Texas

[dpenning]

I think you need the moisture and living things in the organic matter, pine shavings are too sterile I would think. I know there are a couple of good threads on deep litter. Do a search.

Thanks l. Can I use line shavings I stead of leave or should I use both

 

[Kiki]

View attachment 1478261
Wow, I haven’t had prints in a very longtime, unless I printed my digital. I do have an old 35mm Nikon still! This was my Emma, love the bull mastiff face. Pay no attention to the fake dog (Pom) in the background.

OH MY!
I love this face!

 

[Kiki]

Thanks l. Can I use line shavings I stead of leave or should I use both

I would not use them.
I don't like pine shavings one bit for deep litter method.

 

[Kiki]

 

[Hamiam]

Yes please!
That's the same one I bought

Here’s the pics. The first pic is where the misting hose is attached to my garden hose. We ran it up the run & on top.

Here is the first place we modified & attached a long piece of drip irrigation hose & have it hanging down in front of the fan.

The main line continues over top to my next run & here we added 2 more small lines. One line goes off to the right & out of the run to the chicken tractor area. The other was cut long to be flexible where we locate it. For now it just hangs down below the door of the coop & the fan from the other run blows towards it.

The main white line continues & the last small black line comes off of it. It hangs down the side of the coop & attaches to a wire underneath & in front of a fan. This mist blows toward the open nest box located outside the run & coop. Normally, I have a cake pan of water placed in front of the fan. I had just poured it out after the Marans somehow dumped their small feeder over into it.

The next 2 picturs show the hose that went off outside of the run area toward the tractor. It has a lot of surface in the sun, so I have it inside a bucket of water to help cool it. It hangs from the kennel fence in front of a fan & blows toward the older flock.

 

[tjo804]

@Hamiam you have a nice set up.
Thank you for sharing.

 

[Kiki]

Here’s the pics. The first pic is where the misting hose is attached to my garden hose. We ran it up the run & on top. View attachment 1479771
Here is the first place we modified & attached a long piece of drip irrigation hose & have it hanging down in front of the fan. View attachment 1479777The main line continues over top to my next run & here we added 2 more small lines. One line goes off to the right & out of the run to the chicken tractor area. The other was cut long to be flexible where we locate it. For now it just hangs down below the door of the coop & the fan from the other run blows towards it. View attachment 1479779View attachment 1479781 The main white line continues & the last small black line comes off of it. It hangs down the side of the coop & attaches to a wire underneath & in front of a fan. This mist blows toward the open nest box located outside the run & coop. Normally, I have a cake pan of water placed in front of the fan. I had just poured it out after the Marans somehow dumped their small feeder over into it. View attachment 1479788View attachment 1479789The next 2 picturs show the hose that went off outside of the run area toward the tractor. It has a lot of surface in the sun, so I have it inside a bucket of water to help cool it. It hangs from the kennel fence in front of a fan & blows toward the older flock.

Nice!
I have to ask are you not worried about this wetness being the perfect environment for breeding coccidia?

 

[Hamiam]

Nice!
I have to ask are you not worried about this wetness being the perfect environment for breeding coccidia?

I definitely have thought of that. Because it has been so dry here & we have a very sandy soil that drains well, I feel it’s a low risk. I’m only using the misting system when the temps are over 100 degrees. Otherwise, I have the fans going with open pans of water. At the end of the day, I dump the pans but leave the fans on to help dry the soil. I have Corid on hand if needed. I almost hate to say this.. (knock on wood) I’ve never had to use it. However, this is the first time I’ve used a misting system. I have become more observant than before when it comes to flock behavior & poops.
The one mystery that has plagued my red sex link hens for months now, is the missing saddle feathers. Only 1 out of 6 has her’s. If you look at the last picture you can see the white down feathers showing. I can’t blame it on the 1 rooster (he has 12 hens), it was happening before he came. I have checked for mites/lice. I wonder if the 1 plucked out the others & they will grow back during their next molt?? None of my Black Australorps are doing this. (I do have 2 with missing neck feathers & slight balding by the comb. This I feel sure is due to a 15 month old rooster who is still learning his way around mating & his girls are not very accommodating, most times.
I add “Rooster Booster” vitamins to their feed, they eat Flock Raiser 20% protein with very rare treats. (example: mill-worms, watermelon, tomatoes)
I have never wormed them.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

@KikisGirls I signed up for the Alice class as soon as I got the email. I wish it was sooner. I was thinking of entering a bird in a show that is the week prior.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Thanks l. Can I use line shavings I stead of leave or should I use both

You don't want it to only be one thing. You need to use an assortment of materials. You can have pine shavings in there, but don't make them the main component. When I empty my coops, I dump the shavings in there. I use hay in the nestboxes, so that gets tossed into the run whenever I change it out. I throw bits of food I know they won't even eat, like peels, bell peppers, and onion ends and things like that. Grass clippings. Leaves. Pine needles. Bits of bark. And so on.