Nevadans?

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Quote:
That is a pullet - an EE - her face is starting to redden up, as with her comb - also looks like her comb is starting to get plump.


I will get some pictures to you in the next day or so.

 

[Peep_Show]

Number 2 looks henny to me....and young and probably un-egging (note pale comb... needs to ripen!)

Number 1 sure is pretty, even though not what you expected.

 

[Jeeper1540]

yep, first pic is a roo, and second is a pullet. Pretty one too!

ETA: i know shes an EE, but looking at the color of the feathers, she looks like a Welsummer and Black Star cross! lol

 

[Eglyntine]

Quote:
Here are some pictures I took of the Worm Beds a couple of days ago.

This is how I have the worms living currently, after I have the chicken coop finished they will be getting an upgrade to something like this:

I will be making 4 of these to house the worms to make it easier to transport the compost after the worms are finished and it will also make it easier to scoop them out when I sell them.

Initially when I bought them I got them from a local guy and the dirt they were in was almost pure sand with horse manure mixed in. I have enough sand in my yard and most ppl that want to buy worms do not want a lot of sand in the mix either so I made these worm beds out of rubbermaid totes that a friend of mine gave to me. I took organic garden soil from Home Depot and mixed 1/3 of it with 1/3 manure and 1/3 organic material like veggies, fruits, grass, hay or whatever else you may have that will break down in the compost bin and give the worms more to eat. Then I transferred the worms from the sandy soil and put them in the new bins.

I took a 1/4" drill bit and drilled about 30 holes in the top and a 1/8" drill bit and drilled holes in the upper part of the bin and in the bottom so that it is properly aerated. It helps keep out the flies too.

This is what it looks like inside the bins now. Since I got the chickens, feeding the worms has been so much easier. I just take the chicken manure with a bit of the hay and mix it in with each worm bed once a week. You do not want to put too much of the hay in there because it will start to mold and that will kill off your worms so you do it a little bit at a time. As you can see though, the grass seed that is in the hay starts to sprout inside the bin which just adds more stuff for the worms to eat.

Here is a look inside another one of the worm beds.

And these are my worms... I have red wigglers and nightcrawlers both. Eventually I would like to get them separated out but I need to get the new bins built first.

Every scoop is full of worms, eggs and castings. I am almost as obsessed with my worms as I am my chickens. The chickens are pretty obsessed with my worms too.

 

[shanyalv]

Eglyntine oh I am so envious of your worms. I think I saw that you are selling some ? I would love to get some from you if you are still.

I had a ton when I lived in California but when I moved I never bothered to try them again.

 

[SparksNV]

Beautiful worms! I'll have to try to get a photo of mine. I wish I had known about you before I bought mine online! I like to keep the $$ local if possible.

Genny that roo is gorgeous as is the pullet - wish I could get more.

Carol

 

[NevadaRon]

Quote:
I have a rooster named Marilyn.

LOL as in Marilyn Manson?

Howdy everyone and

to the new folks! I had a lot of catching up to do - I haven't been on in quite a while. I had surgery on my shoulder a couple of weeks ago and then I had complications with blood clots in my legs and then they moved to my lungs!

Fun stuff - I've been in and out of the hospital twice. But it looks like I'm on the mend now.

 

[Knemeyer]

I was just checking on my girls in the coop and they were all cozy on their new roosts. I noticed on the wall a stream of yellow (I know, the hubby needs to move the roosts more away from the wall). I looked at the ground and it looked like my second EE, Nan, layed her first egg from the top rung of the roost. I picked it up and it wasn't broken but had a real thin shell. Is this normal and ok? I'm more worried about the yellow stuff. She did this about 8 in the evening. My other EE (who has layed an egg every day since her first) usually lays her's by 9 or 10am. Thanks!

Kim

 

[Jeeper1540]

Did you just buy worms at the store and let them reproduce in the bins?or was it a different process? SAYM is raising Mealworms and I wouldnt mind raising Earthworms
Quote:
Here are some pictures I took of the Worm Beds a couple of days ago.

http://www.chaoticfarms.com/images/worms/worm-beds-10302010-001.png

This is how I have the worms living currently, after I have the chicken coop finished they will be getting an upgrade to something like this:

http://www.chaoticfarms.com/images/worms/worm-composter.jpg
I will be making 4 of these to house the worms to make it easier to transport the compost after the worms are finished and it will also make it easier to scoop them out when I sell them.

