I agree with G3farms,take a soil test to see what you need.They sell simple soil test kits at Ace Hardware that does the PH,N.P and K.Take a soil test
calcium is called 'the trucker of minerals', one should fix calcium levels before other mineral amendemnts. lucky for you then!I just use fruit tree spikes the first couple of years and after that there is so much calcium in my soil I don't have to add anything.
I like to make my compost heaps on the base of a different fruit tree every six months or so, and also have a bin where I compost down the hot manure from chook house along with the straw ( carbon) and biochar i throw under perches to use in spring for my veg,and whilst it cooks down in the meantime all water- leached nitrogen and potassium goes to the tree it's under. And it's taken me long enough, I've finally designed a flexible,easy to use, move and adapt, fox proof, chicken tractor for uneven ground ( aka my orchard). For this my trees will thank me greatly. yayWe have over 40 fruit trees and the best all around fertilizer for trees, grass, and garden is Medina Grow-n-Green organic fertilizer. Its made with pasturized chicken manure.
I don't use a chicken tractor but I have considered it. can you post a picture?I like to make my compost heaps on the base of a different fruit tree every six months or so, and also have a bin where I compost down the hot manure from chook house along with the straw ( carbon) and biochar i throw under perches to use in spring for my veg,and whilst it cooks down in the meantime all water- leached nitrogen and potassium goes to the tree it's under. And it's taken me long enough, I've finally designed a flexible,easy to use, move and adapt, fox proof, chicken tractor for uneven ground ( aka my orchard). For this my trees will thank me greatly. yay
have not made yet, will upload when I do, It's just a little work and a bit expensive but one done it's done. It means i can move by myself ( bit by bit), put all the rest (drinkers etc) in wheelbarrow and move in as few moves as possible. It's designed for orchard, uneven ground with trees and bushes, not flat, open grassed areas although can be used there also. I've designed mine pretty small so that I can move it by myself without too much trouble, so they will need very frequent rotation which is great because grass is out competing dwarf root stock grafted trees- i am to bare for mulching etc ( it's a big paddock for one person and a fork because I don't use chemicals)I don't use a chicken tractor but I have considered it. can you post a picture?
I am not really needing a tractor until I decide to move, I've been here 20 years. I would like a secure tractor to stick in the garden during the daytime, but I can put the birds up at night, they'd mainly be eating grasshoppers. I do have hawks, I've had them basically in a playpen before but the roof situation caused me to just give up on thathave not made yet, will upload when I do, It's just a little work and a bit expensive but one done it's done. It means i can move by myself ( bit by bit), put all the rest (drinkers etc) in wheelbarrow and move in as few moves as possible. It's designed for orchard, uneven ground with trees and bushes, not flat, open grassed areas although can be used there also. I've designed mine pretty small so that I can move it by myself without too much trouble, so they will need very frequent rotation which is great because grass is out competing dwarf root stock grafted trees- i am to bare for mulching etc ( it's a big paddock for one person and a fork because I don't use chemicals)
but design is basically has 8 sides, with each side made of weldmesh. Sides joined with carabiners. (can pick up pretty cheap on ebay) The squares of the weldmesh grid that the carbiners go through, cut out the horizontals to make openings about 2-3 " high. Allows for up/ down movement on uneven ground. Also use weldmesh to make skirts, for each side, these are 'hinged on' with heavy duty wire or cable ties. They can stick out 50cm (20") and they have also cable tiled "hinged" triangles to make up corners. They are then carabiner-ed together. That constitutes the walls and the skirt. I think the skirt being 'one piece' will make it awkward for foxes to nose up and can be pegged down also, and will be highly electrified.
The walls are rigid so can hang drinker/ feeders and electric fence on. I will put heavy shadecloth on each side. Will make a very small house for 3 chooks, made with freezer panels, automatic chook door, wheels, fence can interface up and attach to the house. The only physiological need not met is dustbathing- all that rain means no dry soil, I'm sure you know what I mean. Have a small plastic dog kennel I'll put in orchard (which is fenced and dog but not fox proof) and they can freelance for a couple of hours at end of the day once or twice a week and dustbath then. The roof I haven't figured out. They need aerial protection (visual camouflaging) from hawks etc. The walls will hopefully keep out climbing foxes, and we don’t want them to fly out. So if they're high enough- I'm thinking 4 feet (120cm) and then a few strips of shadecloth to criss cross across, can peg at appropriate length. Will provide visual camouflaging, too confusing for chooks to fly out, and hopefully foxes won’t get past walls. More about visual camouflaging than physical barrier. Yes it’s a just a bit shoddy and if you have any better ideas I’m all ears.
