It's always enjoyable on a meditative level to watch the chickens do their thing. Looking at the ways you've repurposed materials and resources is inspirational in so many ways. Thanks again.
For some folks, I hope that there's information that's useful to them in these videos, but I'm also thrilled to know that it's just simply relaxing for some people too. It's great to read that.
Really love the thermal imaging aspect. It shows just how warm/hot things are, just when I was considering woodstove heat. Thanks for keeping it so low tech and almost no outside energy input, other than the crude organic matter, seeds, water/sunlight/oxygen!
You are a wonderful chicken farmer…providing a warm breakfast and a warm room to dine in! That’s the sound of happy content hens! I would know, I have had chickens most of my 64 years! My girls sound like this especially when I open the gate so they can do their job on my winter gardens!
Always a joy to see these happy, plumptious hens go at the all-you-can-eat buffet. Very inspiring. Really valuable you take time to put all these great ideas out there in videos, in addition to all the work itself!
I'm always dreaming of how my future chicken run can be as wonderful as yours, thanks for the inspiration! My husband and I are loving your sweater. He says it's "crazy cool". I feel like there's a story behind it...
Love chicken TV and seeing the winter run. I have been giving my hens some small amounts of soaked seeds in mine but this makes me thing I should do a really big load once a week or so to kick the soil up a notch. Thanks for the inspo!
Of course! The beautiful thing is you can dip a toe in at scaling up and then pull back if it doesn't work or is too much, etc etc. Makes it easy to try all this if you don't have to go all in!
I have a little 8’x12’ run and I’m thinking I could start something like he did on a smaller scale with those compost hoops he used in a later video! My property has too many daytime predators for me to let them out until I have more shrubbery/trees around the run. They’ll have to stay in for now but with a system like this, 3-4 hens would be just fine in it with all this fun compost!
The thermal camera is very cool. The compost temp is interesting, but even more so where the chickens loose heat. Looks like basically their heads and lower legs / feet - so once they sit down on their feet, they just have a little loss on their heads - just kind of explains how they exists in crazy cold climates particularly at night. Cool demonstration of that.
When I bred dozens of canaries yearly for the show bench, we were told that both soaking and sprouting seeds increased the available nutrition. I did both in quart jars, careful not to introduce pathogens. Hens feeding newly hatched chicks relished the soaked seeds as a complement to eggfood. Fledged chicks and adults received sprouts. Your idea of adding soaked seeds to the compost is brilliant. It is little wonder your chickens are the picture of health.
Soaking the seeds for a day or two, and adding them to the compost system, is just such a simple technique that I'm not sure why more folks don't do it
Thnx for the thermal temp imaging. I've lost 2 Johnson-Su bioreactors due to cold temps/freezing. I insulated come winter, but was unable to provide supplemental heat in zones 6. They need a full year (even plus) to produce results as intended. Based on this vid, I believe any future reactors could be over-wintered in a chicken run such as yours provided the cylinder is surrounded on all sides with active compost. I will die on this hill.
I think the idea of doing your compost project in a season extension space with active hot compost for hens all around. It would probably have some pretty positive affect. Good luck.
I'm unsure if it was an orange or just something similar looking that I had seen toward the beginning of the video, but it definitely reminded me to eat one with the peel on after thoroughly washing under warm water and cutting off the blemishes. I feel fantastic. Thanks for the great content, I assume it's doing good for others also that you guys might not have foreseen.
The thermal camera is amazing, but I find the insulation of the feathers to be the neatest part! You know they are warm on the inside but the outside feathers keeps all the warmth inside. Very neat.
I will be adding seeds to sprout in my compost for sure now never thought of it. Thanks ! I’m hoping to do this at larger scale here on the farm. Using hay/cowmanure compost to heat greenhouse with radiant piping buried above insulation outside then added compost in beds for my layer hens and rooster protectors winter day playground. Around 60 hens 20 roosters totally free range. Such a mild winter they have been all over the barnyards scratching still.
