FarmerJamie
Mr. Sensitive
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2010
- Messages
- 9,916
- Reaction score
- 18,738
- Points
- 393
Hello from NE Ohio! I wish we had a pro football team here in the Cleveland area!
Calendula - Son may have Tourette's
- Thread starter calendula
- Start date
Hello from NE Ohio! I wish we had a pro football team here in the Cleveland area!
- Thread starter
- #12
calendula
Lovin' The Homestead
Thank you everyone for the warm welcome.
Well, I wish I could get started on digging up my garden, but it is still cold and snowy here in Wisco. At least the days are getting noticeably longer now. Our chickens quit laying for a couple months, but we are finding eggs again. We have three americaunas, and they lay the prettiest eggs. One lays bluish eggs, one greenish, and our smallest hen lays pink eggs.
We are really enjoying raising chickens, despite the ordeal we had to go through to keep them! We were originally told we were not allowed to keep chickens in the city, and a big controversy broke out over the whole thing. But in the end, hens were legalized in the city (limit of 4), and they made this big long ordinance regulating the coop and such. I guess it's better than nothing.
The girls are a great help in our garden, especially in spring when we are digging it up. We move their tractor around the garden, and they scratch the dirt up and eat the baby weeds. We have named them: Chicken (she's such a scaredy-cat), Big Mama (the ruler of the roost), and Girlfriend (she's the one with attitude).
Well, I wish I could get started on digging up my garden, but it is still cold and snowy here in Wisco. At least the days are getting noticeably longer now. Our chickens quit laying for a couple months, but we are finding eggs again. We have three americaunas, and they lay the prettiest eggs. One lays bluish eggs, one greenish, and our smallest hen lays pink eggs.
We are really enjoying raising chickens, despite the ordeal we had to go through to keep them! We were originally told we were not allowed to keep chickens in the city, and a big controversy broke out over the whole thing. But in the end, hens were legalized in the city (limit of 4), and they made this big long ordinance regulating the coop and such. I guess it's better than nothing.
The girls are a great help in our garden, especially in spring when we are digging it up. We move their tractor around the garden, and they scratch the dirt up and eat the baby weeds. We have named them: Chicken (she's such a scaredy-cat), Big Mama (the ruler of the roost), and Girlfriend (she's the one with attitude).
Denim Deb
More Precious than Rubies
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2010
- Messages
- 14,993
- Reaction score
- 619
- Points
- 417
Ohh, pretty chickens!
Farmfresh
City Biddy
Fellow city farmer here. Welcome.Glad that you were able to keep your chickens. They make such a valuable contribution to the "farm".
- Thread starter
- #15
calendula
Lovin' The Homestead
It is still cold and snowy today, but we have had periods lately when it's been above freezing, so I know spring will come eventually. 
We have continued to heap food and chicken bedding on our compost pile through out the winter. I will usually cover it with snow since it is quite unsightly, but lately, the snow has been melting by the time I get home. So needless to say, we have a big, unsightly pile of food and chicken poop in our yard. At least it is by the trees and not visible from the road though! I can't wait for it to warm up some more so this pile will break down some. It is still frozen, so we can't even turn it to hide the fresh stuff we've put on top. We really need to build a bin of some kind!
We have continued to heap food and chicken bedding on our compost pile through out the winter. I will usually cover it with snow since it is quite unsightly, but lately, the snow has been melting by the time I get home. So needless to say, we have a big, unsightly pile of food and chicken poop in our yard. At least it is by the trees and not visible from the road though! I can't wait for it to warm up some more so this pile will break down some. It is still frozen, so we can't even turn it to hide the fresh stuff we've put on top. We really need to build a bin of some kind!
Denim Deb
More Precious than Rubies
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2010
- Messages
- 14,993
- Reaction score
- 619
- Points
- 417
If you're wanting to turn it, try covering it w/a tarp. That will hopefully trap any heat inside, and make it so you can turn it over.
Cute chickie girls! Glad you were able to keep them in the city.
I was also going to suggest a dark colored tarp for the compost. I have a larger coop and compost the chicken poop in one corner of it. I have a worm composter in the house and put worms out in the chicken compost. It gives the girls another reason to keep it scratched up.
I was also going to suggest a dark colored tarp for the compost. I have a larger coop and compost the chicken poop in one corner of it. I have a worm composter in the house and put worms out in the chicken compost. It gives the girls another reason to keep it scratched up.
JRmom
Lovin' The Homestead
Hi and welcome! As a kid, we lived in Franklin for 3 years (just south of Milwaukee) on 6 acres - loved it there! Your compost looks like one of mine - a big pile in the corner. Did you make your chicken tractor? Would love to see a photo of the whole contraption. I'm hoping to do something similar. Even though our place is out in the country, we have a small lot, so 3 or 4 chickens will be my limit.
Did you make your chicken tractor? Would love to see a photo of the whole contraption. I'm hoping to do something similar. Even though our place is out in the country, we have a small lot, so 3 or 4 chickens will be my limit.
Marianne
Super Self-Sufficient
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2011
- Messages
- 3,269
- Reaction score
- 355
- Points
- 287
- Location
- rural Abilene, KS, 67410 USA
Love the pic of your birds!
I chucked the true compost pile years ago...even had one catch on fire, rather smoldering on the inside...it was weird.
I finally decided that Nature just drops stuff and lets it lay, so that's what I do. Just toss it into the garden. I don't till but it all gradually works together. I do mulch with straw and the hens do the work for me.
I just spent a little time picking up some coffee filters in the patch. Felt good to get outside, even if I had to wear a heavy coat.
I chucked the true compost pile years ago...even had one catch on fire, rather smoldering on the inside...it was weird.
I finally decided that Nature just drops stuff and lets it lay, so that's what I do. Just toss it into the garden. I don't till but it all gradually works together. I do mulch with straw and the hens do the work for me.
I just spent a little time picking up some coffee filters in the patch. Felt good to get outside, even if I had to wear a heavy coat.
- Thread starter
- #20
calendula
Lovin' The Homestead
A black tarp - duh! It is supposed to warm up to around 50 degrees this week, so maybe I could get it to thaw if I tried that. Thanks!
My husband made the chicken tractor himself. He loves to build. I think I have a picture of the whole thing...I'll dig it up and post it. He also is building a new coop for the girls, and he made our green house. He is already talking about selling it and building a new one.
...okay, thought I'd kill 2 birds with one stone: here is a pic of our green house and our chicken tractor.
My husband made the chicken tractor himself. He loves to build. I think I have a picture of the whole thing...I'll dig it up and post it. He also is building a new coop for the girls, and he made our green house. He is already talking about selling it and building a new one.
...okay, thought I'd kill 2 birds with one stone: here is a pic of our green house and our chicken tractor.
