Arizona Chickens

[parentwarrior]

Hmm, I haven't run across that advice on this thread. Grape vines, huh? Were they planted along the side of the coop or along the wall? That would be kind of cool having it climbing the hardware cloth on one side of a long run. Draping over the top some, even. I was thinking of planting something on vines along my pool fence recently, so this might work. I was debating on tomatoes, grapes or looking at something else.

I have grapes growing on mine. It is great. A fast grower and they love the leaves. I have it growing up a trellis post inside my cage. They love to climb on the branches and eat the lower leaves they can get to. The branches are bendable the first year of growth and then they become rigid. I weave patterns with the young long branches so the chickens have neat shapes to climb and sit on. Mine is a established plant a few years old. In the summer it shades the cage and in the winter it drops it leaves so the sun comes in. The love to discover and eat the grapes. I bought mine as bare root in like January or February. I have 3 plants growing on a post. They grow so very fast. We do not cut our back in the fall so every year it just gets bigger.

Kris

 

[udubchick]

They're grape leaf skeletonizers. The chickens don't eat them because they have poisonous spines that are really aggravating if you come in contact with them. Get some Bt (Bacillus thuriengensis) and spray the vines right at dusk (It degrades in sunlight). Two applications over as many days would be better. It's made from a bacterium that is naturally pathogenic to certain groups of moths but harmless to everything else. It works quite well. You can find it at Lowe's, sometimes Home Depot and always at your local nursery.

I looked up pics - that's exactly what they are! Thanks, I'll run out and get some and hope it's not too late for this season. Are the grapes safe to eat after spraying?

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

I looked up pics - that's exactly what they are! Thanks, I'll run out and get some and hope it's not too late for this season. Are the grapes safe to eat after spraying?

Yes, perfectly safe. Unless you're a certain kind of moth larvae.

It's also not too late, I'll be spraying mine this evening.

 

[desertmarcy]

Yes, perfectly safe. Unless you're a certain kind of moth larvae.

It's also not too late, I'll be spraying mine this evening.

Gallo, your grapevines inspired me to plant some. I bought 3 red flame at HD (5-gal size) and planted outside the fence line along 2 pens which get way too much morning and mid-day sun. I know it will be a while before they provide shade.
Here's hoping they do well. We are getting a lot of rain this season on the west side, so they are off to a good start.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote: That's great! You have to get started sometime. I'm completely impressed with how much faster and longer they grow every year. I'll bet yours are doing well with all this rain. You folks over on the west side of town really have had a great monsoon this year, I've been watching on the radar every day. Looks like we got a good rain all across town today and another bout hitting right now. We've been so fortunate this year.

eta: my plans to spray the vines this evening were rained out. Should have mentioned that applying Bt right before a rain is largely futile.

 

[itsredcandy]

Quails are next on my list for our urban "farm". I want them mainly as a meat bird. Did you stun your bird before snipping the head off? I've seen it done both ways; not sure which I think is less stressful (for me & bird) and more humane. I have agreed to be the quail processor as long as hubby takes care of the rabbits.

Yeah, I think we'll have to pass on bunnies. But, I attempted to 'stun' it first. I think I stunned it but was kind of hoping for more of a 'knock out'. Anyway, I figured I'd prolonged it enough and then snipped off it's head. I couldn't 'wack' it again. Just didn't have it in me. One wack was all I could handle.

 

[itsredcandy]

Never heard of a hooded apron.

Picture please - I guess I could google it but I'm afraid I come up with cooking aprons...

I don't know if there is such a thing. I suppose you could use your imagination. Look up a chicken saddle and imagine a hoodie attached where you might be able to run a wire through the fabric to keep the hood from actually staying on the head but keep it slightly above the head as to protect her from the other chickens pecking.

 

[PeaDaddy]

Just stopping in to say hello. We are in Wittmann. We have a 4 acre farm with a herd of 28 Arabian Horses, 4 Peafowl babies, 1 very happy Guinea, 1 hen Aracauna, and 25 very quickly growing youngens'. Very new to this bird part of farming, but we are very excited to learn lots.

You can see some pics of a few of our animals here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/696341/greeting-from-phoenix

Thanks for reading.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: Well, for starters, it would be nice to know where you got the 110 advice--so that you can avoid ALL of their advice. If they are that far off in temperature, I worry about what else they would say to do/not do. Quarantine for more than a few days. At least two weeks, even a month. I'd suggest adding a prophylactic dose of antibiotic to their water: probably denagard.

 

[pupeluv]

That is so cool! I am waiting for mine still. Did they lay it in the nest box?
Kris

Yes, they did lay it in the nest box. I have four dutch bantam hens, but no more eggs yet. Kelly