Timothy Norton

Emily Smith wrote:Fresh water daily.  But it’s hose water. Maybe that’s bad? Maybe I should get a filter attachment?  

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Unless there is something particularly strange about your hose water, I wouldn't think that would be an issue. I, too, use hose water from my water grid attached house for my hens without issues. I also would think you would be seeing multiple hens with issues at the same time if water was a culprit.

Well done all!

I'm thinking of purchasing a scraper/chopper tool with the intent of being able to process down some woodier material by hand and to work the compost pile itself.

Anyone have any experience with one?

What tools do you use to help you with your compost creation?

There are a few that I frequently use.

Sifter

Compost Sifter

I use a sifter when I am harvesting finished compost to remove any large chunks. Anything that doesn't pass through the screen ends up back into a working compost pile to continue to break down. This assists with handling of the finished compost and gives me an amendment that is rather consistent.

Pitchfork



My go-to tool for handling compost is the pitchfork. It is great for transferring materials and poking around in the piles. I keep one near my active piles so I can expose the core, add more materials, and recover it quickly. Out of all of my compost related tools this is the one that gets the most use.

What tools do you use?

I went down the route of building my chicken coop and run before I got my chickens. I did not want to build two coops so I took quite a while to design the coop before building it. Even with all of my research, there are a couple of things that I would tweak BUT the coop functions well as is.

I am not a builder and my chicken coop was my first BIG construction project. I did not buy plans but I did end up watching a bunch of videos and looked at free design plans to get a feel on how I wanted my coop to work.

My recommendation is to not build to minimal standards but rather plan to build a place for the number you are thinking of. I don't know if you have heard of chicken math before but by golly is it true!

The things that I would recommend not to lose sight of are the location and amount of ventilation you will have in your coop, what kind of bedding system you are going to use (Deep bedding will need some depth built in but poop boards would avoid the need) and having sufficient perch space.

I'm sure if you posted your ideas and asked for feedback, a bunch of folks here would assist you in your planning so you can just build once.

I agree with Jay, it sounds like some sort of infection from the things you described.

Has anything changed dramatically sense November or have things been relatively OKAY until now? Any changes to your chicken keeping routine?

Anne,

I have a female Dachshund rescue who came to me as an adult. She is a very loving dog but can be stubborn in the most wonderful ways. I would consider her to be a great family dog. The thing that I did not think about and have worked to adapt in my home is that jumping on/off things can be stressful to their back so ramps/smaller steps are encouraged. The condition to be worried about is known as IVDD (Intervertebral disc disease) which they are prone to as a breed.

Other than that, the breed is wicked smart. She has trained me into some goofy habits like giving her cheek kisses on demand or princess carrying her out of bed in the morning to go do her business. You will have to stay strong not to end up under their control

Looking under the lens of composting dog waste...

The biggest question, for me, involve the potential for the exitance of parasites that could effect people. As mentioned previously, roundworm is the shining example of a common parasite that is difficult to deal with once its presence is found. If a dogs manure contains roundworm and roundworm eggs, it can be tricky to deal with them. Currently, there is not strong evidence that I have seen that thermophilic composting processes in an at-home compost system would eliminate roundworm or their eggs. I have seen evidence that properly processed windrow composting has the ability to deal with roundworms which shows promise.

For me, I have a compost pile that I am treating like humanure to help process pet waste. The intent of the finished compost is to enrich spaces for pollinator spaces not frequently traveled by myself or my animals.

I had a similar experience last year with some turnips that overwintered rather unexpectedly. I took an ice chopping tool and chopped them up in place with good success. My chickens would eat turnip greens but were a little shy with the bulb itself. To be fair, I only rough chopped it so the pieces might of been a little to big for them to handle.

Good morning,

Would anybody be willing to share their milking setups for their animals?

I'm looking for stanchions, stools, or whatever works for your homestead. From goats to bovine, I'm looking to draw some inspiration from other folk's systems.

I'd like to find out what you like about it, what you might consider changing, and anything else you mind want to share about it.

Thanks!