Washingtonians

[DIYSeattle]

One can produce a lot of red wigglers with a rubbermaid container or two. My worm bin doesnt smell. It is outside, but some people keep one under the sink in the kitchen. Rabbits droppings under a cage hold a lot of earthworms outside. If you have a rabbit/rabbits tehre are a lot of worms underneath the cages in the droppings. The droppings make excellent fertilizer that doesnt need to be composted, as it is not hot like chicken poop. If you have no aversion to it chicekns and ducks will eat the hay seeds that sprout out of the top of the pile if you have a ahay manger. They willscratch around in the pile too for worms if you dont want to dig around. My coops and cages were meant to move around so they would get auto composted.

The cost of protein is why commercial feeds use things like feather meal, and other by products in feed.

 

[Cowgirlgrace]

I have 2 compost piles near completion and there are always tons of worms once the pile cools down. Not sure I will generate enough extra for 6 breeding pens since I need them in the garden also but I think I'm going to dig around to see whats in there. Don't think I will need an earthworm bin as I think my compost piles may suffice and I don't have rabbits. We'll see.

 

[Cowgirlgrace]

Chicky, I lied. I did save seed. The last few nights I have been shelling dried beans from last years harvest (2009) Just getting around to it and probably won't be growing dried beans for a while because of it. But if anyone is interested in growing dried beans for soup etc I have Hidatsa Shield, Hutterite Soup, Tiger Eye, Jacobs Cattle Gold and Ireland Creek Annie.

 

[Ogress]

I just checked on my birds and panicked ... the little tips of their combs were black! I thought it was frostbite, so I ran in the house and got some Badger Balm as I don't have any Vaselene. Rubbed it on the combs, and it was just dirt! The girls liked the massage though, so I put it on 4 of them. They are so silly. I took one of the girls out to check out the new digs. (One of my Buff Orpingtons ... she started doing the squat dance today, so she'll be laying any day now). We just got the roof up on the run, scooped out most of the snow, but the BO refused to touch the ground. When I let go of her, she just scooted further up my arm. With much squaking, I set her down on the ground, and then she was fine. Went back to the old run, and I had accidentally left the gate open. The girls were all standing at the open gate looking out, but none dared to make that first step out onto the snow!

 

[Illia]

Haha, I've panicked quite a few times when seeing my cockerel's combs. The Black Copper Marans occasionally get a weird purple tinge to the tips of their combs, and it really worries me, but luckily no frostbite, and their combs don't feel really cold either.

 

[Ogress]

They must get a ton of blood circulating through there, because they all had warm combs! I was expecting them to be cold, like little kids fingers in the winter.

I saw some nasty looking photos of roos with frostbite where the tips turn yellow and fill with puss before turning black and falling off.

 

[Chickielady]

Quote:
Suppose red wine vinegar will work ? I have a gallon of that, I also have molasses....

I suppose it is the acid in the water that helps ?
He is not acting sick at all...and he has been eating , drinking and poos several times a day...he has vaseline on his hind end at the moment, supposed to keep the poop from sticking.

 

[Chickielady]

Question for Illia or whomever has Ameraucanas...Are your birds flighty ?
Mine are broody raised and are absolutely freaky when ever I go in the coop they freak out.
They will fly right up in a tree, right over the fence.
I cannot figure out how they got so nutty, we were always around even when they were with momma hen.
They have never been subjected to torment of any kind, and are nice as pie when I approach with bread and treats...but if one is spooked, they all blast straight up 20 feet in the air !
I have had it with them exploding, and have trimmed wings.
Today one flew out so we caught her and as we put her back in the yard, she cackled and all the rest IN the yard blasted out.
One in, 6 out. Great.
So the pen has been covered completely with bird netting, and several birds had their wings clipped.
One bird has freaked out so bad he flew into the ceiling and dropped to the floor and has been limping badly ever since. I am doubting his capibility to breed at this point.
No other birds do this.
I always thought Ameraucanas were so mellow.

 

[cheryl98117]

Has anyone ever heard of alcohol causing phisical pain in joints, within 2 minutes of the first sip? And if so, does anyone have any clues why this would happen?

 

[Chickielady]

Sounds like an allergy/autoimmune response if it is that fast..is it every kind of alcoholic drink, or is it beer or wine, or is it only distilled spirits ?