Texas

[tiedyemommy]

I have a coop, but no run. The storage building we are converting into a coop is behind the 2 car shop, up in the back corner fences, and next to a small effiency apartment. Really tight back there, so mine free range the whole yard everyday. In the coop I use pine shavings and leaves from my trees (raked the leaves and bagged them for this). It works well, though I am out of leaves now, lol. I use the same in my goose coop, it isn't as good there because of how messy geese and ducks are, but I rake and fluff it every day and add a bit of fresh pine shavings, DE, and sweet PDZ as needed. The biggest problem with the goose coop is lack of flooring. We should have enough pallets to floor it this weekend. But with fathers day and my kids having a pool party we will most likely begin flooring on Monday or something. This should help keep the bedding dry, when ever it rains it gets soaked from flooding and sideways rain. After we floor we are going to try and install some roll up tarps to stop so much rain getting in. Will see how it all works out.

All of our leaves, last fall/winter, went into our compost pile. Maybe I'll save some next fall/winter for bedding as well. Could save money mixing pine shavings and leaves. With only 5 chickens, I don't have to fluff/clean their coop very often...but without a roost, I think I might start cleaning it more often than I have. Don't want The Ladies laying all their eggs on dirty bedding. Speaking of which...do you use anything different in your nesting boxes?

 

[Starfire669]

All of our leaves, last fall/winter, went into our compost pile.  Maybe I'll save some next fall/winter for bedding as well.  Could save money mixing pine shavings and leaves.  With only 5 chickens, I don't have to fluff/clean their coop very often...but without a roost, I think I might start cleaning it more often than I have.  Don't want The Ladies laying all their eggs on dirty bedding.  Speaking of which...do you use anything different in your nesting boxes?

Straw or hay. Preferably straw.

 

[tiedyemommy]

Straw or hay. Preferably straw.

Straw for nesting boxes? Cool. My cardboard box nesting box has been flipped on it's side and turned into a cubbie hole for some of The Ladies to sleep in. I keep propping it back up, putting the golf ball back in, and every morning it's flipped over again. I might buy a couple of pre-made nesting boxes soon...something sturdier, and a little raised from the floor of the coop to keep it clean & separate from their regular bedding. At least our one layer has been laying in the coop the past couple of days...her first egg was just inside their run, in mud.

 

[Starfire669]

Straw for nesting boxes?  Cool.  My cardboard box nesting box has been flipped on it's side and turned into a cubbie hole for some of The Ladies to sleep in.  I keep propping it back up, putting the golf ball back in, and every morning it's flipped over again.  I might buy a couple of pre-made nesting boxes soon...something sturdier, and a little raised from the floor of the coop to keep it clean & separate from their regular bedding.  At least our one layer has been laying in the coop the past couple of days...her first egg was just inside their run, in mud. 

You do not want them sleeping in their boxes, then you get poopy eggs. Installing a roost, and teaching them to sleep up there is a good thing. Putting the nest boxes off the ground will also help keep the eggs clean.

 

[LightningTFarm]

LightningT...What do you sell your ducks eggs for? I get $2 a dozen for my yard eggs.

I sell them for $4 per dozen. They are much larger than chicken eggs, so you get more egg to the dozen. Plus, I have to order special extra-large cartons to hold the eggs, since the ones at TSC would not close. I get more people resistant to the idea of duck eggs than resistant to the price.

 

[bnjrob]

Are your Javas all black or mottled?
Doesn't make a difference, just curious

Mottleds for now. We have some other colors and as we do more breeding with the other colors we have, they may become available in the future.

 

[Brookshire11]

Doesn't sound crazy to me. You've got to start somewhere, and perhaps a bird you don't know will be easier to learn with than a bird you do know.

That's what I was thinking...6 weeks, I won't be too attached. And I think their legs and hearts give out if you keep them alive too long. So its actually..more humane to process them. At least that's my logic..

Not crazy at all! Keep in mind you will probably get a few packing peanut cockerels too if you are doing the minimum. I've gotten black sex links, EE and cochins. So you might want to buy a few Cornish so you don't have to process cockerels too. Or you could order 20ish pullets and sell the extras, in a group deal.

I ordered 10 mixed pullets and received 8 feather legged (99% sure cochin) cockerels for packing peanuts out of the last group.

Oooh, I don't want too many peanuts...My 2 roos took me a month each to rehome lol

I sell them for $4 per dozen. They are much larger than chicken eggs, so you get more egg to the dozen. Plus, I have to order special extra-large cartons to hold the eggs, since the ones at TSC would not close. I get more people resistant to the idea of duck eggs than resistant to the price.

What a shame!
I've heard there's nothing better for baking! I can only imagine the pasta they would make too..yum!
When I start getting more chicken eggs I'm going to try salt packing a few. They're supposed to harden like parmesan, then you can grate them over dishes to add richness.
I bet duck eggs would be excellent for that..I don't have the space for a duck. My tiny yard would be wreck. Lol.
But I would absolutely buy eggs if someone close were selling them.
Oh the custards and ice creams I would make...

 

[winteree]

Straw for nesting boxes? Cool. My cardboard box nesting box has been flipped on it's side and turned into a cubbie hole for some of The Ladies to sleep in. I keep propping it back up, putting the golf ball back in, and every morning it's flipped over again. I might buy a couple of pre-made nesting boxes soon...something sturdier, and a little raised from the floor of the coop to keep it clean & separate from their regular bedding. At least our one layer has been laying in the coop the past couple of days...her first egg was just inside their run, in mud.

a good way to teach them to lay in the nest boxes is to get a fake egg and put it in the nest box on top of some straw

 

[winteree]

Thank you...I made note of your info for future reference. We candled the eggsTuesday night...day 9 The bantam egg looks clear as well as 2 of the big ones and a third egg is cracked...they were all fine yesterday when I cleaned them so I guess Nell did something accidentally. The fourth and last egg looks pretty dark and appears to have an air chamber...so maybe she will get one chick...we'll check it again next Tuesday. Should I just take the cracked egg and let her keep the others for awhile longer just to be sure?

i would just keep an eye out for bad smells

 

[kenmlang]

Straw for nesting boxes? Cool. My cardboard box nesting box has been flipped on it's side and turned into a cubbie hole for some of The Ladies to sleep in. I keep propping it back up, putting the golf ball back in, and every morning it's flipped over again. I might buy a couple of pre-made nesting boxes soon...something sturdier, and a little raised from the floor of the coop to keep it clean & separate from their regular bedding. At least our one layer has been laying in the coop the past couple of days...her first egg was just inside their run, in mud.

Get some milk crates. Fairly easy to screw to the walls. Put some straw in them and a fake egg or golfball. Your girls will most likely learn on their own to lay here !! If there is no room for milk crates, give me a call. I will PM my number.