NY chicken lover!!!! - Page 969

Here's one for my gardening peeps - a quick tutorial on how to grow potatoes in a trash bag.  I may actually end up doing this, as it looks extremely easy, which means I'm all for it. 

http://www.vegetablegardener.com/item/11980/how-to-grow-potatoes-in-a-trash-bag

Also, let me inflict one of my artsy "around the yard" photos of my forsythia bush on you, just because it's cheerful and it sounds like we could use a little bit of cheer around here this evening! 

Henni -  this seems to be a good year for Forsythia.  I see lots of yellow in lots of yards.   I should plant some.   My lilacs are coming up though i don't expect to see flowers on them cuz their too small.

It has been a great year for them down here by me.  They're flowering heavily, and look fantastic!  I love 'em. 

I know exactly how you feel. Last summer I looked out the kitchen window to see one of my girls running for her life into the hay barn with a Redtail hawk in hot pursuit! It even banked and flew right into the barn. I ran out screaming at the top of my voice and it took off. There were red feathers everywhere and I thought I would find a corpse. Couldn't find her! Finally looked under the riding mower and there she was! Dragged her out and held her  for a while. She was panting like mad. She was one that I hatched,so that hawk didn't know how lucky it was! One thing about having a rooster,they guard the hens....if only they wern't so nasty to their people! Maybe I'll try one again,who knows!

I'm new to this, but in all my reading, the primary reason for the red bulb was because it does not mimic daylight, so it keeps the chicks warm, but it allows them to have "dark" when the white, overhead lights are turned off.   

Quote:

Originally Posted by In His Service 

I had to go through a few roosters but the ones I have now are keepers.  (with the possible exception of my silkie, little dog syndrome, lol.  I may have to hatch some and give one of his sons a try). Even the meanest roo has a place here....it is spelled "crockpot".

 

I will always have a roo if I can get away with it. My current guy Leo is a keeper for sure - he doesn't attack people, he asks permission before jumping on his ladies, doesn't leave bare backs and I could hear him screeching like his tail was on fire all the way from the house when that hawk was out there. Ran out and he had all 20 (!) of his ladies buried under a bush. I don't think he has it in him to stand up to a hawk or to attack one, but his getting them to safety was enough to save the day this time around. 

I think my current alpha roo is from you...a NH Red we call Crookshanks.  Is your Leo one of my BOs?  If so, his daddy was Leo too, but he started attacking me and my DD so.....we now have his son, Big Boy.