Consolidated Kansas

[sharol]

Ok that's too bad.

About the hen...
Sorry I said that in a confusing way. I didn't give her any eggs. I meant that if hens are broody, don't they sit in the nesting box all of the time besides a small break? She doesn't puff up and growl or anything of that sort when I enter the coop

A year ago I had a hen doing that. It turned out she was egg bound and trying to lay an egg that wouldn't lay. I lost her, and when I did a necropsy, she was full of yellow puss, so I'm guessing it wasn't the first time it had happened. She was our favorite hen, and it was a real blow.

You might feel around (gently) below her vent and see if you can feel anything in there. There are lots of threads on what to do for egg bound hens. I've not ever gotten any of them to work, but others have.

 

[HEChicken]

So all these lower temperature forecast for the area this week and all the rain. We haven't had a day with the high lower than 94

Ditto here....I don't know who is getting all the low temps and rain but it hasn't been us. Today they are saying a high of 86 or so and it is at least cloudy rather than sunny so fingers crossed.....

Ok good. If hens are broody don't they stay on the eggs all of the time though? She's hardly ever on them.

I'm confused as well! In your original post I thought you said the problem was that she was sitting in the nest box all the time.....that is what made me think "broody". They don't have to have eggs to sit on - a broody bird will sit on air

You have a soft heart. I would have tried too, but then what do you do with the babies after they hatch with no one to teach them to fend for themselves?

I would just raise them in a brooder then turn them out with my flock. If they stay, they stay. If they decide to fly off and be wild birds, I'd wish them well, happy to know I gave them a start when they otherwise would have died.

My garden is actually doing quite well. I haven't had to water yet as the rains have come at good intervals and the mulch keeps the soil underneath moist enough in between rains that everything seems to be doing fine without supplemental watering. I'm harvesting a few tomatoes every day - not enough to make salsa yet, but enough to enjoy them on crackers with cheese, or in salads. Last night I made a Kale salad that was really good. I added a few ingredients that we didn't grow - like cranberries, lemon juice, olive oil - but the bulk of it came fresh out of the garden - kale, tomatoes, shallots. And of course, there was feta crumbled over it as well. I'm growing 3 varieties of corn - two heirloom and one hybrid. Only one of the hybrids is old enough to form ears (the rest in that row didn't come up so I replanted and they're a little behind) but it has 4 ears on it! I've never seen 4 ears on a single plant before. The heirlooms are now taller than me and forming lots of ears as well. I am growing peas at the base of the corn to grow up the stalks for support but so far they are growing slowly - I'm concerned they're getting too much shade from the thick growth of the corn. The peppers are really enjoying the heat and have suddenly taken off and are now forming peppers on the plants as well.

 

[chicken danz]

Ok that's too bad.

About the hen...
Sorry I said that in a confusing way. I didn't give her any eggs. I meant that if hens are broody, don't they sit in the nesting box all of the time besides a small break? She doesn't puff up and growl or anything of that sort when I enter the coop

Not all do. Have you put your hand in the nest box?
@sharol you simply raise them and eat them. You can't legally breed them without a license, but you can eat them. Or as HEChicken said release them.
My garden has done fairly well in spite of the dry period. I have been picking tomatoes regularly as well but I've also been eating a ton of them. I just can't seem to get enough of them. They are so good. I've been grabbing a few of the little ones during the day and eating them in the garden while I was out working. Then eating the larger ones with dinner.
@HEChicken , isn't it too hot to grow peas? I have always understood them to be a cool weather crop only. I may be wrong. My lettuce bolted as soon as it got hot but it's still out there. I am thinking I might just pick some off now and then and give it to the birds. I didn't bother mulching it. I may try a late season crop. I've thought of planting more green beans but need to get the other garden ready first. I still have a few radishes to harvest and more weeds to pull. They never seemed to produce well in that garden but beans have done so well this year I figure it would be worthwhile to plant more. My other option would be to plant in between the existing rows I have which means I can't mulch them.