I could imagine being able to scale this system up in some pretty serious ways. Vermont composting company and Karl Hammer might be worth searching if you want to see larger scale!
Hello! I really enjoy watching your chicken tv. I’ve been watching your channel for awhile and have implemented some of your composting and sprouting ideas in my small backyard. My chickens are very happy digging around for sprouts and worms. Right now I’m having a bit of a rodent problem (e.g. Ground squirrels, mice, and rats). How do you manage rodents in your own chicken yard?
Could I use composted horse manure in that compost mix (I have plenty!) I see how this could be a really cost effective way to feed your birds. Do you feed them any grain other than the soaked and composted material? Brilliant way to use your resources! Can’t wait for it to cool into the fall to get my first flock. I’m going to start with pullets.
We haven't talked about that in any detailed way. I think there are a lot of folks out there that have expertise in those realms that can share their ideas, I'm not sure we have much more to add.
Covering the compost at this point, will be burlap sacks and a tarp. If it starts to get much colder, we could flake loose hay on top or add more layers of cover to insulate. Each 5 gallon bucket is filled roughly halfway with seed, and then that seed is covered with water
I love watching all of your videos, especially the chicken composting ones! I know you mentioned in the past that rodents are part of the ecosystem and don't bother you. With all the food scraps around how do you keep their populations in check? We compost and feed our chickens fruit and veg scraps in addition to an organic feed. A few weeks ago I noticed some little mammals I will refer to as Templeton. As long as they don't hurt the chickens or cause property damage I'm not going to stress over them. I would really love to hear more about your experience with rodents. We have a few acres and grow organically. I'm thinking about purchasing a large quantity of red pepper flakes to drop in their tunnels. I can share our land but I want to encourage them to move away from our structures. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I wonder if its worth running some kind of duct underneath and circulate heat. My imagination runs wild every time I watch one of your videos, much love
You would be able to tell pretty quickly. Internal parasites rob the birds of their nutrition and they quickly lose weight, color/vibrancy, and stop laying. If a hen stops laying unexpectedly (not broody and not molting, no bullying issues), and feels light when you pick her up, deworm. You know that feeling when you look at these birds and think “they look so healthy and vibrant!”, they’re colorful (combs, wattles, legs, feathers), fluffy, heavy-looking, active, content? You wouldn’t have that thought if they’re struggling with worms. Interestingly, raw seeds from pumpkins and some other hard squashes are good antiparasitics. Not for treatment, but for prevention. I’d bet that the copious restaurant scraps and garden scraps these chickens get contributes in that way as well.
I have four black chickens with a green tint and black feathers on their feet. I think I saw a few in your flock like that. Do you know what type of chicken they are?
I find that in my system that the leaves/wood chips don't break down as much as yours. I have huge mats of sprouted grains beneath the surface and I don't feel like i'm getting a ton of compost yet. Do I need to turn/pile the compost more often? will adding urine help things break down and get nice and black?
You could certainly consider adding urine to help get more intense nutrient to kickstart the composting process, the quality of the compost you're seeing here is driven,almost entirely by the amount of turning that happens. The material at the end of our winter run may have been piled up 5 to 10 times before it got there.
We have one tiny rooster. We'd be open to letting it be more open in that way but we have neighbors who have been specifically unhappy about having more roosters around so we've kept that part diminished for now
It's always enjoyable on a meditative level to watch the chickens do their thing. Looking at the ways you've repurposed materials and resources is inspirational in so many ways.
Thanks again.
Hey thank you for these kind and supportive words!
This was such a relaxing video for me with the sounds of chickens clucking and rain falling. Wonderful!
For some folks, I hope that there's information that's useful to them in these videos, but I'm also thrilled to know that it's just simply relaxing for some people too. It's great to read that.
