Consolidated Kansas

[Patriciaallison]

I love feeding my chickens grass from the yard but am always worried I might feed them something bad. I don't free range yet because they are only 9 weeks old and I had a duck get killed by Idk what.
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[HEChicken]

I love feeding my chickens grass from the yard but am always worried I might feed them something bad. I don't free range yet because they are only 9 weeks old and I had a duck get killed by Idk what.

I honestly don't worry about it. I've found that birds seem to know what they can eat and what they can't instinctively (styrofoam excluded) and if its something they shouldn't eat, they won't. There are a few things mine don't particularly like (raw onions, citrus peels and they're not crazy about celery). I keep a bowl in the kitchen for chicken scraps that I throw out and let them pick through it. Most of it disappears rather quickly. The things I know they won't eat, I put in a separate container to use as compost in the garden, but I have relatives who collect their kitchen scraps for me as well and of course they don't know what to leave out so its all included. Rather than go through their bags of scraps, I just throw it all out there, and what they don't eat dries up and/composts in place so quickly that within days I can't see it, so it doesn't look unsightly.

At 9 weeks, don't be surprised if yours are still quite picky about what they try. Birds raised in a brooder have a natural suspicion about anything that isn't chick crumbles since they don't have a mama to tell them what is good and what isn't. Later, when you have a broody hen raising chicks, she will teach them from day one what is good to eat and you'll find very young chicks running into the fray when you throw out scraps, to try to snag the best treats for themselves.

 

[Chicabeaka]

Thanks. He/she does not have feather feet.

 

[Patriciaallison]

Cool thanks for the info
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[HEChicken]

I decided to look up google images of burdock and Danz, you were right. In fact, after seeing pictures, I'm now thinking that third picture with the broader leaves might actually be burdock. So that made me curious about what the plant is that I've called burdock and from what I can find, it is related - curly dock (even though the leaves are not what I would call curly). So I bet the same thing applies that the root is edible.

Danz, I was also giving some thought to your issue with the area you mentioned that doesn't grow anything but weeds and I'm wondering if you aren't caught in a cycle of tilling and spraying that is preventing the area from becoming fertile. By spraying round-up, you kill the weeds but enough remains in the soil to make it difficult for things that are more susceptible to round-up to grow. The things that are the least susceptible to it eventually regrow, so you are caught in a cycle of spraying and infertility, with nothing but weeds growing there at all.

I truly believe that ANY patch of ground can be "reclaimed" and made fertile, whether it is sandy, clay, weedy or whatever. All it needs is a LOT of organic additions and no more poison. There is a book called "Gardening Without Work" written by a lady called Ruth Stout several decades ago. Although it is quite an old book, most of the advice in it is still relevant today and even better, she is a delightful writer with a great sense of humor so it is an easy read. I thoroughly enjoyed it when I read it years ago. Now, I would say the "without work" part is a bit of a misnomer as I follow her methods and still do a lot of "work". However that is primarily due to the source of organic material she was using compared to me. She didn't raise livestock so she bought in old hay that was delivered to her and all she had to do was spread it on her garden area in a thick layer of mulch. However I don't buy mulch, so have to gather it from the chicken coop, sheep barn and so on. The gathering is definitely work - the spreading is pretty easy.

Her basic principle is: spread a thick layer of mulch - at least 8" - over the entire plot. As it breaks down and decomposes, it adds nutrients and fertility to the ground below. And, the thick layer prevents weed seeds from germinating so you will not have to pull weeds. By laying out garden beds and walkways between, you can avoid walking on the garden beds so the soil does not get compacted and therefore does not need to be tilled. I was actually using her methods (or similar) before I ever even heard of her book so while reading it I was just saying "yes, yes, yes" to myself the whole time. It really does work. We had heavy clay here but every year the soil I am planting in is richer, more fertile and easier to work by hand. We don't till but just keep adding mulch as the layer breaks down and gets thin. I didn't weed at all last year. Oh sure, a few things will occasionally try to grow through the mulch but I just pull the individual weeds (which is easy because the soil is so loose and friable) and then throw them on top of the mulch so they become part of it. I also didn't water last year. The mulch layer retains moisture well enough that it wasn't necessary. Planting is pretty easy - pull back the mulch, sow the seeds, and once they've germinated, snug the mulch back around the stems of the seedlings so they don't dry out too much.

