It is safe. They do try alittle of it but its no problem. Its not like pelleted food or I don't think so as the pellets are fairly big. Plus they break down some when you wet them which is what you are supposed to do. Mine like to dust bath in it and then of course get the sawdust all in thier feathers. A friend will come and pick it out and eat it. Doesn't do them any harm. I don't mean they eat alot, just some and never any pellets, just the broken down bedding.
New hatch going on now.
It sounds like the cat litter my cats use - Feline Pine. It's pellets that turn to sawdust when it gets wet.
It is very much like that litter.
The pelletts are much larger than the cat litter pelletts.
I'm going to have to wait until March to find out! I may need another coop too...
Annie, I think you might as well face the inevitable and start planning your next coop now. You know you are not going to be able to stop. There are sooo many lovely chicken breeds out there and you already know you need some more chicks.
I was wondering if I could "train" some chickens to use another smaller coop so they wouldn't all crowd into the big coop? The big coop isn't all that big, 10 x 12, and I'm not sure how many can really be in it on a bad weather day either. The new Marans are starting to pick on the Silkie. They better watch their beaks, that little Silkie is golden to us!
I have four coops and to some extent have been able to train the girls to go into "their" coop. However there is some rebellion and too many tend to crowd into the favorite coop. I used to sort them out nightly, now I just let them have their way.
PP, four coops? Just a little green with envy here!!
Not on purpose. I started small: I was given a few Barred Rocks for mothers' day and built them a little coop. Then I got some Buff Orpingtons for my birthday. I couldn't house them with the bigger, more aggressive Rocks, so I built another little coop. Then came the Jersey Giants... well you get the picture.
LOL I have 6 and one maternity ward.
I could use about 6 more... :) just to fit who I have already, not counting the new babiez... so yeah, beware! Coops multiply...
(((Actually I am thinking that I need one more.)))
LOL Porkpal.. I know the feeling and I guess we have to just get used to it.. cause that desire will never go away!
I've sold down to near nothing so many times... I want so bad for my chickens to fit my coops... Actually, I want to eliminate some "pens" that are not really coops.. just night time security.. and one that is near impossible to get into..
I wish I had the incentive to build 4 more playhouse coops and eliminate all the small ones..
I need a new coop bad. My layers coop is up the hill and has to be eliminated before Winter. I cannot make that climb on my hands and knees in the snow anymore. It is actually ax 8X13 dog kennel with a roof. I have 13 chickens and a duck in it right now. My downhill pen is just temporary. It is chicken wire and Tposts with no top. It is about 10X15. I have a small area in one corner covered with a tarp and backed with ground cloth so it serves as a "house". That is where the roosts are and the one nest. I have 3 hens in it and the 10 younger chicks. They are a bit over 3 months old. I also have 3 wire dog ctares housing 3 roos, i in each cage. I have another game roo in a tub with a wire grate top and I have a game roo on a tie chord. I also have 2 smaller wire coops made for game fowl. I have a game cock in one and the other is a bit larger, about 3X4 and 4' tall. I have my bantam roo and his 2 hens in it. I get so tired of cleaning water buckets in so many different pens. I want to get rid of all the game cocks and stags. I want to get down to 2 roos, the bantam and 1 yard roo. He is a big pretty EE roo I call Gumbo. He is very good natured. I dream of the day when I only have 2 pens, the one smaller pen for the bantams and 1 big pen for all the others. Hey, it could happen. LOL
Oh wow! How do you keep track of all that? I'm in awe.
I have feeding and watering down to an art farm but nobody else could fill in for me. I also have 9 horses in 4 different locations, 2 dogs, 3 turtles and 3 goats in the back yard. I will never get to go home for a visit. It has been nearly 4 years.
This is a great line: "I cannot make that climb on my hands and knees in the snow anymore."
I can relate to that.
My poor horse lot gets flooded when we have rain in the spring, and it is such a mess. All the water from the surrounding lots runs straight into my lot. It doesn't happen that often, but when it does it's BAD. I now have a pair of rubber boots I keep in my trunk.
Not only that, but I have to fill water jugs and take them out there to water the donkey and roosters. I have it pretty much figured out though. The donkey seems to drink about 3 gallons a day.
In the winter I have to drive out there in the snow and am quite aware I could get stuck or slide in the ditch, which I've done before. This is a good reminder to me that I need to get my rooster pen up on cinder blocks before the rains in the spring.
