Most people do practice on a dead bird first.
that stinks! I just got an email form an egg customer in FLA and 6 of the 7 eggs that I shipped them are developing. With shipped eggs you just never know what they are going to be put through.
Trying to keep my birds cool around here - we are breaking heat records over the next few days here in Northern AZ! 105 right now... eating lots of popsicles.
I used straw at first, but found it to get too heavy and sometimes smelly when it got too wet - switched to pine shavings and that is working out great. I think it goes farther for the money too - get big packages at my local feed store.
Congrats!!! I would have had a few more if I could have - I enjoyed pregnancy and babies!
I pay the arm and a leg...LOL. Check for local organic feed co-ops. I buy mine through Azure because the closest feed co-op is 2 hours away. Even though it's cheaper, it would end up costing me about the same for the drive. I think the least expensive is making your own but I just don't have the time. There's lots of good recipes around on here and on the internet...
Delisha named some good ones! I planted grape vines on the outside of my run to provide shade, tasty treats when the grapes fall, and it looks pretty! I also have a peach tree that had died and came back. Since it won't ever produce, it's just a bush and I built my duck pen around it. The ducks love to pick at the leaves but it gets too tall for them to do any damage and it provides lots of thick shade. I just keep it trimmed to keep it from outgrowing the pen. You could grow just about anything as long as you protect it until it's well established.