What I would do in that patch you have if it were mine is to stop tilling and using poison, and instead pull the weeds you have (yes, it takes time initially but is more effective in the long run). Then I'd cover the area with 8" or more of mulch and leave it to sit until next year. You'd have to keep adding mulch as the initial layer breaks down, trying to keep it at 8" or more at all times. By next year you'd be able to plant into that spot with very few weed issues. Continue to pull any weeds that do try to come up and there really will be fewer and fewer over time.

 

[Patriciaallison]

You and me both on the rain. I feel like it's never going to stop raining! I can't get my garden work done, it's driving me insane! My goose is loving it though and so are the pigs. I walked into my duck run this morning and one of my Swedish blues was having a great time bathing in rain runoff. I've been kicking myself for not fixing the roof on my coop on the few days of sun we had but seeing my ducks have such a great time in the puddles made me feel better. I was slipping and sliding all over the mud when I went to feed my birds, I guess it was a free amusement ride for me. My 7 year old was whining about his boots having no traction lol (as if I could help, I was sliding worse than him) my floors are a mess I have old wood floors that I cannot keep clean with 7 kids and let me tell you it's so much worse in this nasty rain! I am really starting to wonder why I moved to the land of mud and wet! not to mention the stupid CATS! I can't keep the cats out of the house! I am running around chasing cats like a complete crazy woman even my kids are starting to talk behind my back! Need I go on about this weather!

On a good note I have not had to water the few plants I got in the garden!

One Crazy Woman
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[chicken danz]

I love feeding my chickens grass from the yard but am always worried I might feed them something bad. I don't free range yet because they are only 9 weeks old and I had a duck get killed by Idk what.
P

I honestly don't worry about it. I've found that birds seem to know what they can eat and what they can't instinctively (styrofoam excluded) and if its something they shouldn't eat, they won't.

LOL don't you know it. Why is it that styrofoam is so enticing. On that note onions and citrus are both toxic to birds. That is why they don't eat them. However they don't seem to mind onions that are cooked and combined with other food.
Originally Posted by HEChicken
I haven't tilled this area in over 5 years. I don't think you understand the size of it either. Last year it never got sprayed because I didn't spray any thing last year. This lot is a large area and it was a cow lot for years. The soil certainly has all the composted material it needs.
It would take more straw than I could buy in a year to cover it. It is virtually dead ground. The first three years I was here my farmer planted it and never got any kind of crop from it. It had never been planted before. I've tried different things here and there to see if it will grow and nothing has grown except for the johnson grass and the other particular weeds I mentioned. I can't unfortunately leave the Johnson grass as it is a noxious weed and if I don't spray it the county will charge me exponentially for doing it.
@Patriciaallison I had to laugh you sound so much like me. I need clear skies and sunshine to have a decent attitude. This rain just quadruples the time it takes to get my work done.
I tried to pull some weeds but the rain has them going crazy. I wore out in no time.

 

[Patriciaallison]

YOU HAD TO SAY WEEDS! Lmao I went out to pull weeds and they have taken over. They are as high as my corn! I'm so mad. I even tried to bribe my rotten children into pulling them. we went out and I could not tell them what was weeds and what was food! I guess we will eat weeds this first year! And my stinking pigs decided to eat my broccoli. I let them free range and the little sneaks found a way in. ( I don't really have rotten kids maybe half rotten ) if those pigs eat any more of my garden I'll be eating bacon sooner rather than later. the goose is so mad at me because I won't let him and the ducks out. He screams the whole time I'm outside! He is so ungrateful he has a huge run its as long as a semi bed and twice as wide and all he shares it with are five small ducks. I am feeling better though the sun was out today. At least I was better until a strange chocolate lab showed up and the kids decided to feed him. I hope he goes home the silly thing even came inside and tried to sleep in my room. I already warned him not to mess with my birds or he will have a BB in his butt. My pittmix and my pug are very well behaved and I won't tolerate any nonsense from a stray. I hope I don't sound to heartless.
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[HEChicken]

I'm guessing most of you experienced a storm similar to the one that rolled in to our area last night. We lost power for awhile and all told, got 3" of rain. Since the ground was already completely saturated, that means puddles, puddles everywhere this morning. Our pond has been upgraded to a lake and now takes up a much larger percentage of our property than it did before. The chicken yard is essentially under water. No birds lost but there aren't many places for them to hang out where their feet aren't under water. I had to move one hen with her chick from a pen that was under water to a smaller pen that is elevated on a pallet - just to give her a place to sit to keep her chick warm where she isn't sitting in water.

