Mucking out

So, the first muck out.

Fortunately, the poo is still small. The pine bedding absorbs most of it, and there is very little odour to the cube.

For those that don't know, like most birds, there is no urine - all waste comes out in solid form and its loaded with nutrition.

So, back to mucking - I've forked the top layer of pine chips off and I'm putting it into the compost bin - I'll wait to see if I get any "comments" back on that one, but it kind of feels like the poo is nine tenths of the way there, so it can't hurt....plus, the pine bedding is awesome to mix in with the compost. Probably black gold.

Now the cube is as good as new. The floor and walls are plywood, sealed with a latex primer/sealer called "kilz" - it's supposed to be non-toxic and it barely had an odour when I applied it, plus it dried fast. A layer of pine bedding (about 2 inches deep) was spread across the floor, so that the cube is really just a brooder, for now. The roost and the laying box will be added this summer, when the girls start to behave less like chicks and more like layers.

All told, about 3 minutes, including walking across the yard and back with the fork and snow shovel for scooping. Muck one complete.

Back to my glass of white wine.