Really love the thermal imaging aspect. It shows just how warm/hot things are, just when I was considering woodstove heat. Thanks for keeping it so low tech and almost no outside energy input, other than the crude organic matter, seeds, water/sunlight/oxygen!
We're trying as we can to deepen and explore these ideas. I appreciate the words of support!
Those hens, and one rooster, are as lucky to have you take care of them as you are that they take care of you.
Kind words!
These are some happy, happy chickens! They look absolutely gorgeous! All a testament to the health and diversity of their diet and context. Bravo!
Thanks kindly
I enjoy chicken tv. Happy hens. You have a great system working there.
Thanks!
You are a wonderful chicken farmer…providing a warm breakfast and a warm room to dine in! That’s the sound of happy content hens! I would know, I have had chickens most of my 64 years! My girls sound like this especially when I open the gate so they can do their job on my winter gardens!
Thank you very much for the vid 🧡👍🏻..like as always 🤗🐓🌱
Always a joy to see these happy, plumptious hens go at the all-you-can-eat buffet. Very inspiring. Really valuable you take time to put all these great ideas out there in videos, in addition to all the work itself!
What a delightful film! Hi, chickens!
These have got to be the luckiest hens on earth. You are such a good caretaker of them and the earth that is being nourished.
Your little rooster reminds me so much of one I had and loved dearly. The crow is the same 💕💕💕
I blew out my elbow turning compost like that. Youth is definitely on your side! Great content. Thank you!
I'm always dreaming of how my future chicken run can be as wonderful as yours, thanks for the inspiration!
My husband and I are loving your sweater. He says it's "crazy cool". I feel like there's a story behind it...
What you’re doing is very inspiring. I’m doing something similar in my chicken run during the summer and watching your videos have been very helpful.
Love chicken TV and seeing the winter run. I have been giving my hens some small amounts of soaked seeds in mine but this makes me thing I should do a really big load once a week or so to kick the soil up a notch. Thanks for the inspo!
Of course! The beautiful thing is you can dip a toe in at scaling up and then pull back if it doesn't work or is too much, etc etc. Makes it easy to try all this if you don't have to go all in!
Need more chicken tv : winter Run edition :D
We'll put a few more out one day soon I'm sure
I just love your chicken compost system. Wish I had room to do something similar.
I have a little 8’x12’ run and I’m thinking I could start something like he did on a smaller scale with those compost hoops he used in a later video! My property has too many daytime predators for me to let them out until I have more shrubbery/trees around the run. They’ll have to stay in for now but with a system like this, 3-4 hens would be just fine in it with all this fun compost!
I can not put into words how much you inspire me. So many ways. You guys are wonderful
Great information. Really impressive to see the thermal camera at work!
So lovely to watch. I dream of having my own system one day, Sean. 😅
The thermal camera is very cool. The compost temp is interesting, but even more so where the chickens loose heat. Looks like basically their heads and lower legs / feet - so once they sit down on their feet, they just have a little loss on their heads - just kind of explains how they exists in crazy cold climates particularly at night. Cool demonstration of that.
A poultry paradise😊
I'd hope so
When I bred dozens of canaries yearly for the show bench, we were told that both soaking and sprouting seeds increased the available nutrition. I did both in quart jars, careful not to introduce pathogens. Hens feeding newly hatched chicks relished the soaked seeds as a complement to eggfood. Fledged chicks and adults received sprouts. Your idea of adding soaked seeds to the compost is brilliant. It is little wonder your chickens are the picture of health.
Soaking the seeds for a day or two, and adding them to the compost system, is just such a simple technique that I'm not sure why more folks don't do it
Happy Hens!
That thermal camera was cool!
By far the best way to do it! Like you say you get eggs/meat awsome soil heat and fertilizer/mulch and probably more!
Happy Chickens 🐓🐔
Greatest composting system on UA-cam. Love your channel, been watching for years. Keep creating good sir❤
Wow, thank you!
