whan said.

“To our knowledge, he’s the only one in the store,” Whan told The Associated Press. “We don’t know anything about the gunman yet or his motives.”

The three injured employees were being treated at a hospital.

Police believe the gunman was in a back room. Whan said they were trying to contact him, but there was no dialogue so far.

He is still in there but if you are headed to that particular Wal-Mart today I would pick a different one...​

 

[SunnyDawn]

Quote:
Thank you! I thought you had some. I must be remembering wrong.

Quote:
I change the nesting material a lot more often than I change the litter in the coop because I don't like dirty eggs. When the eggs start getting dirty I change the straw in the nests. I do have boards with a slick surface under the roosts also like Echetino mentioned. I use the deep litter method in my coop and I don't change it until it starts to smell. DH scrapes the poo boards once a week or so. I usually start with a 3" layer and add to it every 2-3 months til it gets to be about 6". We clean it every 9-12 months.
Sounds like you are fine to wait before you change yours. You can add to your existing litter to keep the smell down for quite a while longer. I would do this soon in preparation for winter.

Quote:
Thank you! Sending lots of good egg laying energy your way.

Hope your babies arrive safe and sound!

Eglyntine I heard about that tonight. I tried to talk DH into heading down there 'cause our Walmart was out of something I needed. He wasn't going for it. Worked out well since, by that time, they already had the place secured and nobody was doing any shopping there! I heard it was an employee that had just been fired (our friend works for Walmart at their warehouse distribution center).

 

[Jeeper1540]

Those are AWESOME eggs! i'd like some of those greens and some of those really dark ones!!

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[Jeeper1540]

The fact that you posted "I would pick a different one" is what throws me. Thats great that you guys have another choice! We have 1 Walmart, 1 K-Mart, and... Thats all in Elko! Ive visited Reno recently though, so i remember that Walmart/Sams Club thats being talked about
Quote:
He is still in there but if you are headed to that particular Wal-Mart today I would pick a different one...

 

[shanyalv]

I just processed my first bird last night. Was the most interesting thing I have ever done. I was okay until the guts and then got a little lightheaded but now I figure that once I have done it once I can do pretty much anything when it comes to the birds.

Got my first big order of Cornish Crosses in yesterday as well. I had a few DOA's but the rest are still holding out "for now" ended up using a old tv box that I had laying around as the brooder and its just about perfect for the moment.

 

[Eglyntine]

Quote:
I do not use Straw in my coop or run. When it gets wet it turns into a slimey mess. I use hay in the coop area and in the run and I have the most amazing mulch and fertilizer for the rest of my yard. It helps keep down on the food bill too because unlike straw the girls will actually eat the hay.

There is a quite a bit of grass seed in hay so when you use it out in your run as it builds up a bit and the moisture and heat builds up underneath it starts sprouting grass. About every couple of days I go out and rake it up into big piles which the girls absolutely love to dig in and then once it is raked up there is fresh grass sprouts for them to eat too and they go bonkers trying to be the first to get all of the fresh grass sprouts.

Raking it up every couple of days allows the air and sun to dry out the ground underneath the hay, (which gets rid of any smell, moisture is what causes the smell) the loose hay also helps dry up excess moisture and like I said you do not need to re-rake it to cover your run because the girls/guys do it for you. AND it also provides a warmth to the ground that worms cannot resist to be drawn to which also provides extra food for your girls. Every time I rake up I see quite a few worm doing the "Dive! Dive! Dive!" dance.

Also the chicken poop will stay on top of the hay which makes it easy to rake up into a bucket and then to distribute to your worm beds or anywhere else in your yard for fertilizer. So you get to keep the hay in your run and do not waste as much bedding.

I like the hay for the nests a lot better than straw because it is kind of like a mix btwn the fluffy dried grass and the thicker strawish grass. The girls do not get poked in the butt as much like with the straw or pine needles and they like to build the nest as they are sitting so they get to stay occupied while they are waiting to deliver. Plus with the hay, the fluff stays at the bottom and any poop is easy to rake out because it stays on top.

I am a huge hay fan, it is cheaper than shavings and has so many uses besides just bedding.

The worms are about to go into hibernation for the winter but if you all need worms for your chickens let me know because I have plenty and I sell them for a lot cheaper than what you can find on CL's. I started getting into the whole worm farming last summer and it is soooo much fun and then after I got my chickens they make a really awesome treat.

COOP UPDATE:

DH came home early yesterday because all of his meetings at work were over and we got the back wall up, the linoleum cut and glued down AND the primer painted on.

To finish it up we just have to do:

- The front wall
- Get the window, chicken door, main door built
- Get the fence and gate put up.
- Finish painting the outside

We still have to finish building the brooder area, the nests and roosts but we have temporary of all of these already so it isn't that big of a priority as getting main coop enclosed and the run area but we got a lot done yesterday in a few short hours of good weather. Hopefully the weather will hold up this weekend and we can finish the rest.

 

[vegaschick]

Quote:
Thank you! I thought you had some. I must be remembering wrong.

Well, I DID hatch some out from ke_bens eggs but once I split the hatch with the friend that went in on them with me ... I got all roos. I do have an Olive-egger that is a BCM X EE, but it's not the same.