Spring is here, How are YOU cleaning and changing things ??

[TerryH]

Spring, not so much but spring cleaning has to happen anyway. No changes just the annual major cleaning and reloading of shavings etc... Remove all shavings, PDZ from the poop tray, empty the storage cabinet... everything. Sweep, blow, blow, sweep, blow some more. Wash down everything on the inside. This is the time that it is nice to have removable nests, poop tray and roosts.





Then it's my turn...


And the result...











Happy wife. Happy life.

 

[BantyChooks]

My 'could do' list is about a mile long, but the must do things are: finish closet in the coop, ladder to the coop attic, breeding pens, bantam coop + run, fix latches on the coop, move the massive junk lumber pile, fix/extend the run, and a bachelor pen for the quail. Things that would be nice if I get the time/money are a bachelor pen for the chickens, a gender-separated growout pen, and an outdoor water shelter for winter.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

It has been there but I couldn't get it in the pic AND the coop from my my upstairs bedroom window. . The Kiddy house was next to the driveway Bamboo fence that got ruined this Winter. The Run used to be from the coop to the driveway, around 40-50 feet give or take.
Carport is 20 feet long, 10 wide, 10 (?) tall.

Saturday I took 7 bags of old hay/small rocks/run crap and 3 big old smelly wet bales of hay to the Dump, ran to TSC, semi-leveled out a section for the 1st shed.
DON"T EVER BUY A KETER SHED, They are CHEAP CHEAP and Flimsy !! No way that wafer board roof will hold much. Took me 6 HOURS, Rubbermaid is SO much better, solid and EASIER to put together. I have a 6x4.5 Rubbermaid one that will go next to the Keter and I bet it will go up in and hour.
Temps in 30's today so I think I will just make soap today.

Anyway ..
View attachment 1339902

Is the keter shed an addition? Or are you going to use it for storage?

 

[aart]

@TerryH what did you do with all the old shavings?

 

[TattooedChicks]

Once this Kansas weather figures itself out, I’m making new curtains for my nesting boxes, adjusting the roost bars so the roosters stop scraping their combs, installing a 6’ privacy fence all around my yard, and then expanding the chicken run by adding a 20x32 area to connect with their 16x32 one. These spoiled bantams are taking over my whole yard practically. And they’ll have more square footage than we do on the main level of our house.

 

[TerryH]

@TerryH what did you do with all the old shavings?

Either move them to the run or to the compost pile. Opted for the compost pile this time along the PDZ.

 

[tigger19687]

@Soon2BChixMom A store in town had them for $700 but you got a $500 gift store card. So for $200 it's still a good buy.
I will use it for chicken storage, and now that I have seen and read what others have I think I will put ALL the chicken 'stuff' in there. I have a small divider that I will take out of the coop. It isn't much extra space, maybe 1.5 x 7 into it but hey it all won't be covered in DUST !!
The other rubbermaid 4.5 x 7 will go next to the keter and hold lawn/garden stuff -- I got that one for FREE !!!

Thanks @TerryH , now I want to change some things ! lol
Nice stuff everyone !

 

[tigger19687]

@TerryH @aart or anyone else.
I too have to take out the shavings.
I have a 20 x 4 spot, the "Hens Garden" where they scratch and dust and stuff. It has leaves from last fall and it's an old garden spot.
If I put the shavings in there will it be too much for Bugs to stay in that area ?

I don't want to put it in the Run. I was either going to bag and take to dump's compost pile or bag and see if anyone on CL would want it for their garden.

 

[TerryH]

@TerryH @aart or anyone else.
I too have to take out the shavings.
I have a 20 x 4 spot, the "Hens Garden" where they scratch and dust and stuff. It has leaves from last fall and it's an old garden spot.
If I put the shavings in there will it be too much for Bugs to stay in that area ?

I don't want to put it in the Run. I was either going to bag and take to dump's compost pile or bag and see if anyone on CL would want it for their garden.

Any of those choices would be fine. Should not negatively affect the "Hen's Garden" at all. We are gardeners here so much prefer to use it on site if possible.

 

[aart]

If I put the shavings in there will it be too much for Bugs to stay in that area ?

Have no idea if it will chase the bugs out.
I put mine in the run, I actually bag them in old feed bags then add them over a few weeks. I've found that too much of anything added all at once can create a nasty mess.
Once shoveled them all into the smaller run that is shaded most of the day and had less other organic materials(larger woods chips), it was nasty and took several weeks of mixing and adding drier stuff to 'fix' it.

Also tried to hot compost....didn't work well, wood takes fore.ever to break down.
Mixing it into garden soil can suck the nitrogen up so it is unavailable to the plants.
Better to use them as path mulch, the poop will wash down into the soil to feed plants wood will stay on top to suppress weeds.