My daughter in North Bend said last nite they where expecting 6-8 inches, you guys in the mountains(north west/central) are getting hammered hard w/ this stuff!!How much snow do you have?? This was an hour ago and it is still coming HARD!
RoPo said they are calling for 13" in our area.
Not aware of any " issue" with sand over the cement,,,, I used pavers in my Cochin pen, to avoid mud since they are heavily feather-footed. I would suggest putting perches in the run, my gals like resting on them especially since it got cold, they use them alot.
Quote: I use both. I started them around the same time. The sand is about $20/ton, plus $10 for delivery. One ton covers about sixty sq. feet. You want a tarp down first, and fasten it to the sides of the coop. This keeps it from falling into the floor/wall crack, as well as giving you the option of easily turning your whole coop into a saltwater fishtank!!Okay, IDK why exactly you should do it. I just know I was told to do it. The sand should be 3" deep. Even the runny stuff gets coated to pick up. Natural grit, and dust bathing. It absorbs heat during the day to release it at night, doesn't stink when wet (you know pine does!!). You can wet it in the summer to cool the coop down even more. Wet sand dries better than wet chips. Great with snowy or muddy feet.
You did a good job explaining FF (fermented feed). Some of us can't get our drain buckets to drain well enough. You want bigger holes than you think. I use a strainer. It takes 10-30 minutes to drain depending on just how wet you are making it. Stew consistency is my preference. Wet enough to giggle at the bubbles, dry enough to not have the feed floating away when I am scooping it with the strainer. Heinz ACV with mother is about $3, and one glug is all you need unless you start the ferment over. The first batch takes 24 hours, 8 hours afterward. Dog food and whole grains (corn, oats, whatever ppl feed their flock) take about two days.
Thank you..I forgot about perches!!, writing it in "the notebook"...I wondered about temperature of the sand this time of year, but *cycle-chick has answered that I think... I guess we just have to try and find out what best works for our own "situations".could you still put alittle straw or something to that effect inside the coop to give them something to "hunker-down" into?.....I think I put 12.00 instead of 2.00,..oops.., walmart has "mother" for 3.00,okay,..still sounds good to me!! *motor-chick- did they tell you to put the tarp down for removing the sand later ?..I like the salt-water tank idea though..haha...I am thinking about keeping the fermenting buckets in the laundry room, it's off the kitchen and will stay "room-Temp.", for good-bubbles... also going to delve into the whole meal-worm thing too, but they will have to stay in the basement...hubby doesn't do well w/ bugs!!