Miserable. And it is forecast to be 88 today so it is going to be a swamp out there in a few hours. With more storms in the forecast.

On a lighter note, my little cairn, Dizzy, has adopted a chick. Trish, it is the little leghorn I got from you that was raised with the SS by a broody hen. I don't know what it is about this chick that has him so fascinated but he follows her around everywhere. When she stops to eat, he lies down, wagging his tail and when she's on the move again, he follows - at a distance of about 6' so she doesn't freak out, but just to keep an eye on her. I think it is because the night I was teaching them how to go and sleep in the main coop, she ran out the chicken door and tried to go back to her pen. Dizzy seemed to understand that she was supposed to stay in the coop and followed her attempt to go back to her old pen, where I grabbed her and put her back in the coop. Then the two of us sat and guarded the chicken door to make sure she didn't exit again. I praised him for being on top of the situation, so now he seems to feel she is his "project" and he must keep an eye on her. Last night he "put her to bed" by following her all the way into the coop. I manually closed the chicken door, not knowing he was in there, then decided to open the people door and make sure those two were sleeping on the roost rather than the floor. Imagine my surprise on opening the people door, to find Dizzy in the coop, sitting on the floor and looking up at the roost where the little chick was sitting with her sister.

 

[chicken danz]

YOU HAD TO SAY WEEDS! Lmao I went out to pull weeds and they have taken over. They are as high as my corn! I'm so mad. I even tried to bribe my rotten children into pulling them. we went out and I could not tell them what was weeds and what was food! I guess we will eat weeds this first year! And my stinking pigs decided to eat my broccoli. I let them free range and the little sneaks found a way in. ( I don't really have rotten kids maybe half rotten ) if those pigs eat any more of my garden I'll be eating bacon sooner rather than later. the goose is so mad at me because I won't let him and the ducks out. He screams the whole time I'm outside! He is so ungrateful he has a huge run its as long as a semi bed and twice as wide and all he shares it with are five small ducks. I am feeling better though the sun was out today. At least I was better until a strange chocolate lab showed up and the kids decided to feed him. I hope he goes home the silly thing even came inside and tried to sleep in my room. I already warned him not to mess with my birds or he will have a BB in his butt. My pittmix and my pug are very well behaved and I won't tolerate any nonsense from a stray. I hope I don't sound to heartless.
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I tried running the little mini tiller in the garden after I wore out pulling but ran out of gas. To my horror the gas can was sitting there with the cap off and it had gotten water in it. Of course DH blames it on the geese cause he blames every thing on the geese. It could have very well been he who left the cap off. Not that I have seen him use the tiller in a couple years!
Originally Posted by HEChicken
Yep we had a terrible storm last night. I am putting off wading into the yard. I'm afraid I'm going to find a ton of dead chicks out there....not to mention several hundred pounds of wet feed. Those young chicks I had moved out because I suspected them to be cockerels aren't used to things yet and probably wouldn't figure out to go up into the raised house they have. Regardless of not wanting to feed them out if they were boys, I still hate to have things die. It's so heart breaking. I had hopes of selling them for someone else to feed for meat for a prayer. Also a couple of my hoop coops are probably sitting in water due to the force of the wind and rain. It was raining sideways. I had left a couple of North windows open that I didn't even think about cause I thought the storms would be coming from the SW. However when I woke in the middle of the night It was hitting the north bedroom windows hard. I guess I'll find out when I venture out there. I had also left the north windows and door open in the building so that means another potential mess. I HATE RAINY WEATHER!
I had also discovered a broody goose sitting on a pile of eggs yesterday. I'm afraid since she had no cover that she deserted her eggs. I've only gotten one goose egg all week so they were valuable.
I wish I had my electric fence in and operating. I would fence off the East lot and let them graze it down while the grass in their pen recovers. Just one more undone project around here.
Yesterday I had three ducklings hatch in one of the incubators. I couldn't figure it out. I hadn't set any white duck eggs at all and especially small ones. I couldn't figure out where on earth they came from. After several hours of racking my brain I remembered that I had raided the geese nests and found those eggs developing under geese so I plunked them in the incubator. I haven't advertised ducks at all but have hatched several, and have a bunch of broody girls right now. I've sold a few here and there to people who have come for other things. But it looks like I'm going to be butchering some more later this summer. I love eating duck but normally fix it when family is coming instead of just us. I don't pen the duck so the owls claim several young ones each year. Maybe they'll have a heart and leave me a few.