San Diego Chicken meetup and Chat thread

[Danielheroe]

I am looking for maran hens at resonable prices. About 30dls.

 

[Phage]

I am looking for maran hens at resonable prices

And welcome to the San Diego thread!
where are you??

There are probably some marans hens around. What do you consider reasonable prices?? People are more likely to contact you if they know what sort of price you are thinking.

 

[Aumlet]

I've seen black copper marans listed on Craigslist recently if no one here has any.

For anyone considering a suburban rooster: I have a 2 month old half bantam cochin/ one fourth modern game/ one fourth mystery cockerel. Both parents have excellent personalities. Dad is a sweet rooster who loves to find food for his ladies. He's been taking an active part in feeding the chicks, too. When I let the chickens out in the yard, he spends most of his time watching for hawks or other threats. He sleeps in the garage and he's handled twice a day (in and out). He has never shown any aggression to people, including my daughter. He crows, but because he's small it doesn't carry far and he's in the garage in the wee hours of the morning. Mom has a puppy dog personality and is also a great mouser.

We're not allowed roosters in my neighborhood, but no one has ever complained about Mr. Peep. His son will probably be awesome too. If you want a rooster on the down low, this might be the little guy for you.

 

[vannaHaines]

Hi everyone! How do ya'll store your straw hay (if you use it). I've recently switched to using straw hay for the floor of my coop and pine shavings for the nest boxes. Pine shavings come in a bag, so no worries there. However, hay does not. It's just all tied up. I currently have the bale in my garage, but I'm wondering if maybe I should buy several rubbermaid storage containers and stuff the hay in there as I think it's gonna take me a few months to get through an entire bale.

Thanks!

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

Hi everyone!  How do ya'll store your straw hay (if you use it).  I've recently switched to using straw hay for the floor of my coop and pine shavings for the nest boxes.  Pine shavings come in a bag, so no worries there.  However, hay does not.  It's just all tied up.  I currently have the bale in my garage, but I'm wondering if maybe I should buy several rubbermaid storage containers and stuff the hay in there as I think it's gonna take me a few months to get through an entire bale.

Thanks!  

You can just cover it. Stand the bale on the small end upright and take a flake off the top. Shouldn't make too much of a mess. OR split the bale in two and put the halves in a large trash bags, again, small end up and take off the top. I use pine shavings but will put sand in my coop next year. I heard it's a lot easier for maintenance.

 

[vannaHaines]

You can just cover it. Stand the bale on the small end upright and take a flake off the top. Shouldn't make too much of a mess. OR split the bale in two and put the halves in a large trash bags, again, small end up and take off the top. I use pine shavings but will put sand in my coop next year. I heard it's a lot easier for maintenance.

I contemplated sand, but I think sand would be more messy for me considering my yard. True the hay gets tossed around, but it's easy for me to rake up and throw in my compost bin. Also, the chickens seem to enjoy the straw hay. They pick around through it and eat the small bits. Plus the smell of hay is really nice hehe

 

[perchie.girl]

Hi everyone! How do ya'll store your straw hay (if you use it). I've recently switched to using straw hay for the floor of my coop and pine shavings for the nest boxes. Pine shavings come in a bag, so no worries there. However, hay does not. It's just all tied up. I currently have the bale in my garage, but I'm wondering if maybe I should buy several rubbermaid storage containers and stuff the hay in there as I think it's gonna take me a few months to get through an entire bale.

Thanks!

They make canvas bags for storing a bale of hay. They are a little pricey but let the bale breathe. Like KKH said standing on end if you can is the easiest way to manage the flakes. When bales of hay are made they scoop raked up rows of cut dried hay in the field this goes into a baling machine which presses wads of hay into the form. Each wad kind of forms a flake so that when you take hay off the bale it comes off in a slab kind of like thick pages in a book. Makes it easier to handle.

Straw is a bit different but bundled with the same machinery. Its different because its harvested drier. So the flakes kind of have a tendency to fall apart. So standing on end holds that integrity longer. What I try to do is after breaking open the bale keep the strings in tact and in place then tie the strings back up Keeps the hay neat. Oh and if you can get the bale up off the floor of the garage by putting some wood or two by fours under neath.

If you wrap in plastic make sure you dont wrap it too perfectly. Any kind of moisture even just high humidity can cause hay to start molding. Nothing worse for your health than cracking open a moldy bale. EVERY time I crack one that has even a teeny bit of mold I have a bout of asthma.

I put nothing down in the bottom of my coop. just plain old dirt in there didnt even bring in sand. It stays pretty darn clean in there. But I remember now you have smaller back yard setup. If you find you don't like straw any more you might give rice hulls a try. They come in a bale the same as shavings but they don't pack down on the floor when they happen to get wet. If I were to do a bedding on the floor of my coop I would be using rice hulls. And for what its worth for your sized coop you could clean it out with a shop vac.... LOL.


deb

 

[vannaHaines]

They make canvas bags for storing a bale of hay. They are a little pricey but let the bale breathe. Like KKH said standing on end if you can is the easiest way to manage the flakes. When bales of hay are made they scoop raked up rows of cut dried hay in the field this goes into a baling machine which presses wads of hay into the form. Each wad kind of forms a flake so that when you take hay off the bale it comes off in a slab kind of like thick pages in a book. Makes it easier to handle.

Straw is a bit different but bundled with the same machinery. Its different because its harvested drier. So the flakes kind of have a tendency to fall apart. So standing on end holds that integrity longer. What I try to do is after breaking open the bale keep the strings in tact and in place then tie the strings back up Keeps the hay neat. Oh and if you can get the bale up off the floor of the garage by putting some wood or two by fours under neath.

If you wrap in plastic make sure you dont wrap it too perfectly. Any kind of moisture even just high humidity can cause hay to start molding. Nothing worse for your health than cracking open a moldy bale. EVERY time I crack one that has even a teeny bit of mold I have a bout of asthma.

I put nothing down in the bottom of my coop. just plain old dirt in there didnt even bring in sand. It stays pretty darn clean in there. But I remember now you have smaller back yard setup. If you find you don't like straw any more you might give rice hulls a try. They come in a bale the same as shavings but they don't pack down on the floor when they happen to get wet. If I were to do a bedding on the floor of my coop I would be using rice hulls. And for what its worth for your sized coop you could clean it out with a shop vac.... LOL.


deb

Rice hulls sound intriguing. Not sure if my feed store sells it though. Where might I find some to try?

Thanks!!!!!

 

[vannaHaines]

Anybody in the southern San Diego (South Bay, like Bonita or more south), know of a local feed store that sells rice hull bedding?

 

[dfdesigns]

I bought bagged rice hulls at North County Feed in San Marcos, but it got expensive to keep three big stalls in enough hulls. (This was before I had chickens.) It might be worth considering again.