Arizona Chickens

[AZChiknGoddess]

Done.   I put several cuttings in the aquaponics system where they'll develop roots for a month or so and then I'll put them in pots.  You could keep it in a pot and take it with you when you move!

I wonder if you could grow these on wire portions of coops? Are the vines or leaves toxic to chickens?

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote: Good question. The chickens love to hang out in the shade of the potting shed and they have full access to the vines but they don't even nibble. Of course all bets are off on caged birds. I think the vine would be nearly perfect for making shade over coops and runs, given their fast growing nature. I could not find anything about the safety of this plant to birds, but the Passiflora genus is not really known for producing really strong toxic compounds (although the leaves are used in traditional medicine). When I was searching for native foods the tortoises could eat, the native passion fruit vine came up as a favorite. Of course a tortoise is not a chicken but it made me feel a bit better. The torts do eat every leaf they can reach.

Interestingly, the passionfruit vines largely rely on extrafloral nectaries (little "glands") found on the petiole of the leaves that produce nectar to feed ants, which in turn keep it free of pests. It sounds like lots of beneficial insects, including green lacewing adults, take advantage of the nectar. I stir up lots of green lacewings every time I mess with the vines. I'd read that they were very difficult to grow in Tucson because the Gulf Fritillary butterflies love to lay eggs on them and they have a hard time outgrowing the larvae, but we have not seen any yet. That could be due to our crazy ant population though.

 

[MrsFitzDarcy]

Good question. The chickens love to hang out in the shade of the potting shed and they have full access to the vines but they don't even nibble. Of course all bets are off on caged birds. I think the vine would be nearly perfect for making shade over coops and runs, given their fast growing nature. I could not find anything about the safety of this plant to birds, but the Passiflora genus is not really known for producing really strong toxic compounds (although the leaves are used in traditional medicine). When I was searching for native foods the tortoises could eat, the native passion fruit vine came up as a favorite. Of course a tortoise is not a chicken but it made me feel a bit better. The torts do eat every leaf they can reach.

Interestingly, the passionfruit vines largely rely on extrafloral nectaries (little "glands") found on the petiole of the leaves that produce nectar to feed ants, which in turn keep it free of pests. It sounds like lots of beneficial insects, including green lacewing adults, take advantage of the nectar. I stir up lots of green lacewings every time I mess with the vines. I'd read that they were very difficult to grow in Tucson because the Gulf Fritillary butterflies love to lay eggs on them and they have a hard time outgrowing the larvae, but we have not seen any yet. That could be due to our crazy ant population though.

Good info. My pen faces west. I have a mesquite tree over ost of the pen, but when the sun arrives a low angle the area bakes in the summer. I was starting to research what vine plant I could grow that a) the chickies wouldn't destroy, and aslo, 2) wasn't poisonous.

Will you be offering clippings at some point? I'm also going to tell my mom about this for her pergola.

 

[K9Dave]

 Thanks Dephane! would love to but seems life is increasingly busier these days! Today I will go to the fair to hang out, then coop out birds at 9pm and come home; took tomorrow off since it will be so late coming home, I will need time in the morning to get the birds put away and situated. This week a big do at work on Fri night so a lot going on there; next weekend a run to New River to pick up some show coops to get birds cage trained and separated for the Tucson show, Nov 1st dress up as a clown and make balloon animals at a thing for my DIL's job at the YMCA. 

At the same time trying to finish projects, coops, fencing, training the LGD, get the garden going and planted and of course it will be winter before I know it and I haven't cleaned out the stove since last year!
and working full time on top of everything and of course about time to start hatching again! I want to be done before the end of March this year if at all possible so I can have things thinned out some before the really hot weather starts.

I could certainly use a farm helper!

Whoa. You live 1:24 from me GPS says. Not finding any help where you are?

 

[moms3cuties]

 

You know, the only time I ever ate them as fresh fruit was in 1990 in Costa Rica, so nearly 25 years ago.  I had them again in various desert forms later in Ecuador.  But with that first experience of the flavor I resolved that I would grow them if I ever lived in a place they would grow.  It's a sweet/sour/tangy flavor with a strong aroma that I associate with tropical fruit.  You eat the insides which have seeds kind of like pomegranates, but with a harder and smaller seed surrounded by a gelatinous coating.  I think that the relative sweet/sour balance varies with the ripening stage and from what I've read also differs between varieties.  I really hope the reality of the flavor lives up to my memory of it.

@City farm


, I'll go out and start rooting some cuttings for you this morning.  They take a while to start so we have some time to figure out how to get them to you.

I would love to have you root me some too when I buy a place. I'm a renter and would not want to leave something that awesome behind when I move.

BTW I have spruce cone and paper spine cactus if anyone would like some. I'm in Tucson.

Done.   I put several cuttings in the aquaponics system where they'll develop roots for a month or so and then I'll put them in pots.  You could keep it in a pot and take it with you when you move!

