Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[MIchickenlady]

In this same coop?

How wet?
Did a waterer spill, or the roof leak?

Yes,the attached pics are the coop setup I need help with. We switched to it a year ago & got 18 more hens. Before that just 7 hens in a small coop. I keep all water in the run. No roof leaks. Mby I exaggerated a bit- the shavings are damp- very ammonia stinky.

 

[1muttsfan]

As the winter progresses I add a thin layer of shavings (course) to the coop as needed to keep the surface layer from being wet. And a sprinkle of PDZ over the top any time I notice any odors of any kind.

Moisture from poop can add up when it is frozen, and suddenly be a problem during thaws. Poop boards would help a lot to keep the poop and moisture from building up. I do something similar, by placing a few buckets under the most popular spots, and empty them when needed.

I like the wall décor in your coop

 

[MIchickenlady]

As the winter progresses I add a thin layer of shavings (course) to the coop as needed to keep the surface layer from being wet. And a sprinkle of PDZ over the top any time I notice any odors of any kind.

Moisture from poop can add up when it is frozen, and suddenly be a problem during thaws. Poop boards would help a lot to keep the poop and moisture from building up. I do something similar, by placing a few buckets under the most popular spots, and empty them when needed.

I like the wall décor in your coop

The ladies do like their calender centerfold rooster pics

 

[Chickin Fairy]

Yes,the attached pics are the coop setup I need help with. We switched to it a year ago & got 18 more hens. Before that just 7 hens in a small coop. I keep all water in the run. No roof leaks. Mby I exaggerated a bit- the shavings are damp- very ammonia stinky.

I do the same as mutts, I throw handfuls of PDZ around and stir it in and it really helps! I don't add bedding as much as I should and some of my shavings do get wet from a small leak we have. I really think that airflow and the PDZ would make a big difference! I don't use poop boards, either, I let everything break down together.

 

[fuzzi]

I need help figuring out what to do about ammonia smell in my coop
For 15 years keeping chickens I've used sand or coffee grounds and scooped poo daily, but thought I'd try deep litter this winter. In November I cleaned out all grounds, put dn 4-5 inches medium pine flake, sprinkled zeolite & add thin layer every 3 days or so. I turned the bedding today and its WET underneath and ammonia is bad.
We have 20 standard hens & 4 bantams. Coop (converted amish built shed) is 10 x 11, windows are at roost height so I only open them in morning, 3 small vents at 10 ft high. If its this bad in 6 weeks I cant go all winter- I don't understand what I did wrong?

What is underneath the shavings, dirt? Vinyl flooring?

 

[Folly's place]

AI found in a Jackson County flock!!!
Mary

 

[Chickin Fairy]

AI found in a Jackson County flock!!!
Mary

Nooo! That and I keep hearing about cats contracting and dying from it

 

[Folly's place]

Cats of all kinds, including domestic cats, often die with this virus. Not good!
Mary

 

[saysfaa]

My son-in-law does hvac and has done some renovation. He says flipping the direction of the basement stairs in that house would be very doable. I think he said "easy."

My daughter-in-law is an architectural engineer. She said it would be very easy. I take her assessment with a grain of salt, though. She moves things around on paper rather than with a hammer.

Dh said absolutely not are we flipping stairs.

He would consider making the doorway to the kitchen a few inches wider so the refrigerator door would open far enough to pull the crisper drawers out. But he thinks it would be better to pull the refrigerator out a few inches when I need to clean under the crisper drawers out. Um, can't disagree with that. I think it will still irritate though.

 

[saysfaa]

We looked at a different one and got as far as looking for a place to sit down with our realtor to write an offer.

Thankfully, I did not want to do it in the house. The realtor said she didn't see any cameras and the sellers need to disclose any cameras or recording devices. I still said it has to be somewhere else.

Because, on the way out I noticed dh's car reached most of the way to the end of the driveway. Wait a minute. My suburban is about that much longer than dh's car. He backed up to within an inch of the garage door - yep, my car would hang over into the street even if I got her that close. And she doesn't have a backup camera like his car does.

I accept I probably won't get a garage she will fit in. But I hadn't considered the driveway wouldn't be long enough.

Or wide enough for dh to start turning until he is all the way out of the driveway. The "road" was tight enough that it took him a six point turn to get out without putting a tire on grass somewhere. Which also means if I park on the road then the neighbor across the road won't have enough room to comfortably get in or out of his driveway even assuming he has a little car.

I would put a head bang emoji here. But I am too happy that we didn't make an offer. The homeowner's is, um, excessive. I feel really dumb for not reading it before being ready to make an offer. We knew it would be ridiculously restrictive but having now read it ... I have no words.