Recent content by Smokerbill

  1. Smokerbill

    Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

    One of the young pullets from the newest batch was limping badly a couple weeks ago for some reason, but in a few days she was back to her normal self. They're not being mated yet so I think she must've jumped down somewhere and strained something. That little first egg I got yesterday had a...
  2. Smokerbill

    Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

    At nine years old they must've came from good stock. My original NHs are from Wilco, and they've had no problems, and not a single bad egg laid. They just turned one year old last week, so they're officially hens now. The pullet laid her first egg today. Small or medium in size and kind of a...
  3. Smokerbill

    What did you do in the garden today?

    It very well could be.
  4. Smokerbill

    What did you do in the garden today?

    Seems I read somewhere that calcium uptake by plants is at least partially dependent on having the right microorganisms in the soil. And when fertilizing plants, you're actually feeding the soil microbiome, which converts nutrients into a form that's more accessible for plants.
  5. Smokerbill

    Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

    It's a little over 70 here, same as yesterday. Very nice. One of the 21 and a half week old pullets I hatched in the incubator is probably going to lay her first egg today. She was in the "nest" that the older RIR hen has been using, then watched the RIR intently as she sat in the nest. Later...
  6. Smokerbill

    Best oyster shells in bulk?

    Check out this thread... https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/source-for-flaked-not-chunked-oyster-shell.1683471/
  7. Smokerbill

    What did you do in the garden today?

    This thread started by @gtaus should interest you. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/fertilizer-prices-expected-to-skyrocket-use-chicken-run-compost.1686619/
  8. Smokerbill

    Fertilizer Prices Expected to Skyrocket! Use Chicken Run Compost

    I toss them into the woods, about 100 yards away from the house. There are plenty of wild critters that benefit from the meals. Would I put them in my compost pile? I don't think so, because it could limit how soon I could use the compost in my garden. I might want to use some of the pile as...
  9. Smokerbill

    Fertilizer Prices Expected to Skyrocket! Use Chicken Run Compost

    I've never composted an animal. Do they decompose at the same rate as the vegetable matter?
  10. Smokerbill

    What did you do in the garden today?

    I noticed that some of the pepper seeds I planted last Tuesday are beginning to send out roots. I could see a few of them through the thin covering of seed starting mix. I took them off the heat pad and placed them under the light with the tomatoes. So it took four days for the tomato seeds...
  11. Smokerbill

    Help! They ate LOTS of dirt!!!

    I've had a couple of chicks that ate so much dirt they were pooping mud. They lived.
  12. Smokerbill

    What did you do in the garden today?

    Tomato seeds started sprouting. I took them off the heat pad and got them under a grow light. Pepper seeds are lagging behind so I left them on the heat pad.
  13. Smokerbill

    Hatching Supermarket Eggs

    Since you're just curious as to whether they'd hatch, buy a dozen commercial eggs, break a half dozen to eat, looking for the bullseye that indicates fertility. If some seem to be fertilized try hatching the other six. If not, try another brand of eggs.
  14. Smokerbill

    Fertilizer Prices Expected to Skyrocket! Use Chicken Run Compost

    At one time or another I fertilized most everything I grew last season with weed tea, all from the single 5 gallon bucket.
  15. Smokerbill

    Fertilizer Prices Expected to Skyrocket! Use Chicken Run Compost

    Yes, it can get a little ripe at times during the process. I just finished starting my annual bucket of weed tea. I filled the bucket about 1/3 full of fleshy leaf weeds and filled the bucket about halfway with water. It's sitting under a metal roof by the chickens now. Something I failed to...
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