Arizona Chickens

[LarryPQ]

Before I get edited by the Chickens in Black:

Any guesses as to tomorrow's prank?


I am guessing it will be text-related.

Conspiracy theorists should PM me, so we dont get banned for the day.

 

[nurseshelly]

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Awww he's so sweet!!! Don't make him mad for the US - LOL!

 

[mclevinson]

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It just SCREAMS Animal House, doesn't it?

Just sayin'.

 

[Smiles-N-Sunshine]

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I want earthworms for my garden too. Which are best for Arizona and where could I get them? I hace some PVC cut to make in-ground compost feeders and am anxious to get that started.

If you look on Craigslist under Farm & Garden there is someone who sells earthworms for composting. My courtyard has a lot of them, maybe because we keep it wetter than normal?

Oh, you know if you look on Rose websites, I think they have home made recipes (all natural) to spray on to get rid of mildew and fungus and stuff. I want to say it's a dilute vinegar spray? But not sure, so would look it up!

Please be careful not to confuse "Composting Redworms" with garden variety earthworms or night crawlers. They're all earthworms, but they have very different behaviors. Redworms are "manure worms" and mostly live on the surface, buried in whatever manure, rotting vegetation, etc. they're feeding on. "Common" earthworms live in the soil, usually just below the surface. (These are what gardeners generally want in their gardens.) Night crawlers dig a vertical burrow around six feet deep, and come up to the surface at night to feed.

Redworms can be useful for your garden, but indirectly. They tend to move around to wherever the food is, so it's best to keep them in a bin. (I use Rubbermaid 18 gallon totes, like Wal-Mart sells for $5-8, with holes drilled on the top and bottom for ventilation and drainage.) They eat many of the same kitchen scraps chickens eat, but mold and mildew do not pose a problem to redworms and they can also eat things like avocados, coffee grounds, and potato peelings that are bad for chickens.

Used, aged chicken litter (straw, hay, and/or pine shavings) makes great starter bedding for redworms. Maintenance is easy, just add food from time to time and keep the bin contents moist. Redworms breed like crazy when the conditions are right, so you can give wormalicious treats to your chickens from time to time. Or go fishing! (Redworms are also called Red Wrigglers, as they can stay alive and kicking on a fish hook for a couple of days, unlike night crawlers.) After about 6-9 months, the bin will be full of vermicompost, which is a wonderful soil amender as it holds moisture while allowing drainage. I sell finished vermicompost for $1 a pound at the Bisbee Farmers Market.

Worms are fun! And a great introduction to biology for kids! GET SOME! GET SOME!!!!

Bryan

 

[nurseshelly]

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If you look on Craigslist under Farm & Garden there is someone who sells earthworms for composting. My courtyard has a lot of them, maybe because we keep it wetter than normal?

Oh, you know if you look on Rose websites, I think they have home made recipes (all natural) to spray on to get rid of mildew and fungus and stuff. I want to say it's a dilute vinegar spray? But not sure, so would look it up!

Please be careful not to confuse "Composting Redworms" with garden variety earthworms or night crawlers. They're all earthworms, but they have very different behaviors. Redworms are "manure worms" and mostly live on the surface, buried in whatever manure, rotting vegetation, etc. they're feeding on. "Common" earthworms live in the soil, usually just below the surface. (These are what gardeners generally want in their gardens.) Night crawlers dig a vertical burrow around six feet deep, and come up to the surface at night to feed.

Redworms can be useful for your garden, but indirectly. They tend to move around to wherever the food is, so it's best to keep them in a bin. (I use Rubbermaid 18 gallon totes, like Wal-Mart sells for $5-8, with holes drilled on the top and bottom for ventilation and drainage.) They eat many of the same kitchen scraps chickens eat, but mold and mildew do not pose a problem to redworms and they can also eat things like avocados, coffee grounds, and potato peelings that are bad for chickens.

Used, aged chicken litter (straw, hay, and/or pine shavings) makes great starter bedding for redworms. Maintenance is easy, just add food from time to time and keep the bin contents moist. Redworms breed like crazy when the conditions are right, so you can give wormalicious treats to your chickens from time to time. Or go fishing! (Redworms are also called Red Wrigglers, as they can stay alive and kicking on a fish hook for a couple of days, unlike night crawlers.) After about 6-9 months, the bin will be full of vermicompost, which is a wonderful soil amender as it holds moisture while allowing drainage. I sell finished vermicompost for $1 a pound at the Bisbee Farmers Market.

Worms are fun! And a great introduction to biology for kids! GET SOME! GET SOME!!!!

Bryan

Oh, the ones on Craigslist are for composting ... but didn't know there were different varieties (well except obviously there are red wiggler and earthworms, but didn't know red wigglers are the compost ones)

 

[turkeybreeder]

weather is changing
summer is almost here

 

[Smiles-N-Sunshine]

Oh, the ones on Craigslist are for composting ... but didn't know there were different varieties (well except obviously there are red wiggler and earthworms, but didn't know red wigglers are the compost ones)

Yes Ma'am!

Oh, and I HIGHLY recommend the book "Worms Eat My Garbage" by Mary Appelhof http://www.amazon.com/Worms-Eat-My-Garbage-Composting/dp/0942256107 which most libraries have on hand or can get for you. Or less than $8 new on Amazon - just be sure to get the updated Second Edition.

Mmmm, mmmm..... I can hear your chickens smacking their lips from here!

 

[constance]

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arizonadreamer Whew, no kidding! Now I am worried that I am going to have to buy food for the mealworms! Mine are looking great. I ordered the large size, and they seem to be active and healthy. I am over the heebie jeebies, now I am fascinated by them!

mclevinson DON'T buy the giant ones! They have been treated with an insect hormone to keep them from developing into adults (which are beetles) and to just grow to be big grubs. They will not produce offspring. Gallo and I ordered the large size so that they would begin to make new mealworms more quickly. I don't think it matters though, as long as you don't get the "super-sized" mealworms. They are easy to care for and the ladies LOVE them.

Hmmm, it's been a few years since we had a lizard, but we used to get him superworms, and occasionally one would hide from him well enough that it escaped being eaten as a "worm." However, Snyder REALLY loved those beetles they developed into.

Interesting! I thought that the superworms would not develop correctly, but I guess they can. The one's I knew about were hormoned mutants, but I see that there is another, larger, beetle species (a darkling beetle versus the tenibrionid) used to grow the bigger grubs. Hmmm...I wonder how easy it would be to raise them?

ETA - NEVERMIND, I just saw Gallo's post. I should have read more posts before posting!

 

[LarryPQ]

Sunset last Sunday, at Butcher Jones.

And a cactus, because I can.

I *heart* AZ.

 

[arizonadreamer]

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you got the fuzzies!!