Thnx for the thermal temp imaging.
I've lost 2 Johnson-Su bioreactors due to cold temps/freezing. I insulated come winter, but was unable to provide supplemental heat in zones 6. They need a full year (even plus) to produce results as intended.
Based on this vid, I believe any future reactors could be over-wintered in a chicken run such as yours provided the cylinder is surrounded on all sides with active compost.
I will die on this hill.
I think the idea of doing your compost project in a season extension space with active hot compost for hens all around. It would probably have some pretty positive affect. Good luck.
love it!
i think you have some of the happiest chickens, they just seem to really enjoy working with you. ♥
I think so too!
Looks brilliant. So satisfying just watching the chickens working through the compost in the background.
So glad you enjoy the chickens!
I'm unsure if it was an orange or just something similar looking that I had seen toward the beginning of the video, but it definitely reminded me to eat one with the peel on after thoroughly washing under warm water and cutting off the blemishes. I feel fantastic. Thanks for the great content, I assume it's doing good for others also that you guys might not have foreseen.
The thermal camera is amazing, but I find the insulation of the feathers to be the neatest part! You know they are warm on the inside but the outside feathers keeps all the warmth inside. Very neat.
It's amazing how much heat is held in by those feathers, you are right!
I love the chickens and their habitat. Awesome .
great demonstration with the thermal camera what a good system for cold climate composting and poultry care
I'm really glad you think so
Wow it's amazing to see how well their feathers insulate compared with human made clothing!
It's pretty stunning how well insulated they are
I will be adding seeds to sprout in my compost for sure now never thought of it. Thanks !
I’m hoping to do this at larger scale here on the farm. Using hay/cowmanure compost to heat greenhouse with radiant piping buried above insulation outside then added compost in beds for my layer hens and rooster protectors winter day playground. Around 60 hens 20 roosters totally free range.
Such a mild winter they have been all over the barnyards scratching still.
I could imagine being able to scale this system up in some pretty serious ways. Vermont composting company and Karl Hammer might be worth searching if you want to see larger scale!
Multiple yields for a single line of effort. Looks like a permaculture design element to me ;)
One would hope at this point!!!
well done
Hello! I really enjoy watching your chicken tv. I’ve been watching your channel for awhile and have implemented some of your composting and sprouting ideas in my small backyard. My chickens are very happy digging around for sprouts and worms. Right now I’m having a bit of a rodent problem (e.g. Ground squirrels, mice, and rats). How do you manage rodents in your own chicken yard?
A joy to watch and full of inspiration, thank you. About how much time would you spend each day in the tunnel?
Support comment - thanks for the good context. 🍀🍀🍀
Much appreciated
Excellent video
Glad you liked it
Could I use composted horse manure in that compost mix (I have plenty!) I see how this could be a really cost effective way to feed your birds. Do you feed them any grain other than the soaked and composted material? Brilliant way to use your resources! Can’t wait for it to cool into the fall to get my first flock. I’m going to start with pullets.
Need to put new poly on my high tunnel for the birds today!
great stuff!
Thanks!
So great. Future goals. Have you discussed or encountered chicken diseases in any videos?
We haven't talked about that in any detailed way. I think there are a lot of folks out there that have expertise in those realms that can share their ideas, I'm not sure we have much more to add.
Lava-eating hens ! A very niche breed !
Love this
What are you using to cover the mellow compost so it doesn't freeze?
How much dry seeds and grain do you soak in the 5 gallon buckets?
Covering the compost at this point, will be burlap sacks and a tarp. If it starts to get much colder, we could flake loose hay on top or add more layers of cover to insulate.
