Guest guest Posted April 13, 2004 Report Share Posted April 13, 2004 >Heidi > >What do you suggest to handle the poop problem? We decided to get >chickens this year, something my husband did years before I came >along. Yesterday, my brother-in-law informed me that one main >disadvantage was poop everywhere . . . you can't sit outside . . . >it's on your shoes . . . At this point, penning is not an option. > >With the chicken tractor, how do you move the small fence that >surrounds the little house on wheels or slides? > >Gayle Really, the chicken tractor IS the answer to the poop " problem " . Then the poop becomes " fertilizer " . The book really explains it all. The whole little cage moves, on slides or wheels, depending on the design, or you can leave it in one place and add straw daily. This also solves the predator problem, and it's difficult for rats to get in too. He lets his hens out to forage durng the day, which is nice because they do clean the yard of bugs. But if you have a garden going, that isn't a good time to let them out because they will eat young plants too, so you keep them in the tractor. At our place, there is a lot of yard and not much sidewalk, and this batch isn't inclined to sit on the sidewalk, so, no poop problem. The *last* batch liked to sit by the door, and that WAS a problem. It rains so much that the poop just kind of dissolves into the gravel or lawn, but sidewalks can be a mess. -- Heidi Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 13, 2004 Report Share Posted April 13, 2004 >I hate to bring this up, but although he still sells the book >ostensibly on chicken tractors, Salatin has moved away from them >in favor of other systems. Andy Lee, the poorer man's Salatin, >actually declared chicken tractors to be inhumane because, due to >their low headroom, their shltered areas can become hot enough during >the summer to give brain damage to chickens. There are other human >issues, also, not the least of which is crippling of the birds when >the trailing edge of the moving house runs over their legs. (yes, >been there, done that. Sure, it leads to a surprise chicken supper, >but...) We'll have to see how the chickens react, I guess. The house we built now is 6 feet high with perches. But when they are loose they spend most of their time under the truck or trees ... they seem to like NOT being open to the sky, maybe because of hawks (we do get them hanging around a lot, though I've not seen them get a chicken). Electric fencing could be a great idea though. I'm a little concerned about the local birds though ... the crows fly in to get the chicken food, and now that the chicken flu is in Canada (and carried by wild birds ...) is it really a good idea to let them mix with their wild cousins? >Salatin and Lee lean towards pastured poultry setups that are called >'day ranges.' This usually means the use of electified fencing and >some sort of portable hoophouse. A lot to go through for a few birds, >but it's what we do here at the CSA. It allows the chickens to truly >range, gives them plenty of surplus headroom and, frankly, probably >gives them better predator protection from everything but hawks, >owls, vultures, etc. > >Good dayrange 'feather net' is available from Premier Fencing. >Premier has a great webpage and is one of the few places on the web >that is willing to do COD. > >I'm happy to answer chicken questions offline. Why not online? Then more people can hear the answer. Shoot, if we can waste bandwidth discussing the Warrior DIet and religion, certainly chicken raising is on topic! -- Heidi Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 13, 2004 Report Share Posted April 13, 2004 From: " gayle12345678 " > > We have ordered 125 chicks (50 meat and 75 laying - both mixed in > sexes), expecting some loss of life. So I don't think the chicken > tractor will work. I can't find the feather net on > http://www.premierfencing.com. Is this what you were looking for Gayle? http://www.premier1supplies.com/store/prod_display.html?prod_id=403 & pcat_id= & cat\ _id=ALL & criteria=poultry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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