....if you don't mind sir, I hate it ask you to do anymore, but if its possible would you put one or two cuttings to start for me as well please, I live near City Farm so maybe I can meet up with her, or if I happen to come down to Tucson take them both up.thanks for letting me ask, lol. I used to love eating them when I was in Hawaii and I have been able to buy them at some of the Hispanic markets in Arizona and I love them. Oahu was a great place to live for tropical fruits back in the early 1990's for me. I've also been able to start papayas here by seed, but the frost kills them off and I started them from a dried Hawaiian sunrise papaya seeds! Next year I will start them inside and then bring him outside right after the frost clears. I tend to grow these on the east side of my house so that way they have shade from the afternoon full sun. I have a man called the, "organic Gardener, " near me and I think he has some different suggestions on growing papayas here. I'll have one extra of what I believe it's called a Caribbean guava started, that I had bought from either Home Depot or Lowe's; that has done really well for me here and I just planted it a little over year ago and it is fruiting its second time this year! It is quite tasty if you let it ripen up enough and get on the yellow side. I hear some people eat them green with salt. Keep in mind this guava is sensitive to the frost, so it would need to be covered with a sheet or have Christmas lights placed on it to help keep it warm during frost times. currently, I do not know if it will come back during the spring if it dies down from a hard frost. Last winter I did not have a hard frost here so my guava didn't seem to be affected too much. And with that being said my pear tree seemed to do well & bare Asian pears (my bare root tree from Tennessee) and then my Fuji apple had about five apples on it this year the first time in 8 years it actually bared fruit, thankfully!! Can't seem to load a pic of the guava's this morning,,, sorry! Maybe later on!

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Good info. My pen faces west. I have a mesquite tree over ost of the pen, but when the sun arrives a low angle the area bakes in the summer. I was starting to research what vine plant I could grow that a) the chickies wouldn't destroy, and aslo, 2) wasn't poisonous.

Will you be offering clippings at some point? I'm also going to tell my mom about this for her pergola.

Sure, just be sure to report back if your chickens die from eating the vines.

They'd be totally awesome vines for a pergola. Just FYI, maryhysong and LadyKotaDoria also suggested a Cecil Brunner climbing rose, which would also make a nice aromatic shade cover.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

....if you don't mind sir, I hate it ask you to do anymore, but if its possible would you put one or two cuttings to start for me as well please, I live near City Farm so maybe I can meet up with her, or if I happen to come down to Tucson take them both up.thanks for letting me ask, lol. I used to love eating them when I was in Hawaii and I have been able to buy them at some of the Hispanic markets in Arizona and I love them. Oahu was a great place to live for tropical fruits back in the early 1990's for me. I've also been able to start papayas here by seed, but the frost kills them off and I started them from a dried Hawaiian sunrise papaya seeds!

Next year I will start them inside and then bring him outside right after the frost clears. I tend to grow these on the east side of my house so that way they have shade from the afternoon full sun. I have a man called the, "organic Gardener, " near me and I think he has some different suggestions on growing papayas here. I'll have one extra of what I believe it's called a Caribbean guava started, that I had bought from either Home Depot or Lowe's; that has done really well for me here and I just planted it a little over year ago and it is fruiting its second time this year! It is quite tasty if you let it ripen up enough and get on the yellow side. I hear some people eat them green with salt. Keep in mind this guava is sensitive to the frost, so it would need to be covered with a sheet or have Christmas lights placed on it to help keep it warm during frost times. currently, I do not know if it will come back during the spring if it dies down from a hard frost. Last winter I did not have a hard frost here so my guava didn't seem to be affected too much. And with that being said my pear tree seemed to do well & bare Asian pears (my bare root tree from Tennessee) and then my Fuji apple had about five apples on it this year the first time in 8 years it actually bared fruit, thankfully!! Can't seem to load a pic of the guava's this morning,,, sorry! Maybe later on!

Not a problem, I made about a dozen cuttings this morning. That's great about experiencing the fruits in Hawaii! I read that a lot of passion fruits are grown commercially there. I think that with their short shelf life it's difficult to find them to buy fresh. My Fuji apple has three apples this year! Which is three more than it's ever produced.

I'm not sure if we could grow a true guava here in Tucson with our colder winter temps. My pineapple guava flowered like crazy this spring, but no fruit developed.

 

[AZ Teacher]

I'm a 5th grade teacher in Avondale, AZ. I'm looking for about a dozen to a dozen and a half fertilized chicken eggs for an embryology unit with my 5th graders. Can anyone local help? I'm trying to avoid ordering them from EBay or craiglist. I'm not picking about the breed... they will be given to a friend of mine that has a ranch in North Phoenix. Thanks for the help!

cindy

 

[aviddamy]

Sadly, the vines, they aren't mine to try. They used to be. I left them there. So I will go get some cuttings from them and try. It is likely they would fruit. I know one of the two of them is an Incense vine which has wonderful smelling bloom. I'm pretty sure neither one of them was the kind that I bought that fruits. But maybe they all fruit and they just don't as well as the frederick cultivar. I'll walk over there today and take a few pieces and plant them in a pot today.

 

[kacklinkelly]

Yeehaa! They better earn their keep..

NA, we have chickens that don't lay, they will always be here with us...

I'm glad I'm not the only one keeping a barren chicken around. She's only ever laid 6 eggs in her life. Cute bluish/green eggs. She's the biggest chicken we have and laid the smallest strangest shaped eggs. Didn't get to even eat them because they were pullet size and the shell was so thin. Our RIR laid the jumbo eggs that kept the lid from closing on the carton. She was our smallest and laid the biggest egg but she passed this summer. Gotta love our girls.