one of the little chicks staying cool under the coop
We are ready for more HOT weather this week. The chickens usually slow down laying during extreme heat; when it cools down they fire up again. My Buff Wyandotte hens and the two chicks have been running around. The little chicks are now venturing out more on their own away from the hens. The chicks are really pretty, crossed with our Partridge Silkie bantam cockerel, so they have feathered feet and are a little darker with more pattern on their wings than the hens.
I am curious what people do with extra eggs? I have read about freezing them (without shells) and some separate whites from yolks and freeze them that way. I just don’t have the space. I will do some experimenting. I have contacted the local food pantry and they will take eggs so I probably will donate what I have not sold or used.
Meanwhile, I have been cleaning out the coops. Taking out a third of the litter and replacing it with fresh shavings of the same amount. This keeps a nice deep litter that the chickens can burrow into and keep cool in summer (warm in winter) and the micro-organisms that have established in the litter keep it odor free and break it down quickly. There are no bug problems or fly problems. I have not had to spray in there at all for anything. I put a dusting of Stall Dry on top every so often, maybe twice a month. The amount I take out is put into my compost bin; it is almost all broken down in that bin so adding this will add some nutrients and “cool down” the litter so it won’t burn the plants when I use it.
cool breezes in the barn
my pretty Norwegian Jaerhon