Initially when I bought them I got them from a local guy and the dirt they were in was almost pure sand with horse manure mixed in. I have enough sand in my yard and most ppl that want to buy worms do not want a lot of sand in the mix either so I made these worm beds out of rubbermaid totes that a friend of mine gave to me. I took organic garden soil from Home Depot and mixed 1/3 of it with 1/3 manure and 1/3 organic material like veggies, fruits, grass, hay or whatever else you may have that will break down in the compost bin and give the worms more to eat. Then I transferred the worms from the sandy soil and put them in the new bins.

http://www.chaoticfarms.com/images/worms/worms-bed-with-lid-10302010-001.png

I took a 1/4" drill bit and drilled about 30 holes in the top and a 1/8" drill bit and drilled holes in the upper part of the bin and in the bottom so that it is properly aerated. It helps keep out the flies too.

http://www.chaoticfarms.com/images/worms/worms-inside-bed-with-worms-and-compost-10302010-001.png

This is what it looks like inside the bins now. Since I got the chickens, feeding the worms has been so much easier. I just take the chicken manure with a bit of the hay and mix it in with each worm bed once a week. You do not want to put too much of the hay in there because it will start to mold and that will kill off your worms so you do it a little bit at a time. As you can see though, the grass seed that is in the hay starts to sprout inside the bin which just adds more stuff for the worms to eat.

http://www.chaoticfarms.com/images/worms/worm-beds-inside-bed-10302010-001.png

Here is a look inside another one of the worm beds.

http://www.chaoticfarms.com/images/worms/worm-bed-with-worms-and-compost-10302010-001.png

And these are my worms... I have red wigglers and nightcrawlers both. Eventually I would like to get them separated out but I need to get the new bins built first.

http://www.chaoticfarms.com/images/worms/worm-beds-inside-bed-compost-with-worms-10302010-004.png
http://www.chaoticfarms.com/images/worms/worm-beds-inside-bed-compost-with-worms-10302010-006.png
http://www.chaoticfarms.com/images/worms/worm-beds-inside-bed-compost-with-worms-10302010-007.png
http://www.chaoticfarms.com/images/worms/worm-beds-inside-bed-compost-with-worms-10302010-003.png

Every scoop is full of worms, eggs and castings. I am almost as obsessed with my worms as I am my chickens. The chickens are pretty obsessed with my worms too.

 

[Eglyntine]

Quote:
Initially when I bought them I got them from a local guy over in Lemmon Valley that was selling them on craig's list. He sells them for compost bins and fishing worms so he really does not have a big concern on the type of soil he has the worms in. I picked up 10,000 worms, with eggs and larve which was not a bad deal. I just need to get rid of the sand they were in. I have enough sand in my yard and most ppl that want to buy worms do not want a lot of sand in the mix either so I made these worm beds out of rubbermaid totes that a friend of mine gave to me. I took organic garden soil from Home Depot and mixed 1/3 of it with 1/3 manure and 1/3 organic material like veggies, fruits, grass, hay or whatever else you may have that will break down in the compost bin and give the worms more to eat. Then I transferred the worms from the sandy soil and put them in the new bins.

I am raising Red Wigglers and Nightcrawlers. There are a lot of different pre-fab worm farm set ups out there but they are way expensive considering I paid less than $10 for my current setup and will most likely only spend $50 on the upgrade just because of the wood I need.

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Yes I do sell them and if you would like to buy any from me just send me a PM and we can work out the details.

Quote:
Thanks so much! I am always surprised every day when I go out to hang out with them how awesome they are. Watching them interact with each other, seeing baby worms transitioning from larvae to worm, I am a total nutball when it comes to my worms. Farming anything is better than anything you can find on TV that is for sure.

Definitely take some pictures so we can compare our babies! You know how much I Looooooove pictures. Now do you use your strictly for composting or do you use them for treats for your chickens too?

I sell mine, use them in my compost, and give them as treats to the chickens and my DH's aquarium fish. One of the other reasons I have lids on them is to keep my dogs out of the bins because they are addicted to worms for some reason. On one of my totes my oldest Mastiff (Mystique) broke the lid so she could get in there have a smorgasbord on manure and worms. Which is why I am building the new worm homes so that the dogs will stay out of them and plus as the worms finish in one level, they will move up to the next lvl and the dirt and casting they left behind are really simple to remove and spread out in the flower and garden beds. I sell castings and composted worm soil as well.

Quote:
I have a rooster named Marilyn.

LOL as in Marilyn Manson?

Howdy everyone and

to the new folks! I had a lot of catching up to do - I haven't been on in quite a while. I had surgery on my shoulder a couple of weeks ago and then I had complications with blood clots in my legs and then they moved to my lungs!

Fun stuff - I've been in and out of the hospital twice. But it looks like I'm on the mend now.

I am so sorry to hear about all of the complications you have had over the last couple of weeks. I am happy to see you are recovering things are getting better for you though. I will definitely keep you in my prayers. We all definitely notice when you are not around and you are very missed.

*hug*

The last two nights my DH and I have been working on the chicken coop until 10 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. both nights and I am soooo tired and sore. Who needs to go to the gym, just build a chicken coop and that will work your butt off, quite literally.

The good news is that my Orps and SLW chicks were shipped out yesterday so they should be here today. Hence why we are working so late on the chicken coop the last couple of nights. Our house is only 1057 sq. ft. so I do not have room for 16 more birds in my house. hehe

Well I am off for now, I have been taking pictures of the progress on the coop and as soon as I get them cut down in size I will post them.

Take Care all!!