Sufficient Self members with Poultry!

[farmerjan]

Another question. I use poop tubs. Can I dump them into my garden beds right now? I'll be planting in May or so.

In a short answer... yes. By the time you get the manure worked into the soil, it will have lost much of the nitrogen to the atmosphere, and it will no longer burn the plants. I use fresh poultry litter all the time... in the walkways between crops and put straw overtop to walk on.... and by the time it "gets into the soil" it will not burn the plants....
It would be different for raised beds/container planting... Putting it on at least 60-90 days before planting will be fine... but after than it needs to be composted. The high nitrogen is what causes the "burning" of the plants.

 

[CLSranch]

In a short answer... yes. By the time you get the manure worked into the soil, it will have lost much of the nitrogen to the atmosphere, and it will no longer burn the plants. I use fresh poultry litter all the time... in the walkways between crops and put straw overtop to walk on.... and by the time it "gets into the soil" it will not burn the plants....
It would be different for raised beds/container planting... Putting it on at least 60-90 days before planting will be fine... but after than it needs to be composted. The high nitrogen is what causes the "burning" of the plants.

Ditto.

For those who use deep liter instead of poop tubs. The shavings will greatly help counteract the excess nitrogen in the poop, It still needs to be composted, although you can cheat it a lot, but when mixed is almost a perfect fertilizer.

 

[Hinotori]

3 silkie cockerels down about 12 boys to go. All of todays were around 6-7 months old. Dressed out around 1.5 pounds.

I removed two from a pen that didn't have enough hens to roosters so the girls were hiding in the coop. By the time I was done, the girls were out celebrating.

Have to check for leg bands and re-evaluate each one before butchering. One has already managed to put himself into "save for later" because he's not bad looking and is fairly friendly. I can walk up to him and pick him up, a trait I have been selecting for years.

 

[Finnie]

Guys, I’m so excited!

I’ve been working on a “Purple Egger” project for years. I started with some nice brown eggs that had a purplish bloom on them, and at the time my only rooster was a Penedesenca. I’m not sure which hens laid the purplish eggs, but their offspring laid even better ones. They might have been Light Brahmas and/or Sapphire Gems, because when I sold those hens I stopped getting the nice bloom eggs.


Since then I’ve been using roosters from those breedings or other dark gene roosters such as Penedesenca or Black Copper Marans. And setting the eggs with the best “plum bloom”.
Well last year’s pullets are coming into lay now, and today I got the best “purple” egg ever!!

Not sure what I will do for the next generation, because the only dark egg roosters I have now are siblings to the pullets, and they are all from sibling to sibling breedings. So I am going to have to bring in a rooster from a good egg color breed. I’m leaning towards Brahma or Langshan.

I wasn’t going to buy any outside chicks this year. I have enough plans for hatching my own from what I already have. I guess I will wait and see what opportunities arise.

 

[Hinotori]

New method of hatching chicks. Let the hens summon them. Seconds later one of the hens got up and grabbed the egg to shove under her.

I feel I need to dig out the LED candles that looks realistic and put them around a circle of diatomaceous earth, then plop the five of them around it.

 

[tortoise]

I started over with chicks. They are 1 to 4 months old.

3 silkies (2 black, one white splash), 2 lavender orpingtons, and a frizzle blue ameraucana. I hope to add more orpingtons, but I'm holding out for lavender.

I'm applying what I've learned from a zoo animal training book. I want tame/trained birds! So far, they approach the cage door when I open it. I like it!

 

[Hinotori]

Wow, that's a lot of Silks!

I breed partridge silkies to APA standard and have gone to a few shows. It's the hardest silkie color to get right.

Ive been working on a project over the last few years as well to make a silkie that lays blue eggs. Well light green because of the tint silkies have anyway. That way the earlobes match the egg sort of. Too bad silkies take 9 months to start laying so it takes a long time to get anywhere. 4th gen of this project will be hatching soon.

 

[Hinotori]

The dark brown or black head is moorhead.

This is a moorhead

This is proper partridge head

 

[Manda_Rae]

I have Chickens.
7 adults and
20ish juveniles ranging from 1month - 3months

 

[MeanCheek]

We need pictures!!!
Here are some of my birds,