NY chicken lover!!!!

[pharmchickrnmom]

Thats my plan this year-to bag up my leaves for the winter(if it ever drys out here!) I will have to look into the straw thing as well. My hay bales went moldy but they were outside the run up against the bottom of the tractor. I didnt let the girls get near it. I have a huge pile of pine chips from when we ran lots of tops and small branches through a chipper. Would that be okay to use in the runs over the winter? I worry that it might stay too wet and create problems for my cheeps. What do you think? If so, how deep should I put it in their runs and how often should I rake it out?

 

[vmdanielsen]

Quote:
compost made of leaves is the best earthworm attractant! If you ca let them compost a bit your chickens will get worms too!! my chickens love when I move their fence to last year"s leaves.!!


Speaking of bad smells, I have been keeping my horses home in the small pastures and not turning out in the big ones because of the mosquitoes!!!..so consequently My place has been over taken by the smell of horse urine. It is so wet here it doesn't get absorbed into the ground. I could probably get a couple of truck loads of shavings, but it is so much work. I thought i'd never say this but we could get some frosts and colder weather, not to mention some sunshine and dry air!

 

[Tab's chicken obsession]

I think the wet brought on the mold and mildew. I think it was powdery mildew that killed my squash. I did lose some tomatoes to late blight, but still had a harvest. DH is cleaning the coops and I was cleaning the girls who found the mud when we went to see daddy.

 

[greymane]

Went to auction today. LOTS of chickens. Dare I say TOO many chickens? Over five hours. Dozens of bunnies. Plenty of ducks. But, LOTS of chickens.

 

[Henicillin]

I'm happy to hear that I'm not the only one with Run Funk. I don't feel so alone with my stinky run now.

The run is sloped, so usually water runs off, but since we're living in a rainforest lately there are a couple of muddy spots that are pretty ooky and smell like stagnant water. They aren't even all that wet, just slick and pretty whiffy. I threw down a half-bale of hay today just to cover it up for the interim (OK, I threw the bale out there and they did all the work). I'll rake it up in a few days and toss it into the compost heap where I put the used shavings and poo from the coop, so mold shouldn't be an issue. I need to get to Home Depot and get some sand to put down in the offending spots if for no other reason than to keep myself from slipping and busting my tail in there.

 

[TheBarnSwallow]

Tab's chicken obsession :

Quote:
Are you bringing your chickens with you or are you replacing all of them? I guess each state has its own kind of inclement weather. Good luck with your move.

We have rehomed all our poultry,water fowl, turkeys minus two Naragensett hens(they going to a new home soon),goat and horses... UGGG this was tough but because we are not 100% certain to our housing once we get to Fort Drum we had to be smart and just get them re homed with friends here in our Poultry group (Okies In the BYC) and believe me they all stepped up and helped us out immensly...


I keep dreaming of chickens though and I think its because I miss them all already... we had some of our animals named especially the ones with personalities the others were just well whatever breed they were..ha ha ha​

 

[Framac]

Our garden did goodish this year. Vine crops did half of what they did last year, but most other things did better. The neighbors drainage is aimed right at the garden, so with and significant rainfall, we get a river running through the garden.

Our Onions and Carrots for the second year rooted in the ground. We had been keeping a close eye on them, and we got them before too much was lost.

The last 2 years all our tomatoes died due to the blight. I didn't like to do it, but I had to do 3 preemptive applications of an anti-fungal/mold. It seems to have worked like a charm as it has been wet and miserable and we are still getting a lot of tomatoes. Most are split these days, but are OK for the freezer/chilli base/salsa.

My run is getting slimy as well. No smell yet, but getting close I think.

Chris

 

[happyhensny]

My garden did fine this year but all the tomatoes ripened, then rotted while we were on vacation. Garden stinks like ucky tomatoes but the run does not smell anymore! Woohoo! A friend told me that using hay that gets moldy can cause Aspergilliosis. Anyone else hear of this? My goat yard on the other hand smells. They have a decent area - 75' square and there is grass in there. The ground must be too waterlogged to let any pee soak in. Way too much area for shavings. They are going to be moved to the back , near the chooks, this fall I hope.

Set my trap last night because I had a female red-golden Pheasant got taken through the fence. Guess what we caught? Black & white and stinky all over.

DH took it away this morning. I guess I owe him a nice dinner tonight.....

 

[Aria]

My Garden did fine. Tomatoes, Swiss Chard, Cucumbers, Roman Pole Beans, Peppers. This was our first year with purple peppers. When cooked turn green.

There are apples on the trees in the orchard. We did not spray. They are NOT great.

Put FREE White Silkie Rooster on craigs list...found a good home overnight. Now we have
3 Roosters with 19 hens. ALL SILKIES. Think that is too many? Regards, Aria

 

[greymane]

Quote:
I know you didn't REALLY ask if you have TOO MANY chickens!