Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[JustFeathers]

Hey OT's - I am ripping up part of my garden - can my chickens have my green bean plants - all the leafy parts and stems. Have heard green beans and tomato plants can be poisonous to them? Already had to have Rooster school this week do not need more drama. I have 3 that are abt 6 months and 4 that are 13 weeks. working toward intergration (not yet ready)

Thanks to all for the great advise and wisdom you give
Linda

 

[chickiemomy]

Hey OT's - I am ripping up part of my garden - can my chickens have my green bean plants - all the leafy parts and stems. Have heard green beans and tomato plants can be poisonous to them? Already had to have Rooster school this week do not need more drama. I have 3 that are abt 6 months and 4 that are 13 weeks. working toward intergration (not yet ready)

Thanks to all for the great advise and wisdom you give
Linda

Disclaimer - I AM NOT AN OT chicken person -- I am however an OT botany person ;-)

Leafy vegetation from the solanacea - tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants & peppers - are considered toxic & inedible -- the fruits of these garden plants, as we know are completely edible-- excepting deadly nightshade here - (unless you subscribe to solanacea causes some form of arthritis in some susceptible people theory - I'm withholding judgment but know people who swear by it)

Leafy vegetation from legumes - peas & beans - should be edible. I have heard that the seeds of legumes that are not intended as food - think sweet peas & wisteria -- are toxic to people & should not be ingested. Not personally knowledgeable about seeds of sweet peas fed to birds...

and the observation of the deer in my yard would bear witness to the above -- they will eat my spring pea vines down to the ground , but stay away from the tomato plants. - & if I could find a way to keep them from pruning my fruit trees, without spreading blood meal every time it rains, I would be truly happy.

- again not an OT - but I bet the chickens would figure that out & they would leave the tomato vines alone - but scarf down the bean leaves....

 

[Maven]

Well, we got back from the auction and I went straight around back to let the girls out to free-range. She came hopping right out the pop door with the others and had a lot more energy, but still has her eyes half closed. She seemed a little timid about hopping off the ladder so I set her down on the ground and she went right on out the door after the rest of them. She seems to want to stick close to another hen right now and is following one of the BOs around closely. She appears to be doing better on her own, shows no sign of any type of distress (other than the eye thing) or illness that would warrant isolating her from the rest of the flock, so I guess I'll just leave her be for now and let nature take it's course.

In other news, they had some chickens at the auction - they looked SOOOOOO horrible.

They were ate up with mites, and just had no shine to their eyes or feathers, what few feathers they had that is. And the coop and run were horribly filthy and damp and dark. Bee, it reminded me of the condition you found your poor girls in - same situation.

It made me so sad. I felt so bad for the birds, but there was no way I was getting close to them or any closer to the run and there was no way in he11 I was buying ANY of the chicken stuff they had either - feeders, waterers, carrying pens (and I really NEED a couple of those) - I was scared to death that just looking in their direction was going to transfer some horrid disease or infestation to me that I would bring home to my girls. We got out of there lickity split! Of course, that wasn't before I had a few choice words in general for the deplorable conditions I saw - hubby was all

to me and got me out of there as quick as he could. heh.

 

[Maven]

Nah...shouldn't be an egg thing at that age. Had one hen do this a long time ago....when I picked her up and held her, she went into a seizure and died. No reason, no other birds had any symptoms like it. Just happened for no apparent reason...and that's how it goes sometimes. Sometimes a bird just....goes. I hope she snaps out of it for you.

Thanks again, Bee; I think she is gonna be ok. I'll watch her for a few days and she seems better now just a few hours later. They have an extensive area to free-range and I'm just wondering if she found a mushroom or toadstool or something and took a bite or two that she shouldn't have...

 

[JustFeathers]

oh, this thanks was for Chickiemommy.

