Search results for query: *

  1. Theda's Mom

    Bird Flu Crisis.

    From what I can gather reading the news, the primary vector is wild birds. The infection zone (if I can call it that) follows along a major fly way, and so far, flu outbreaks have been confined to areas crossed by that flyway. Those of us outside that path probably don't have a lot to worry...
  2. Theda's Mom

    Bird Flu Crisis.

    Hi all, I answered my own question. This is what the agricultural arm of the UN has to say about the transmission of avian flu: "Transmission From what we know today, the avian influenza virus can be transmitted through contact among and with poultry and their droppings, feathers, intestines...
  3. Theda's Mom

    Bird Flu Crisis.

    If the vector is wild birds, does it require face-to-face contact to transmit avian flu from bird to bird, or can the virus travel on the bottoms of one's shoes or the hooves of a horse?
  4. Theda's Mom

    Green thumb is itching, anyone else?

    We're still on the cool side and none of the trees have started to bud out, but I planted cabbages, broccoli, broccoli rabe, kale, and lettuce the other day. The ground is way too mushy to work in, so all of these went into my fancy-dancy, pick'em up for free, tire planters. I also spent...
  5. Theda's Mom

    This is not a "training egg"

    Good to know, LRH97! I've kept chickens for about 10 years now, but in such small numbers that my experience is still pretty limited. I do love these monster eggs, but having had guineas at one point, I'm also fond of the teeny eggs. They are much better, for instance, stuffed than the larger...
  6. Theda's Mom

    This is not a "training egg"

    My youngsters just started laying. Most of the eggs are on the small size, which is what we normally expect, right? Except two of the girls (maybe the Turkens?) are laying GIGANTIC eggs. Here's one of two I collected this evening: Yes. That is 2.9 oz.
  7. Theda's Mom

    Houdini found BABY mice - How do I get rid of them.

    Mice and barns are a given. Have you tried a cat? They're the age-old response to rodent infestations. Also, be sure that whatever you do does not make your barn/coop are inhospitable to friendly snakes. King snakes, for instance, prey almost exclusively on rodents.
  8. Theda's Mom

    Just curious who else is living super frugal

    You are a beautiful seamstress, pinusresinosa! Before going to work full time, I also made all my own clothes, but my sewing was never that good. I am enjoying this discussion too: living super frugal doesn't have to be painful. In fact there are a lot of advantages to it, and meeting the...
  9. Theda's Mom

    Just curious who else is living super frugal

    Smart Wool is a great brand. I'm still wearing a pair I bought more then a decade ago. Another really good, long-lasting brand is Wright Socks. I still have the first pairs I bought, which again was 10-12 years ago, and despite hundreds of running miles (training for a marathon, among other...
  10. Theda's Mom

    Be careful for what you wish! Hahahaha!

    @crazyfeathers, my new girls (16 total) are hit and miss with the nesting boxes. I've got one or two who prefer the floor and one, a Rhode Island Red, who is still flight-sized and bops over a tall partial wall that separates the coop area from an adjoining stall. (She uses the roost as a...
  11. Theda's Mom

    Just curious who else is living super frugal

    @lismarc ,those long-lived jeans are kept well away from the barn - and gravel roads! My barn jeans ... they're a different and sorry looking story! There's not enough iron patching in the world to save some of them. But seriously, I read somewhere long ago that we tend to wash our jeans too...
  12. Theda's Mom

    Just curious who else is living super frugal

    @lismarc I have similar difficulties with my iPad. :-) And it is good advice. It makes a great mantra too. In fact, I was humming it yesterday when I realized that the last time I bought jeans was in 2007. Talk about wearing those babies out! Hahahahaha!
  13. Theda's Mom

    Be careful for what you wish! Hahahaha!

    I'm one of those who has been waiting (im)patiently for the first eggs from a flock of young hens. I waited. I waited. I waited. I tapped my toe. I checked the coop two, three, four times a day. I waited some more. Then holy moly. The girls have decided to get in the game. From no...
  14. Theda's Mom

    Just curious who else is living super frugal

    I haven't read this entire thread (it is 260 pages long!!!) but for a couple of reasons (only one being the economy), I have been living my mom's advice: 'Use it up, wear it it out, make it do, or do without.' Oh, and my girls provide the protein to go with the fruits and veggies I produce...
  15. Theda's Mom

    Looking for a guard dog for chickens.

    Regular hot wire will not hurt kids. If that were the case, none of my cousins, sibs, or I would have lasted past about age three. Hot wire is also a relatively inexpensive solution to an expensive and heartbreaking problem. I solved (or it seems I may have solved - fingers crossed) a...
  16. Theda's Mom

    Winter Solstice

    Then there's hope for mine! One girl started laying a week ago, and several more have started squatting. Fingers crossed!
  17. Theda's Mom

    Comment by 'Theda's Mom' in article 'Anne Arundel County Maryland Chicken Ordinance'

    I'm curious where the restriction on roosters is found. The residential code makes no distinction between hens and roosters and an index search didn't produce any mention of roosters either.
  18. Theda's Mom

    Perching for the night

    It could be weather related, but honestly, unless there are indications that someone is beating up on someone else and you have plenty of roosting space if they so desire, I wouldn't worry. Hens can be notional. That's part of what makes them such enjoyable company.
  19. Theda's Mom

    Winter Solstice

    Winter is the pits! Two of my best layers went into molt in November, the babies are just getting of an age to think about laying, and after much reluctance, I had to give in and buy eggs from the store. Of course, sensitive to my hens' sensibilities, this meant that I had no choice but to...
  20. Theda's Mom

    Why Are My Chickens Laying So Many Eggs??

    Rejoice and be happy!! You've got some awesome hens and are apparently doing everything right yourself.
Back
Top Bottom