Washingtonians

[FirewifeJess]

Since I seem to be aquiring feather footed breed lately I switched to Bark chips. Cloverleaf had them in her runs when went there and it worked great! No mud! I did leave a couple of ares of dirt and stuff for digging. But I am so glad I switched! the poop just washes off the top of the chips and down into the dirt with the rain or if you use a hose. I do have sand in the covered part of my run and Iike it for that area. Oh, and Bark chips are much easier to carry! Lol!

Our entire 8x12' run is covered, thus, no mud. I think sand will be the best option so I don't have to bring the hose over there all the time, but rather I can rake the poop to a corner and scoop it into a bucket or something for the compost. When they aren't in the run, they free-range the 1/2 acre. We will be using pavers all around the entire coop and run, with a path from the back door to the creek bridge as well, and then bark chips down by the creek bed and plants, grass everywhere else. It's a mess right now but we're saving for the pavers right now! I imagine in just 2 months the backyard is going to look 1,000 times nicer; for now, I just deal with all the chaos and hose off stuff as they poo all over

 

[FirewifeJess]

Trust me... three neighbors would know right away, and the rest would know via neighborly gossip. We live on the edge of a cul-de-sac. Our entire yard is visible to someone, even though we have a wood fence. Two-story houses look down over the fence in our back yard. One family, who has full view of our back yard, has already expressed dissatisfaction with our having chickens (not that they can do anything about it, because my chickens are legal, kept clean and I haven't violated any set-back codes).

Unless I raised them in the garage, there's no way I could get away with that many. And that would go against the idea of free-ranged meat birds. Some day I hope we can move and I'll be able to raise meat birds regularly. But, for now, I want to raise a few on a regular basis to teach my children the idea of where food comes from and give them the skills as they grow up to, hopefully, plan for and develop as sustainable lifestyle when they go out on their own. I wasn't raised around any kind of farm animal, and I made choices (buying a house in the city) based on the experiences I had as a child. I want to change that for my kids and give them life experiences that will give them options for their life as they grow up.

We want to do meat birds next spring. If you wanted to pay for half of everything, we could keep your half here....we'll brainstorm possibilities when you come

 

[FirewifeJess]

I would recommend against cedar. I've heard it is toxic to chickens. Unfortunately, our huge play set area is covered in cedar chips and I'm forever shooing my chickens away from it when they are free-ranging. Last night they were being little pills and kept going back to the cedar chips.

I think it's only toxic when indoors where there's little airflow, and mostly for baby chicks. I don't think you have a single worry with outdoor cedar chips in the play yard. There's plenty of ventilation in the backyard

 

[Farmin Momma]

Quote:

Well it's a good thing that no one here is a SMART A**! Thinkin I should try the turkey forum, hope the people there are just as nice as here! Wish me luck....

 

[Breshcandra]

SILKIEBATOR SILKIEBATOR SILKIEBATOR ! ! ! Set it and (almost) forget it. No worry's. No need for a turner. Needs no electricity.

I have 2 silkies that go broody alot. both of them went broody in DEC. and they just got done with their 3 batch

 

[FirewifeJess]

I wish we had the money right now for an incubator...I really want to try it out! I couldn't keep the chicks though Gotta get the stuff we already have all set and beautified before I expand

 

[KMHunter]

Quote:
Hmm, I was considering adding sand to my big coop/run ground this year. We have bare dirt in there now and I just don't like the way it looks. What kind of bark chips are being used? Is this something I can find at Lowe's or Home Depot? It sure would be easier to carry than sand!
Yes! The big bark chips. So far even when it's wet, my eggs are clean and there is no more mud!!!

We put loads of bark chips in 2 yrs ago. It was great the first year. Now they have totally completely sunk into the mud in the winter. Now that their runs are dry, there is NO sign of the bark chips! So beware, you will have to replenish them. Unless your run is covered.......
Lol! I guess I would have to replace sand too and it is so much easier for me to haul to the run than sand. So I probably will replenish some every year. It's pretty cheap too. Our ground is pretty hard so it doesn't get like soup, but it does get puddles in places now because of the water dripping from the cover(can we say tarp? Lol!) in places. Thanks for letting me know though! I am going to go build a bigger brooder in my shed for babies and let the big girls out.

I know I put this out there a while ago, but now that I am done hatching I am ready to vaccinate for Marecks. If there's anyone out there that want to join me and get their birds vaccinated PM me. I am planning on doing it next weekend. Saturday or Sunday. What ever works best. You would just need to pick up syringes with a 25ga needles.

Hope everyone is getting to enjoy the weather!

 

[KMHunter]

Quote: We have old play chips outside and the girls dig in them all the time. Doesn't seem to bother them. I think you are right, it's the cedar "fumes" that can hurt their resperatory system.

 

[Totalcolour]

I'm in the Washington desert, a.k.a. the Tri-Cities, Kennewick to be exact. Anyone else around me? I'm so glad to have a reprive from the horrible wind we've been having. I was worried my chickens might blow away!

to the thread! Hope you enjoy being here.

 

[FirewifeJess]

For those who use sand, what kind do you get? I found THIS but don't know if it will work well in the run. It's the cheapest too. Others are $3.75 for a 50lb bag but this one is 3.25 for a 60lb bag.