Each 5 gallon bucket is filled roughly halfway with seed, and then that seed is covered with water
I love watching all of your videos, especially the chicken composting ones! I know you mentioned in the past that rodents are part of the ecosystem and don't bother you. With all the food scraps around how do you keep their populations in check? We compost and feed our chickens fruit and veg scraps in addition to an organic feed. A few weeks ago I noticed some little mammals I will refer to as Templeton. As long as they don't hurt the chickens or cause property damage I'm not going to stress over them. I would really love to hear more about your experience with rodents. We have a few acres and grow organically. I'm thinking about purchasing a large quantity of red pepper flakes to drop in their tunnels. I can share our land but I want to encourage them to move away from our structures. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I wonder if its worth running some kind of duct underneath and circulate heat. My imagination runs wild every time I watch one of your videos, much love
Any tips on deworming your chickens? Looking for a natural way. Thank you
Do you have trouble with worms in your chickens ? If so what do you use to keep your girls healthy and happy ? Thank you for such a neat channel.
As far as I know we don't have issues with that so I'm not sure. Maybe there is an issue we don't know about but I haven't detected it...
You would be able to tell pretty quickly. Internal parasites rob the birds of their nutrition and they quickly lose weight, color/vibrancy, and stop laying. If a hen stops laying unexpectedly (not broody and not molting, no bullying issues), and feels light when you pick her up, deworm.
You know that feeling when you look at these birds and think “they look so healthy and vibrant!”, they’re colorful (combs, wattles, legs, feathers), fluffy, heavy-looking, active, content? You wouldn’t have that thought if they’re struggling with worms.
Interestingly, raw seeds from pumpkins and some other hard squashes are good antiparasitics. Not for treatment, but for prevention. I’d bet that the copious restaurant scraps and garden scraps these chickens get contributes in that way as well.
Do the chicken drink the water at night? Would putting the water dispenser in the tunnel also keep it from freezing?? Do you have any rodent issues?
Rats would be eating all that corn where we are 😢 do you feed layers feed as well ?
We don't provide a specific layer mash by any stretch. Rats come around but it all works out
Does your sweater tell a story?
Interesting pattern.
There may be a story in there, that I don't know about!
What is the camera you are using to do that thermal imaging?
topdon tc001
I have four black chickens with a green tint and black feathers on their feet. I think I saw a few in your flock like that. Do you know what type of chicken they are?
Black Australorp is the name that comes to mind first, and could be a place to start in your search
Please post or reply, where I can get seeds to order by mail. Where am I (SW, Virginia), is very difficult by organic one in bulk.
I'm not sure how to be helpful there. You may need to reach out to a local Agricultural support agency, or ask around to local farmers!
I find that in my system that the leaves/wood chips don't break down as much as yours. I have huge mats of sprouted grains beneath the surface and I don't feel like i'm getting a ton of compost yet. Do I need to turn/pile the compost more often? will adding urine help things break down and get nice and black?
You could certainly consider adding urine to help get more intense nutrient to kickstart the composting process, the quality of the compost you're seeing here is driven,almost entirely by the amount of turning that happens. The material at the end of our winter run may have been piled up 5 to 10 times before it got there.
Ready to come out when they hear the rain probably, I'm sure they know by now it's even more worms
Do you encounter any issues with scratching of the plastic?
Sometimes, but it isn't a major issue.
What breed is your rooster? He's adorable :)
Serama bantam I think
Mr. Rooster is the hottest one of all! 🐓💖🐔 Who is the artist that crafted your dynamic sweater? It's awesome!
My chickens would be jealous of your chickens 😂. I’ll try to do better. Thanks for another informative video!
Always happy to share what we're trying to figure out over here
make sure you hit that like and subscribe button.
Do you have rats attracted to your chicken run?
Sometimes
Great recycle of life.
I have to ask.... what is going on with your sweater? 😳
So so much going on with this sweater. A story too complex to share here ha!
why dont you try to breed more chickens? seems it could be done with minimal work
you only have female chickens, no?
There is one rooster.
We have one tiny rooster. We'd be open to letting it be more open in that way but we have neighbors who have been specifically unhappy about having more roosters around so we've kept that part diminished for now