The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[LeslieDJoyce]

I find this a bit confusing. I understand that the bloom protects the egg from possible bacteria etc. from passing through the porus shell. Now if the egg is washed and stored in a fridge in a clean container it seems unlikely to me that any dangerous bacteria would be present or able to grow. If the egg was unwashed, sanded or scrubbed, isn't it far more possible for pooticules (yes particles of feces) to fall off the shell and into the food while cracking the egg?

Purely curious, I eat unwashed eggs all the time haha! Pooticules and all! But I do wash what I sell.

Tee hee.

I think I've ingested far worse than pooticules from handling the birds all the time. Smooches, etc. I have immunities all built up to the germs my birds harbor. So I don't worry about it for us in this house. I worry about other households.

One reason to wash eggs is so that bacteria doesn't get distributed to all foods and surfaces by the fan in the fridge. Again ... I worry about other people's fridges. I have a fridge designated for washed eggs I sell. Nothing else goes in there.

The protective layers of the egg are great at protecting the embryo from bacteria during weeks of warm and less than clean incubation. But they aren't perfect.

For one thing, IF salmonella is present in the hen that laid the egg it will be In the egg and will multuply over time ... faster at room temps. That's a good reason to refrigerate.

Eggs start to lose freshness pretty fast at warmer temps -- they drop in "grade." I don't have air conditioning. I try to get eggs in the fridge pretty fast.

ALL that said ... my customer base is shifting and now I'm considering the possibility of offering unwashed eggs.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Sally - do you use the wood chips to make a deep litter in the run? That's what I do in mine so that I don't get any mud or impacted dirt. And the birds can still scratch for bugs, etc. I just kept building it up with the chips.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I have [COLOR=FF0000]a question for those of you that are talking about lots of mud.[/COLOR]

Is the mud you're having in a fenced run area/fenced area?  If not, where is the mud?   

It's Oregon. Mud is everywhere. Even in clumps in pavement.

We had our flock confined to too small a space because we were using the adjacent fields for crops. We just harvested those fields, they are mud soup at the moment, so we will begin converting them to poultry pasture very soon. This will take the stress off the existing pastures.

We will also start a large compost yard for the birds so they can scratch around there and maybe spare the fields a bit.

And I intend to make official walking paths ...

All that should help.

And then there is the ducks ...

 

[lindz8504]

I have a question for those of you that are talking about lots of mud.

Is the mud you're having in a fenced run area/fenced area? If not, where is the mud?

EVERYWHERE!!!!! We just built this past spring and still haven't gotten grass much of anywhere! lol.... We did manage to get grass around the house about 20ft out.... but thats about it!

 

[armorfirelady]

I have a question for those of you that are talking about lots of mud.

Is the mud you're having in a fenced run area/fenced area? If not, where is the mud?

I also have a yard that is low. So much so I have an area that we refer to as "Lake Schaefer" I dug and put in drain pipes since its where the hens are & while it does help it remove the water its only good when the temps are above freezing. I built up the area the coop was sitting on so they no longer flood in the coop but some areas they walk in the veggie garden are very muddy. I have put down shavings and hay so it has slowly been rising. And there are still muddy areas when its warm out and they are using their electric netting.

I normally dont have a problem with muddy eggs even with Stella laying under the nesting boxes. I don't know if its because I keep shavings at their doors and it collects the mud or the DL just grabs it off their feet before they get to the nesting area. I do know that come spring when I move the pop door to the south side again I am going to leave plastic up on 2 sides of their covered *entrance way* when I move it. Def less mud in the coop this winter.

But I do know the girls have the softest feet from all the *mud baths* they get on them

 

[PrimroseMom1]

Sally - do you use the wood chips to make a deep litter in the run?  That's what I do in mine so that I don't get any mud or impacted dirt.  And the birds can still scratch for bugs, etc.  I just kept building it up with the chips. 

I first put a good layer of River rock. This helped so much and I no longer slip and slide like I did a lot before the rock. I hauled it 5 bags at a time over time. I also layer pine shavings and throw in some hay. In the fall I put lots of leaves. The girls still scratch plenty, but I no longer have a mud pit. Nice.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Sally - do you use the wood chips to make a deep litter in the run? That's what I do in mine so that I don't get any mud or impacted dirt. And the birds can still scratch for bugs, etc. I just kept building it up with the chips.

We are adding them gradually to the run along with any coop clean outs. I still have some green plants in the run, even if they are under water some days. I can't bring myself to cover them. Then and this is the big issue, our gate swings in and is at the current ground level. Well that created a huge mud spot almost as soon as the run was in use. But to put down a layer of chips, dirt, straw, dried grass, just about anything bio degradable, increases the ground level just enough the door does not swing open. Then the composting starts and the door acts like a stirring device and the muck jams the door open a good 2-3 inches. In order to get rid of that mud turning into much area, we are going to need a new raised gate and a piece of wood to hold in the mud and top layers until it breaks down enough to plant something sturdy there. We also can't put pine chips close to the door or when the high water comes the chips float to the door swinging area.
But I estimate that at least 25% of our covered run is now filled with chips and a few of the larger puddle spots in our back yard too. We have finished moving 4 full loads of the tree trimmings to various places in our run, coops, and back yard. We have 2 loads left to last us until the next local job in the spring.
Our property is just over an acre so you can image how deep some of the trimmings are in the run and coops. Still I really like that they are free, break down nicely in the coops and are not as heavy as sand or dirt to move. The chickens seem to like them everywhere even the nesting boxes.
I still need to get a run made for the new coop, the temp run will have another use later this summer. And once that run is made, I plan to fill it up with chips too. It is going to be a longer slightly skinnier run.
I will make better plans for the gate and other mud possible areas too. I have to find a way to put up netting around pine trees though. That is going to be the though part of the new run.

 

[lazy gardener]

AFL - it doesn't electrify the whole fence. The hot wire is not attached to the fence thankfully! Just close to the fence right below the top of it so that when they climb up and hit that wire or grab that wire, they get shocked.

The only time I've heard about people using hot wires like that was around the base of their hoop coops. They'd build a wood frame if the coop was moveable, or just use permanent posts if it wasn't and run a hot wire a couple feed up from the ground. Same idea that it would stop the predator before it got far.

I had just never thought of putting one near the TOP of a fence like that.

I think if I was running a hot wire around a standard fence, I'd run one at top and bottom. that would discourage both climbers and diggers.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote:
I like the idea of a hot wire, but I can't have one. With selling chicks I would be turning it on and off too much or risk a buyer / buyer's child touching my fence.

 

[lazy gardener]

I plan to build a portable gate. That way, I can use it where ever I have temporary fencing up. It will be a basic squared off U with the bottom 12" of it being solid to prevent it getting stuck on uneven ground/mulch/ice and snow, with the open swinging part above that. chickens will also be less likely to come pouring out of the gate every time it's opened. I'm considering options to make the bottom solid part removeable, perhaps able to slide out so if I want to get a wheelbarrow into the enclosure, that'll be an option. Otherwise, since the gate will be portable, I could just remove the whole thing for WB access. We'll see what actually evolves when the power tools come out and the mood strikes.