New Mexico

[Iheartamylee]

Hello!im new,and I,two,live n New Mexico!

 

[FridayYet]

Welcome amylee!

 

[DaraKing]

Hi all! I'm in Bosque! My name is Shannon! Just wanted to say hello! I have a flock of 6. The hens are 3 Easter Eggers, 1Speckled Sussex, 1 Buff Orpington and the rooster is a cream legbar. I'm a first timer when it comes to chickens but my boyfriend has had them on and off his whole life. We just got this flock last Saturday. The hens are about 9 months old and the rooster is about 2. They are quite an interesting flock to say the least. Anyway, have a great day!!

Shannon

I think you get the idea...Welcome aboard from one newbie to another! I'm in Rio Rancho, NM.​

 

[DaraKing]

I have a question for my fellow New Mexican BYC'ers, particularly around Albuquerque/Rio Rancho as I'm looking for input from people in a similar environment as me.

I'm very new to raising chickens and so far it's going well. Four of my birds are 12 weeks old now, and the baby is 7 weeks old. All of them are outside in the coop/run combo I've got set up (don't worry, the baby is separate from the older birds in the run.) so my question is this; how do you manage your coop and runs with chicken waste? I initially put down a thick layer of pine chips/shavings in both the run and the coop with the available desert sand below that, and I haven't changed it. It doesn't stink or put off any odor at all and I'm fairly certain I want to go the deep litter method. But with our very dry climate here should I be worrying about layering? Can I/should I do deep litter with just pine shavings or should I implement another compostable agent (leaves, what leaves? This is the desert! )

 

[TwoCrows]

I have a question for my fellow New Mexican BYC'ers, particularly around Albuquerque/Rio Rancho as I'm looking for input from people in a similar environment as me.

I'm very new to raising chickens and so far it's going well. Four of my birds are 12 weeks old now, and the baby is 7 weeks old. All of them are outside in the coop/run combo I've got set up (don't worry, the baby is separate from the older birds in the run.) so my question is this; how do you manage your coop and runs with chicken waste? I initially put down a thick layer of pine chips/shavings in both the run and the coop with the available desert sand below that, and I haven't changed it. It doesn't stink or put off any odor at all and I'm fairly certain I want to go the deep litter method. But with our very dry climate here should I be worrying about layering? Can I/should I do deep litter with just pine shavings or should I implement another compostable agent (leaves, what leaves? This is the desert! )

I have used sandy wash material for my coops and runs and recently switched to some sort clay soil. I found a small vein of it in the side of hill around here, LOL, and gave it a try. I found that there is VERY little dust with this clay stuff vs the sandy wash stuff. This clay soil is a yellow/light colored almost chipped like soil. Hard to explain. The only thing I don't like about it as when it gets wet, it turns into mud and then when it dries it turns into concrete.

But you can try different natural materials and don't need to use purchased bedding. You are merely trying to help absorb poop when it hits the ground. Just sitting on the surface without being cleaned will cause all kinds of issues. But any litter on your floor that somewhat absorbs the poops and then of course as you clean every day and remove the poop, the floor stays fairly clean. I have taken to only putting down about an inch of soil. I used to go deep...like 4 to 6 inches. But you do have to remove it all periodically as it gets pooped up and HOLY CROW...it was awful trying to remove 6 inches out of my coop and run every 6 months!! LOL So I found if I only put down 1 inch, I am keeping it clean daily and I rarely have to strip it all out of there anymore.

 

[flopschocolate]

Representing the south valley of burque over here. Flock of 7 lovely hens! Just wanted to check in with my NM people and wondering if any albuquerque people might want to go in on larger orders of organic feed to reduce cost!

 

[flopschocolate]

I have a question for my fellow New Mexican BYC'ers, particularly around Albuquerque/Rio Rancho as I'm looking for input from people in a similar environment as me.


I'm very new to raising chickens and so far it's going well. Four of my birds are 12 weeks old now, and the baby is 7 weeks old. All of them are outside in the coop/run combo I've got set up (don't worry, the baby is separate from the older birds in the run.) so my question is this; how do you manage your coop and runs with chicken waste? I initially put down a thick layer of pine chips/shavings in both the run and the coop with the available desert sand below that, and I haven't changed it. It doesn't stink or put off any odor at all and I'm fairly certain I want to go the deep litter method. But with our very dry climate here should I be worrying about layering? Can I/should I do deep litter with just pine shavings or should I implement another compostable agent (leaves, what leaves? This is the desert! ) 

Hi DaraKing, I've done the deep litter method pretty successfully in Albuquerque in the past. I don't think that true composting really occurs so much as the new layers just aid in more absorption. after about 6 months we would shovel out all the spent shavings and compost those. I think depending on your coop setup it's a pretty lowkey way to manage coop odor/moisture.

 

[Peep_Show]

7:00 a.m. on September 4, 2016.

 

[jordan293]

Hi everybody im down here in Las Cruces, if anybody in my area has some birds for sale or maybe wants to swap send me a pm. Looking for some new breeds to add to my flock I currently have a 1 yr old ee hen thats going through molt right now, and three 5 month old pullets one bantam dark brahma one buff orpington x bl polish and a BO x barred rock pullet and roo, im looking for any silkies polish salmon favorelles or any kind of bantams I love bantams

 

[Peep_Show]

Had a pepper processing weekend with produce from the garden.

1 lb. red jalapenos = 2 oz. chipotle powder (peppers are split, deseeded, smoked, dehydrated, ground)

10 lbs. green chile peppers (picture a large grocery bag full) = 7.5 cups roasted chopped green chile (we like it milder, so took out pith along with seeds which might account for a wee bit lesser amount)

Needless to say, peppers are a diminishing returns crop...but so delicious!





A friend in CA asked if I was going to roast my chile peppers. "If I don't, they won't let me stay here."