How to raise Backyard Chickens: Re: [CHICKENS-101] Re: OT: Wisconsin's 200 cows deaths

shelley have you tested your soil for the acidity and all? i would to see what is missing from it. we always test before planting.

heather

--- On Sun, 1/30/11, CathrynTherese Fitch Walden <cathryntherese@yahoo.com> wrote:

From: CathrynTherese Fitch Walden <cathryntherese@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [CHICKENS-101] Re: OT: Wisconsin's 200 cows deaths - update
To: CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sunday, January 30, 2011, 11:10 PM

Shelley, Has to be the differences in soil. Our early girls are flavorful and wonderful on salads, sandwiches, eaten out of hand, and right off the vine. The Epsom salt is for magnesium. Calcium and magnesium has not been a problem for us because of the composted chicken bedding w/ lime.
I would not have enough egg shells. My husband gets out there and plants 3-5 flats. I've had the lime mixed in the bedding as it is put into compost piles and lime is put in the compost before it scattered with the tractor. The chickens get red cell for trace minerals and that adds to the soil composition too. For the plants to use the egg shell it has to have time to break down. Putting the lime in the bedding it has time to break into small molecules as the dirty bedding breaks down
into compost.
I've gardened since I could walk as a toddler. Between us we would have a good time sharing tips and experiences. Cathryn