I do not wash eggs. Unwashed eggs have a natural antibacterial coating called bloom, therefore, I highly recommend dry cleaning farm fresh eggs. If you have to clean them, using a sanding sponge or loofah will help preserve most of the bloom intact. Make sure you sanitize your cleaning materials for cleaning eggs, every time. Why Not Wash Eggs? Bacteria, plain and simple. Did you know that submerging eggs in cold water causes the pores in an eggshell to pull bacteria from the surface and into the egg? However, if you still want to wash eggs, always use warm water and dry each egg thoroughly before storing. Many poultry keepers then use a sanitizing spray of diluted bleach before storing, I do not. Here at TBN Ranch, dirty eggs are either washed and immediately eaten, pitched in the trash, or scrambled up and feed back to the birds. They love them, and it’s an excellent nutritional source.
There are various reasons; of course, the obvious is fertilizer for your lawn and garden. But unless you have a farm or huge property composting isn’t much good unless you have a source for its usefulness. Even with only a few horses I can’t possibly decompose all of the manure in a timely fashion. Especially being a small ranch within the city limits, piling it sky high is unmentionable, so I have most of it hauled off the ranch every week. However, my reason for composting has little to do with fertilizer and everything to do with replacing dirt! That might sound strange to some, but dirt is quite precious here in the desert, and by no means comes cheap to buy. It’s almost impossible to clean horse pens twice a day and not have valuable footing dirt get shoveled out with the manure. Same with the chicken yards, they get stripped down to nothing but hard ground every few weeks. By composting horse manure I can replace valuable dirt in my pens and chicken yards. I use it to fill holes, as potting soil, and twice a year to fertilize my yard and trees. If you’re wondering, after a compost pile is decomposed, it is nothing but beautiful clean dirt with the pleasant aroma of, well…. earth! Below are the basics to starting a compost pile. There are many compost bins available on the market, but they are going to give you quite a workout. They are difficult to turn and depending on what your composting for, may not be of adequate size. Keep it simple, one thing I doubt you need is another chore. Building the Pile: The initial size of the pile should be no less than three feet high and at least five feet square. This will provide high enough composting temperatures to kill parasites, weed seeds, and bacteria. Airflow: Keeping air in the pile is critical to achieve proper temperature and preventing odors. Also, this will aid in the process of composting in a relatively shorter time. Turning the pile is imperative, especially during the first few weeks. The more you turn the pile the faster it will decompose. Temperature: It’s normal for temperatures to vary. Most compost piles start at lower temperatures then increase, and then gradually drop over several weeks. The pile should reach 135 to 150 degrees for several days, this is important not only to kill weed seeds and disease but to speed up the rate of decomposition. If the pile temperature exceeds 150 degrees you may want to reduce the size of your pile. You can buy a compost thermometer at your local nursery to best monitor temperatures. Moisture: Keep your compost pile damp, not soggy. You may have to cover it during rainy spells or add water to maintain the proper moisture. If the pile lacks moisture, composting organisms will dry out and prevent the pile from heating up. If the pile is too wet it will restrict airspace and cause compaction, also a factor in the pile’s inability to produce heat. If the compost becomes too wet increase the turning frequency. Location: Choose a convenient location, with access to a hose. Select level ground with good drainage. What’s in the Compost Pile: Organisms need carbon for energy and nitrogen for growth. High-carbon materials are plant materials such as straws, shavings, sawdust, leaves, and wood chips. Materials high in nitrogen are animal by-products like manure, but also grass clippings, and hay. The best carbon/nitrogen ratio is nitrogen, 25:1, and carbon, 30:1. Too much bedding such as shavings will raise the carbon and you may have to add grass clippings or chicken manure. Without the proper carbon/nitrogen ratio the compost pile will take longer to decompose. Time Frame of Completion: A well-managed pile can be composted in about two months in the summer, and three to six months in the winter. Tools: A four or five-tined pitchfork for turning, a garden hose, and a compost thermometer. You can also insert a metal pole into the pile, as a heat indicator of activity. A Partial List of What You Can Put in Your Compost Pile: Hay Coffee grounds Leaves Crushed egg shells Feathers Fruit Fruit peels and rinds Peanut shells Garden debris Straw Grass clippings Vegetable scraps Grass clippings, fresh Tea grounds and leaves Lettuce *Never put meat or fatty food in your compost pile.