I would love to have some dirt or gravel hauled in there, but no, I have to pay on taxes this month. lol Someday...
Can you move that pen Cajun?
No. I will have to replace it. I will leave it up there and use it to raise any roosters i hatch out in Spring.
Mud is a problem here too.
I may have it all figured out..... I just tell my DH that I want a greenhouse and then, oop's, I need it for chickens instead. I so envy those of you that can build. I'm keeping an eye out for inexpensive used sheds and rabbit hutches to convert into coops and pens. I really honestly need more chickens.
Annie, I had never built anything in my life until I came here and people encouraged me.
All I had was a circular saw and a drill.
The most difficult part is figuring out how big you want it, and how it goes together. Cutting the boards and screwing them together isn't that difficult. I still haven't put the roof on mine, I have wire on part and plywood on part and a tarp over it all. I may still put a roof on though. As it is, it works. No predator can get in, and that's the most important part. Honestly I enjoyed it immensely. Oh yes, and the hinges and door were quite challenging too. I'm not the best, but it works at least.
I wanted a long hoop house coop but of course, since it wasn't DH's idea I won't be getting one. Amazing how none of my ideas are the best. Grrr :)
A hoop house would make a great coop as long as you can make it predator proof.
Annie, you might as well face the enevitable and start planning now for your second coop. And make it a large one or you will not be happy. I know you need more chickens LOL!
Lots of little ones works well too.
I think I'll stick to chicken tractors, maybe, LOL I have no idea! There are so many breeds of chickens I want, must have! The best solution would be to move to a real farm where I can have as many coops as I need.
OH we got what I think is our first Welsummer egg yesterday! There are 3 wheaten marans and 2 welsummers that are almost ready to lay, but I think it must have come from the welsummer since they mature a little faster than the WM. It was really dark brown with lots of dark speckles, really pretty! We blew out the yolk so we could save it. Must have checked the coop 20 times today hoping for more, but they were all slackers today, 4 eggs total, come on!
Hey, thats neat. I love the color of Welsummer eggs I see pictures of.
I cant wait until my BCM's start laying, I only have two and one very young Welsummer pullet. One BCM Pullet has started her Broody talk and refusing to leave the Henhouse... so Im hoping any day now to find her first egg!
are you sure she is not egg bound since this is her first time?? None of the 10 Marans hens I raised from eggs ever did that. You may want to check on her
Not that I have any great experience but I am still surprised that Donna traded her BCM hens for a pair of ducks. The ducks are really, really pretty (never seen ones like them before) but those BCM eggs are awesome. Plus I think the hens are really pretty. I guess its because I have no interest in ducks while I have always been interested in chickens.
Dont worry Donna she hasnt gone to the nest yet.. just seems to want to hang around the henhouse and not get to far from it lately!
Rita Exotic Ducks are my first love. I started 5 yrs ago when we bought this place in the country. DH built me a cage 7 w x 6 T x 13 long, the next yr we added another 8' section, the next yr we added another 10'section. In the mean time we found out when we get 6 to 10" of hard fast rain the pond floods and backs up into the cage up to waist deep. Not fun in winter to swim in to go feed them. Last yr DH built me a 17' w x 8' T x 40' L Aviary behind the house after he clear the property which was wooded and to close to the house.
BC Marans eggs + s&h= $30.00 plus 50.00 cash = $80.00
Hottentot Teal $200.00 + 65.00 shipping + 15.00 for new Horozion USPS approved bird shipping box= $280.00
I saved myself $200.00!!!!! on a pr of Ducks I was going to ask for for Christmas. Made DH very Happy
so now I am going to ask for a pr of Hooded Mergansers or Bikal Teal for Christmas ROFL
Well, they sure ARE very pretty. Besides we should all get whatever we love. I guess the BCM are easily replaced while the ducks are expensive and hard to get.
yes pretty much have to have them shipped.. I have just 2 weeks ago found a guy in Hammond, La that has about 36 species and sells. He has sold out for the season ;-( He is only 1 1/2 hrs away. We drove 5 hrs each way to get my Mandarins in Natchez, my very first ducks because the lady wouldn't ship. I usually wait until until I can afford a couple of prs because shipping for 2 prs is only 5 to 10 dollars more and can fit into the same box. That saves about 75 dollars.
I didn't see any ducks!
Cajun my duck pics are on another thread under Awesome Trade!!! heading