Michigan - Page 3941  

Quote:

Originally Posted by Olive Hill 

I know.  It's one of my super powers.  

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! 

Quote:

Originally Posted by RaZ 

I'll have to take a picture tomorrow. A few of mine are over 10 feet tall now. The hops that the chickens ate last year have come back but they are only about 6 inches tall.  So don't give up. If, for some reason, yours don't come back send me a PM and I dig up a few rhizomes for you.

Raz...I need to shade one wall of my barn and thought about using hops to grow on a lattice (sp?) wall. I need something super fast and thick growing. Do you think it would work? Needs to get about 8-10 ft tall asap.
 

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Originally Posted by chicken grandma 
Are YOU kidding?   We baled hay twice a year when I was growing up.  I was poked full of holes by the hay and suffering from heat stroke every year!  Yuck!   

I grew up in PA where we had a small farm with fields, orchards, chickens and such. My uncle had a huge farm and even rented other fields that had to be harvested to feed his dairy operation. I absolutely loved riding the hay wagons as we went from field to field to bale hay. The best part was riding the elevator up to the loft where we stacked the bales at each mowing. The only time I didn't like baling was when a black snake got caught in the twine and I grabbed the darn thing picking up the bale.   Other than that, I loved working the fields. Except when the baler shot the bale over the trailer and we had to jump down and fetch it before the next bale came shooting out. All in all it was more fun than work.
 

RaZ - you are the first person I ever met who loves to hay!  I am in awe and a bit of shock!  

Interesting day.  While doing my chicken chores, I went into the pole barn and as I was walking out noticed something in the corner of the barn.  Turned out to be a big pile of eggs.  I counted 16 total.  Looks like both bantie hens, my ee and at least one leghorn decided they liked that spot better than their boxes.  I was wondering where the banties were laying since I haven't seen an egg from them in a bit.  I was surprised on the ee eggs and never noticed that I wasn't getting as many leghorn eggs as I should've.  Silly chickens.

DH and I also took a ride out to Coopersville and while we were driving down an unknown road came across a farm that had 2 hoop barns and further out in their field we saw 2 chicken tractors with attached hoop houses.  Surrounding the tractors were so many chickens it really boggled my mind looking at them.  There had to be hundreds of them.   

I really love driving through the country because you just never know what you'll see.

Fuzzy- sorry about your Rose

Quote:

Originally Posted by RIRJen 

Raz...I need to shade one wall of my barn and thought about using hops to grow on a lattice (sp?) wall. I need something super fast and thick growing. Do you think it would work? Needs to get about 8-10 ft tall asap.

Yes, hops would be a good choice for fast growth and dense coverage up a lattice. In Oregon and Germany, they use telephone poles and guy wires for the vines to climb. They can get to over 30 feet tall in a season.

Having said that, hops can be very aggressive to the point of being invasive. Not only will they root where the vine falls, they send out rhizomes in all directions. I have a new hop plant that is in my front porch some 20 feet from where I planted the original. Once established, hops are hard to get rid of. I had to use a back-hoe to get rid of some that were planted in the wrong spot.

On a positive note, hops are a host plant for Eastern Comma and Question Mark butterflies.

Quote:

Originally Posted by chicken grandma 

RaZ - you are the first person I ever met who loves to hay!  I am in awe and a bit of shock!  

You are not the first person to notice that there is something wrong with me. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by RaZ 

I'll have to take a picture tomorrow. A few of mine are over 10 feet tall now. The hops that the chickens ate last year have come back but they are only about 6 inches tall.  So don't give up. If, for some reason, yours don't come back send me a PM and I dig up a few rhizomes for you.

That would be awesome! These would have been 6 years old this season, I am pretty bummed. :(

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Originally Posted by fuzzybutt love 
So i held her a lot and gave her a bath so she was clean, she kept trying to clean herself but she was too weak. She wouldn't eat, but she would nibble at bread pieces, and she seemed to perk up a little, so i had high hopes that she would pass it. Sadly, she was not able. I also brought her to the others yesterday, when i did my cleaning, and put her on the perch with them for a bit. I also brought her body for the others to see today, before i buried her. My roo and my lap hen (round girl) understood. They were her closest friends, and i wanted them to understand that she wasn't coming back. This was when she laid her first egg.

Aww what a sad but cute story....sorry again for your loss :(
 

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Originally Posted by Olive Hill 
My husband won't eat rice.  He says it reminds him too much of maggots.

haha! ew. I LOVE rice.

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Originally Posted by Mom 2em All 

Olive..your kitchen is too far away from me.

I would really enjoy seeing your farm, and learning how to can. My grandmother used to make grape jelly from the grapes off her vines.

I never paid any attention. 

 

THen, when I lived with my Gram and Gramps in Tennessee, I was too busy being a teenager to pay attention when they canned EVERYTHING..back then, I was trying to find a reason NOT to be in the kitchen with them...now I wish...

x10!!!! I feel the same way about a lot of things like that.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1muttsfan 

WOOHOO! PARTY AT OLIVE'S!
HH, I have been having posting problems on my regular computer, phone still works ok
In a moment of weakness I ordered silkie eggs. Then, conveniently forgetting it, I ordered more silkie eggs. Then in a moment of rebellion (Don't you have enough chicks already?) I ordered more cochin bantam eggs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Olive Hill 

On the other hand, if anyone has the insatiable urge to learn how to build a barn, you should feel free to stop by and absolutely bring your own materials.  I'll be happy to supervise.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juise 

It is true, they don't burn your eyes as much when refrigerated, though I forget why. If you are having trouble whilst cutting them, you can hold a match stick between your teeth, phosphorus end out, and it helps neutralize the fumes before they reach your eyes.

That is a great idea, I never knew that about the matchstick trick!! I will have to try that some time. I've also heard that putting them in the freezer for 5 min before you cut helps lessen the burning also. Something in the cold must close up the stink particles...lol. Raz knows everything about plants, maybe he knows??