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I cleaned out the coop today. It'd been over 2 months, since I started using the wood shavings. This is the first time I've cleaned out the coop in the amount of time. It had rained really hard, while a window was open, and got everything soaking wet. Even with an extra bundle of chips on top, it never really recovered from that extra water. Even the chickens stopped kicking it around after that. Now that cold weather is here, I have to keep all the windows closed for the most part anyway. The wood shavings won't have the moisture evaporate quite quickly enough. So, I'll be cleaning it out once a month at least.
The cost in wood shavings is about $32 per month. 1 bale of shavings lasts for about a week before a new one needs added. I'll be using the wood shavings as a high nitrogen fertilizer and mulch; the extra cost is no problem. I'm storing the wood shavings, on a winter-fallow bed, until I have another bed ready. Then I'll divide it up. It seems like, 1 month of wood shavings (4-4.5 bales) will be enough mulch for 1 full raised bed in that garden.
The pepper plants, in the polytunnel, have been doing well. The weather has been cold enough to freeze water in containers left out overnight. A chipmunk was living in the polytunnel. It was the same one that was eating the peanuts. A local outdoor cat was able to get into the garden while I was working. The cat swiftly took care of the chipmunk. The ducks for egg laying are doing very well. They've been doing dances and making mating calls this past week.