If you don't need the flexibility just make square box, frame out of wood/ box aluminium and rivet all, chook wire our weldmesh sides, same drop down and pin to sides to move can scratch on bottom. Can also do a solid floor ( weld mesh or concreters reo). I've only got a 5000m (1.5 acre) block, if you had big property I'd go for bigger size. If you can get freezer panels, they are good and lightweight, not conducive to mites in woodwork etc. If you're towing it with vehicle weight less of an issue, attached initial knock up 'chook tractor".
Sounds like a good operation, job well done. If only in garden in daytime, you can buy portable electric fences with a small energiser and they are very versatile. Leave in yard till everyone's laid, then put into electric fenced area in afternoon. Or just make a big box, weldmesh sides and top, with 4" grid concretors reo on the bottom. Put shadecloth on top. Chooks do better in cool than hot, and shadecloth disguises them from aerial predators. (they can't get to them but gives chooks peace of mind- same reason i put shadecloth on sides. Connect 6 sides of weldmesh together with wire or stainless cable ties, cut small chook door out and put edging on it (hose or can buy edging) so chooks don't cut them selves, hinge on and close with wire. Can keep costs down by only making 3 foot tall. 6 birds would need moving daily in a tractor 3 x 4 metres. If you don't want ground bared then move twice in a day or make bigger/ modular. You could be crafty and make it collapsible- go plastic cable ties- so you can flat pack up against shed etc in winter. Put cantilevered wheels on it and that's the most engineered part. The rest you can make with an angle grinder, pliers, roll of good wire, knife and some hose and about 4 hours.I am not really needing a tractor until I decide to move, I've been here 20 years. I would like a secure tractor to stick in the garden during the daytime, but I can put the birds up at night, they'd mainly be eating grasshoppers. I do have hawks, I've had them basically in a playpen before but the roof situation caused me to just give up on that
. I have 12 birds, 6 on each lot, they have coops. Back yard is secure run, open coop, Lot coop is capable of being secured up thru large possum but the privacy fence keeps coyotes out and I don't have foxes or raccoons here. You might take a look at Backyard chickens .com, when I was building my first coop I had no idea how much space I needed etc and I found their plans very helpful
Looks like there are a lot of users now. Colony collapse and varroa etc has definitely changed the dynamics in beekeeping- across at least across Europe, US, Aus, NZ and UK. Although the exponential rise of hobby beekeepers add little to the economy or larger beekeeping industry, I think that the higher disposable income and time etc per hive sees more 'loved' or 'pampered' hives. Down here, with our mild winters, most of the time we have wild matings and will raise our own queens. The upshot is greater genetic diversity, something that will serve us well, I suspect in the future challenges of anthrocopene age and global connectedness (pests). I also suspect, in my relatively uneducated ignorance, that despite the wonderful efforts of clever people breeding for a) gentle bees and b) hygienic bees) that directed breeding is potentially and inadvertently narrowing gene pool. We know a lot about genes but we're still learning a lot. (context-I am studying phylogenetics and microbiology). So the hobby beekeeper may make a significant contribution to the future viability of bees. Down here in Australia where we keep having varroa scares but it hasn't got a foothold yet (that we know..........)It is a bee forum but it's a really slow one. I've tried to speed it up in the past. We have a lot of good info in the files, but when the site was sold most of the old users left.
Looks like there are a lot of users now. Colony collapse and varroa etc has definitely changed the dynamics in beekeeping- across at least across Europe, US, Aus, NZ and UK. Although the exponential rise of hobby beekeepers add little to the economy or larger beekeeping industry, I think that the higher disposable income and time etc per hive sees more 'loved' or 'pampered' hives. Down here, with our mild winters, most of the time we have wild matings and will raise our own queens. The upshot is greater genetic diversity, something that will serve us well, I suspect in the future challenges of anthrocopene age and global connectedness (pests). I also suspect, in my relatively uneducated ignorance, that despite the wonderful efforts of clever people breeding for a) gentle bees and b) hygienic bees) that directed breeding is potentially and inadvertently narrowing gene pool. We know a lot about genes but we're still learning a lot. (context-I am studying phylogenetics and microbiology). So the hobby beekeeper may make a significant contribution to the future viability of bees. Down here in Australia where we keep having varroa scares but it hasn't got a foothold yet (that we know..........)