Texas

[RUNuts]

Hmmm. The bananas lost all their leaves but the stalks survived the first few freezes. That is a good sign. Another freeze coming Thursday. Our weather prognosticator says 29°F.

The issue is the ideal chicks arrive Thursday. White Face is broody and has been sitting faithfully on her golf balls awaiting the chicks.

I think I asked this before, will one hen cover 25 chicks? The answer was yes last time, however it wasn't freezing. Why does this hen go broody on the coldest day of the year for the last 4 years? She's consistent. I like that.

I have the chicken tractor set. The nest is using mulch (shredded trees) and has worked well in the past. I'll get her on the tractor nest tonight. She'll have 2 days to settle and then chicks. Two golf balls become 25 peepers. On the day it freezes... Hmmm Isn't nature wonderful?

 

[Auntiejessi3]

Hmmm. The bananas lost all their leaves but the stalks survived the first few freezes. That is a good sign. Another freeze coming Thursday. Our weather prognosticator says 29°F.

The issue is the ideal chicks arrive Thursday. White Face is broody and has been sitting faithfully on her golf balls awaiting the chicks.

I think I asked this before, will one hen cover 25 chicks? The answer was yes last time, however it wasn't freezing. Why does this hen go broody on the coldest day of the year for the last 4 years? She's consistent. I like that.

I have the chicken tractor set. The nest is using mulch (shredded trees) and has worked well in the past. I'll get her on the tractor nest tonight. She'll have 2 days to settle and then chicks. Two golf balls become 25 peepers. On the day it freezes... Hmmm Isn't nature wonderful?

If she's a big girl I don't see why not, my lavender English Orpington covered 10 with a ton of room to spare. Mine always seem to go broody when it's 500° outside, but hey, I suppose they know what they're doing.

 

[NagemTX]

I have broodies all year long ...... I thought they where seasonal but it is Texas!

 

[RUNuts]

I have broodies all year long ...... I thought they where seasonal but it is Texas!

Broodies are in interesting topic. Most of my other broody hens were sporadic. Pancake went broody once in 8 years. She's a hatchery Dominique cross. The rest of mine have been Ayam crosses, all descendants of Black Bart. If he hadn't gotten human aggressive, he would have sired a lot more chicks.

 

[007Sean]

Well, it's 2:30am, it's 30°F, feels like 16°F. Had rain showers as the front was coming through, thankfully, they stopped before the temperature dropped below freezing. I'm so done with this winter!

 

[Auntiejessi3]

I'm zero interested in going outside...

 

[NagemTX]

We won't hit the high 30's till 8am. It's 40 right now

 

[BellaMay95]

Chicken poop is hot (high nitrogen content = ammonia). I mix mine with wood chips, leaves, amazon boxes, junk mail & other browns (carbon) to absorb & convert to garden gold. 10 gallons coop scoop to 10 gallons of wood chips in alternate layers. Best to wet it, but i wait for rain. Watering the compost will speed up the conversion.

For the dog, build a better fence.

I fail at compost piles but also because I'm lazy. How do you manage cutting up the browns? Like Amazon boxes what's the easiest way to get them small enough to 1) fit in the bin if you got something big and 2) small pieces break down faster anyway. Every time I think about cutting down those boxes to put in the compost they just end up in the trash can quicker'n you could blink. But hey, at least that gets them out of my entryway...
Also ideas on other cheap browns because I don't have many trees around to gather up leaves to put in there or twigs or whatever. Does summer-baked cut grass count as a brown if it dries out long enough before I add it in or is it still a green?

 

[Tookie]

So cold! Got to freezing from 7-8 or something last night, and hasn't gotten above freezing yet. It was so windy last night and going into early morning today. Its 20 here now! We got into the teens at some point.
Its likely not going to get above freezing today.

 

[RUNuts]

I fail at compost piles but also because I'm lazy. How do you manage cutting up the browns? Like Amazon boxes what's the easiest way to get them small enough to 1) fit in the bin if you got something big and 2) small pieces break down faster anyway. Every time I think about cutting down those boxes to put in the compost they just end up in the trash can quicker'n you could blink. But hey, at least that gets them out of my entryway...
Also ideas on other cheap browns because I don't have many trees around to gather up leaves to put in there or twigs or whatever. Does summer-baked cut grass count as a brown if it dries out long enough before I add it in or is it still a green?

I will put the small boxes in the kitchen and add scraps to them. This includes non-greasy, wet paper towels, used tissues, empty paper rolls (towels or bathroom tissue), junk mail (lots of junk mail) and anything that looks like wood. I pull most of the tape off. Then sit it in the compost bin and pile stuff on it. For the larger boxes, I pull the tape off, and use it to line the inside of the compost bin and coop.

I do let the compost piles sit for 6 months to a year and all browns in the middle are gone, I will pull the outside layers and add it to the next bin. If I want the boxes shredded, I leave them in the yard and tell the good for nuttin dogs to leave them alone. Then I collect all the pieces strewn about and put them in the bin. I also use cardboard as door mats on rainy days because the dogs won't wipe their paws. After a good rain, the flattened boxes are falling apart.

Yes, leaves, dried grass. Most people have problem sourcing enough browns for all the chicken poo. If the boxes get poo upon them in the coop, they won't last long after a good wetting. I don't tear the boxes up. They go in whole. I also use them as weed barrier to kill grass in the garden. Cover in much and compost for aesthetics.

I get shredded yard waste from the local dump. I just have to haul it home (old feed bags filled up as much as I want to lift, buckets and freshly emptied trash cans) after a trash run. Call your county to see if this is offered.

The lazy part? I tie 4 pallets together, fill it and wait 6 months. As the chickens kick it apart, I pull out the ugly stuff for the new compost pile. I will have 2-3 compost piles cooking depending on how often the coop gets redecorated. Meaning, new mulch traded for the old poopy mulch.