Thank you for your response. That is kinda what I thought based on what I could find. Just wanted to be more sure before I purposely through these nice green leafs into the run. We do not have enough green stuff around here right now. Even resort to buying "greens" in the super market so that the chickens can have some in their diets. (they probably eat better than the family on some days) thanks again

 

[Beekissed]

Disclaimer - I AM NOT AN OT chicken person -- I am however an OT botany person ;-)

Leafy vegetation from the solanacea - tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants & peppers - are considered toxic & inedible -- the fruits of these garden plants, as we know are completely edible-- excepting deadly nightshade here - (unless you subscribe to solanacea causes some form of arthritis in some susceptible people theory - I'm withholding judgment but know people who swear by it)

Leafy vegetation from legumes - peas & beans - should be edible. I have heard that the seeds of legumes that are not intended as food - think sweet peas & wisteria -- are toxic to people & should not be ingested. Not personally knowledgeable about seeds of sweet peas fed to birds...

and the observation of the deer in my yard would bear witness to the above -- they will eat my spring pea vines down to the ground , but stay away from the tomato plants. - & if I could find a way to keep them from pruning my fruit trees, without spreading blood meal every time it rains, I would be truly happy.

- again not an OT - but I bet the chickens would figure that out & they would leave the tomato vines alone - but scarf down the bean leaves....

They chaw our tomato plants to the ground!

As did my hair sheep...ate 150 tomato plants like a mule eating persimmons and not a problem one.

We kept the deer away from Mama's roses with the use of moth balls. Great little stinky things.

I agree....let 'em have the beans.

 

[thedragonlady]

Wow! Aren't you lucky to have all that space!!! Great pics and questions....I'll try to answer a few and any other OT that wants to chime in, please do so.

That looks like an old kerosene, or propane brooder hood to me.

 

[thedragonlady]

Disclaimer - I AM NOT AN OT chicken person -- I am however an OT botany person ;-)

Leafy vegetation from the solanacea - tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants & peppers - are considered toxic & inedible -- the fruits of these garden plants, as we know are completely edible-- excepting deadly nightshade here - (unless you subscribe to solanacea causes some form of arthritis in some susceptible people theory - I'm withholding judgment but know people who swear by it)

Leafy vegetation from legumes - peas & beans - should be edible. I have heard that the seeds of legumes that are not intended as food - think sweet peas & wisteria -- are toxic to people & should not be ingested. Not personally knowledgeable about seeds of sweet peas fed to birds...

and the observation of the deer in my yard would bear witness to the above -- they will eat my spring pea vines down to the ground , but stay away from the tomato plants. - & if I could find a way to keep them from pruning my fruit trees, without spreading blood meal every time it rains, I would be truly happy.

- again not an OT - but I bet the chickens would figure that out & they would leave the tomato vines alone - but scarf down the bean leaves....

The answer to your deer problem is a couple of NITE-GUARD solar blinking lights. Just be careful to buy from US sellers if you use Ebay. These ended my deer problem.

 

[chickiemomy]

w/respect to deer - thx for the nite-guard suggestion dragonlady - found it on amazon & will give it a try. concerned the deer may become habituated to it over time - they're not very timid - but maybe it'll spook them long enough to get them redirected to someone else's trees! They're just now coming back through this fall- so will get it set up soon.

the blood meal works -only way I have any raspberry plants at all - garlic capsules sort of worked - so moth balls may work also -- our problem in this area is constant rain - washes everything down - we don't have downpours in the winter - more like constant drizzle. I'm a California girl at heart - but lived here for 40+ years - the damp really sucks, as does the constant winter gloomy gray, early darkness... SADS anyone??? okay you can stop feeling sorry for me now ;-)

we have a big dog who marks the entire yard (but is in at night) & that has had no effect - even tho he chases them off when he's out in the daytime.

 

[Celie]

Anybody?


Here ya go.........





Ghee

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Thanks, this sounds like clarified butter to me? I thought I was reading a thread on how to preserve and extend the shelf life of fresh hen eggs. I guess I misunderstood?

Sorry and thanks for the swift answer. I use chicken fat for cooking soup similar to Jewish motsaball soup.

It has a long shelf life and does not need refrigeration. With the Mineral oil, I clean fresh raw eggs with a little antibiotic soap and dry. Then I coat them with a light coating of food grade mineral oil and store in my refrigeration for up to 5 months.

I have herd of chemical solutions that they can be stored in without refrigeration for up to a year. he cost is rather pricey, but for someone who is apt to be stranded and cannot obtain fresh foods in adverse weather conditions, such as being snowed in, hurricanes, cabins far into the woods or getaway, camps, cabins, lake houses, that one only stays at for a few days every couple of months, or don't have electricity? Most of us here have more chicken

eggs than we need laid on a daily basis, but it is a good thing to know, just in case. How about it folks, what do you think??