Recent content by marthas_ear

  1. marthas_ear

    Is lime okay to use in duck house?

    Yes, I use barn lime in my coop. It is well ventilated- wire sides. I apply it when the aren't going to be in it for a while to let it settle.
  2. marthas_ear

    108 degrees temperature outside when I collected eggs

    I don't even know where to put this question...When I collected my eggs today, it was like 105- it had been 108. Central Texas. The flock seems to be fine and self-regulating their temperatures in the shade. The eggs were really warm. Are they okay to eat? I guess I can float them to see when I...
  3. marthas_ear

    Comment by 'marthas_ear' in article 'Bee's key points to successful and safe free ranging.'

    I decorated the area where they first leave the coop with DVD, CD's that flicker in the light and send shimmering light rays dancing around in the trees and on the ground. Anyone else use this method to keep hawks away? I agree that vegetation to provide cover is essential. It's a plus to have a...
  4. marthas_ear

    Comment by 'marthas_ear' in article 'Bee's key points to successful and safe free ranging.'

    I'm a professionally certified dog trainer. I got a white shepherd from a rescue group with the temperament. When the flock was chicks, we sat together with them. I didn't pick them up, just let them be imprinted on us. My dog follows basic cues like WAIT, STAY, FREE, DOWN, SIT and has herding...
  5. marthas_ear

    Texas

  6. marthas_ear

    trouble with snakes eating eggs

    Rat snakes come in our coop in broad daylight to steal eggs. They regularly come early evening after hens have laid. They time it great. I would like to get rid of them and convince them to move on.
  7. marthas_ear

    trouble with snakes eating eggs

    fake eggs and golf balls are a cruel slow death for snakes...inhumane. Hit them on the head if you want to kill them to kill the brain as a decapitated snake head will live on for hours...that is cruel.
  8. marthas_ear

    trouble with snakes eating eggs

    The rat snakes we have had in our hens' nest outside of Austin come in broad daylight when the coop is open. One came regularly at the time the nest would be full of eggs in the early afternoon. Scared the hens so they started laying on the floor of the coop and in very odd places. We have had 2...
  9. marthas_ear

    They Grow Up So Quick

    They grow up so QUICK....well, not so much the banties. Coop - one month old: 2 RIRXDel and 4 jap/coch banties live here. Freckles and Ruby at 2 months old towering over the banties who are a week older. Thinking I have 2 roosters in the banty flock.
  10. marthas_ear

    Marthas Ears Page

    Martha's Ear www.paws-n-praise.com marthas-digitalstories.blogspot.com Captain's Log Date: April 1, 2009 I am near Driftwood, Texas. I raised banty cochins about 15 yrs ago til the coop got worn out and raccoons and possums figured it out. I had 6 to begin, then got a rooster. I would let...
  11. marthas_ear

    Caught a coon

    I'm setting my trap tonight. Several nights in a row, they are sneaking into the coop- no visible way to get in... Down to one hen and rooster who is my avatar...Sherman, the Tank (he's a banty Japanese) :-(
  12. marthas_ear

    Official BYC Poll: The Worst Predator

    Coons. I can fence dogs out. Coons are cunning. BTW- just shoot the darn thing or flat rock it if you trap it. Most states have laws about "relocating" them. Don't release it to become someone else's problem. They carry disease and are over-populated from scavenging human garbage and pet food.
  13. marthas_ear

    Japanese Cochin Banty fertilizing RIR/Del sex linked hens

    First of July Japanese/Cochin Banty hen went broody. Fine, I have a Japanese/Cochin Banty rooster, so I thought, no problem...I'll have some Banty cochin/japanese chicks. I have two RIRXDel sex linked hens that I was told would NOT be fertilized by the Banty Roo. Well, no chicks have hatched. I...
  14. marthas_ear

    how to get rid of Mosquitos???

    Put mosquito dunks in any standing water. Safe for chicken waterers. Available at big box stores. http://www.pestproducts.com/mosquito_dunks.htm
  15. marthas_ear

    Dead raccoon

    It is illegal to transport wildlife to property other than where you find it. If you trap, kill it. Nature isn't tidy or sanitized. Simple laws, really. Kill or die. It is life lesson to teach. Values and ethics education. I think anyone raising chickens learns the lesson: "How bad do you want...
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