What to Do When a Chicken Suffers with Heat Exhaustion
Egg Production
Surviving the Heat in Phoenix, AZ ( Temps can reach 118+) It has been a brutal month for my flock in the scorching heat, Phoenix this summer has well exceeded 110 degrees in the shade, and 115 or higher in the full sun. Over the years I’ve learned to recognize the danger signs of a bird in distress before it’s too late, but learning how to avoid distress in the first place is the real trick. I’d like to share what I’ve found to be the best way. I may not be an expert, but keeping confined chickens in the desert in July with ZERO fatalities makes me dang close! First off, get rid of those standard drinkers, the small plastic ones, and especially the metal ones are unacceptable in extreme temperatures. Buckets of water, dish pans, etc., and notice this recommendation is plural. Watch the sun, place many around the yard where at any given time of the day there is water available in the shade. I like buckets, they are easy to pick up and replace with cold water during the day. You can place a large rock next to the bucket for easier access, but quite honestly if they can’t reach the water without a rock, the water is already too hot and they aren’t drinking it anyway, keeping them full means you’re keeping the water cool. VITAL! I have four buckets in my chicken yard. I hang a box fan on the fence; this without a doubt has made the difference between life and death. Again, I stress the point of buckets of water, because as water evaporates it cools the air, so keep one or more near the fan. Keep the area by the fan shaded, if there isn’t any, make some. Palm fronds, shade cloth, and lattice, all work nicely. Avoid tarps, wood, or anything that will inhibit air movement.
Ground litter including hay and pine shavings hold in the heat, rake everything up, especially chicken droppings which also contributes to an elevated ground temperature. Bare ground is a little extra work for you to keep clean, but a once-over with a rake every day is a small price to pay if it means saving your birds. Don’t discourage hole digging, it’s a perfect place for dumping water buckets during the day, chickens will play in the water and then lay in the mud holes to stay cool. Mist systems are nice, but chickens are not especially fond of them, the air around them however is about 5 to 10 degrees cooler, so you’ll find them congregating near it. The free-standing type run only about $15, I like those best because they aren’t overbearing. Chickens will avoid getting wet if they have a choice; they do however like the ground moisture a mister provides. I keep my mister attached to a hose outside the fence and poke the mister through the fence. Inside the fence line below the mister, I have an area enclosed with a concrete edger [or bricks will do fine] to hold the moisture in. This also provides the ideal conditions for worms – a treat indeed for chickens. Often the birds are too busy looking for worms to notice they are under the mist system.
Fluids are important and water is the best source, but another way to entice them to drink and stay hydrated is watermelon. I cut a seedless watermelon in half and place it in a shallow ground feeder at the hottest time of the day. They will pick it down to the green rind in a matter of 15 minutes. Fresh lettuce and cantaloupe are also beneficial.
Heat Exhaustion, What to Do! A chicken that is suffering heat exhaustion will be lying down, panting, and is lethargic or unable to stand. They lack color and are unresponsive to their surroundings. If you don’t act quickly they will die. Heavy birds such as Orpingtons, Rocks, etc. are the first to show signs of intolerance to extreme heat. Act Fast Again I’ll stress the importance of those buckets of water in the yard, this time find one that is not freshly filled with cold water and place the bird in the bucket of water until it is soaked. Remove the bird from the yard [the others will pick on a distressed bird] and place it under a tree or a shady spot, preferably on grass. If it’s not a breezy day, get a fan on the bird, a low setting is best. Stay with the bird and hold the wings away from the body helping it to cool quicker. I keep a plastic baby pool handy near the chicken yard; after the bird begins to show signs of relief usually about 10 minutes, I place it in the baby pool with about 3 inches of cold water. Within 15 minutes the bird should be standing on its own, and most likely looking for the way out! I then return the bird to the chicken yard, but under observation, until the sun goes down.
Egg Production Egg production has been remarkably good this summer. The only thing I changed this summer was a new nesting structure in the shade. It’s nothing more than four nesting boxes stacked two high on cinder blocks. I never imagined they would use it, I threw a golf ball in one nest box, hoped for the best, and they took the hint right away. It is always good practice to pick eggs as quickly as you can, but it’s even more important to do so when it’s hot, especially if you keep setters. They will sit on those eggs in a billion degrees and literally bake themselves to death in the coop or nest box. I often have to reach under my Orphingtons and take their eggs away, or any other bird’s eggs they claim, then shag them out of the coop. They are not an easy bird to keep in the desert, they are very broody and not at all heat tolerant. I’ve had two this summer that I brought back from near death using the method mentioned above.
TBN Ranch Chicken Keeping Resources 