Recent content by LaurelC

Our problem was that after we removed the cardboard layer from the coop to transform it from brooder mode to coop mode, they were happy to huddle up under the trailer instead of going up and into it, especially since the slatted floor allowed light from the (for a few days still on at night)...

Thanks @NatJ I moved them last week, and set up a roll of the netting I use for my sheep (48" tall) which has large holes but is very visible and white, with a roll of much smaller 20" tall electric netting that's dark green with small holes, stretched around/against the taller netting...

That simplifies things greatly. I'll make our field trips happen an hour or so before sunset and leave a light on in the coop.

So a light inside the coop will work on chicks? I legit do not know, I've never dealt with chickens that I ever had to lure back into their coop before, I've always been able to lure them into a secure run and let them do what they like from there.

Certainly, but one has to let them out in order to work on recall, and I also need to get them back inside.

We have a ton of chicory and a little sericea lezpedeza in our pastures. Unfortunately since the birds will be free ranging basically all around our farm it's not feasible to plant things specifically for them, but I'll be adding garlic granules into their feed. Thanks!

Same! And since we do not/will not have a run, I don't think that recall can be taught any more effectively than offering tasty snacks. Which, frankly, works like a charm for my sheep. They'll eat animal crackers out of my border collie's mouth, but we haven't gotten there yet with the chickens.

In our case, the only "treats" they've been given so far are bits of grass I've dug up for them to dig around in. I assume I'll need to get some high value treats and work on getting them treat trained prior to letting them outside? Part of the reason I brooded them in their coop was...

It depends significantly on the certifying body, the method and products used to deworm, and whether it's preventative or reactive deworming.

We have ~50 chicks that are 4 weeks old today. Up til now, they've spent their lives inside their permanent mobile coop, converted to brooder mode inside our unheated pole barn. Next week I plan to move the trailer out into our garden area, run an extension cord to it for the heat lamps, and...

Thanks. Our flock of sheep gets checked a few times a year and dewormed as necessary., but it's not big issue with the weekly pasture rotations. TBD if we can get lambs from birth to slaughter without deworming in KY. If not, it's still possible to run them on organic pasture and sell them as...

I do not yet have any mites. Brand "new" coop, assembled almost entirely of metal. Perches are sou shugi ban wood and the floor is plastic, but with the exception of a few parts that can easily be removed, the entire thing can be torn apart and blasted with a torch or weed burner if necessary...

OK. But in that case, it does in fact still break down into good garden soil, it just takes a bit longer. FWIW, I never bother maintaining a hot compost pile and it all still makes great dirt, it just takes a bit longer.

Do chickens not self-regulate the way that ruminants do when it comes to minerals? Genuinely curious. My sheep check out the mineral feeder and will eat more or less mineral/salt mixture depending on the season, the part of the pasture they're on, or whether they're getting hay supplementarily...

how can compost be torn up so much it won't break down into good garden soil?