 

[HEChicken]

@HEChicken , isn't it too hot to grow peas? I have always understood them to be a cool weather crop only. I may be wrong.

No, I think you're right. However, I couldn't plant them early because I was wanting to use the corn stalks for them to grow up, like the Native Americans supposedly did using the Three Sisters method. That would save me having to put in more trellises. But it also meant I had to delay planting the peas until the corn had reached 4" in height (according to what I read) in order for them to have something to grow up. So far the peas are still looking green and they are starting to climb the corn (I now think I could have planted the peas sooner though) but they are not growing near as fast as I thought they would. So it may be that the corn is providing enough shade and the mulch keeps the ground cool enough for the peas - but the fact they are in shade almost all the time and not getting any sun, may be the reason they're not growing very fast. Time will tell. It was an experiment and if it doesn't work I'm not out much because I'm still getting corn out of that space.

Chicklover, not all hens puff up and growl. I have one hen who will start screeching the second I open the coop door and doesn't quit until I leave. But most of the others ignore me. A few will peck at me when I reach under them to collect eggs but most of them are even so used to that that they don't bother any more. And its so hot at the moment that I don't think they have the energy to bother puffing up either

 

[sharol]

No, I think you're right. However, I couldn't plant them early because I was wanting to use the corn stalks for them to grow up, like the Native Americans supposedly did using the Three Sisters method. That would save me having to put in more trellises. But it also meant I had to delay planting the peas until the corn had reached 4" in height (according to what I read) in order for them to have something to grow up. So far the peas are still looking green and they are starting to climb the corn (I now think I could have planted the peas sooner though) but they are not growing near as fast as I thought they would. So it may be that the corn is providing enough shade and the mulch keeps the ground cool enough for the peas - but the fact they are in shade almost all the time and not getting any sun, may be the reason they're not growing very fast. Time will tell. It was an experiment and if it doesn't work I'm not out much because I'm still getting corn out of that space.

Chicklover, not all hens puff up and growl. I have one hen who will start screeching the second I open the coop door and doesn't quit until I leave. But most of the others ignore me. A few will peck at me when I reach under them to collect eggs but most of them are even so used to that that they don't bother any more. And its so hot at the moment that I don't think they have the energy to bother puffing up either

I think the 3 sisters were beans rather than peas, though. Beans squash and corn.

Even the early peas didn't do much this year. We got some, but they weren't as good as usual. Too wet then too hot and too dry.

 

[HEChicken]

I think the 3 sisters were beans rather than peas, though. Beans squash and corn.

You are correct. I am actually not doing the 3 sisters per se - just basing my idea of growing the peas up the stalks on that method. I've been saying peas all along but in reality I'm growing a variety of peas and climbing beans. Its all an experiment and it may turn out I can't grow the peas this way. However I have some open space where I already have trellises so if the peas (and beans) don't do very well over the summer, I may try planting a few more for fall under the trellises and see if they do any better. And if not....there's always next year

 

[chicken danz]

Yep that is what I had read as well but I thought maybe you had read some other plans. I don't plant pole beans either, but plant bush beans so that wouldn't work for me either.
I decided many years ago that peas were too much work for what I got. I just buy frozen peas when they are on sale. Corn takes way too much room and around here it is always wormy so I just don't plant it. If I want some I pick it up when I can find it cheap at a farmers market or someplace. We used to plant huge amounts and it was always an awful lot of real estate and work for little yield. I was trying to get into a coop of sorts this year where people share gardening goods but unfortunately most of us planted the same things.

 

[Trish44]

When I had a bigger garden I tried to grow corn but my garden wasn't fenced so every time we got any corn the deer would eat it just about the time it was close to ready, grrrr. I don't have a big enough place now to grow it & can't take care of a big garden now with my arthritis & total knee so I'm just using a small place closer to the house that is just big enough for a few tomato plants & a couple of banana peppers. I have my VegTrug too which worked really well for lettuce this year. I didn't get it planted as early as I should have due to my surgery & not getting it put together till later waiting on help. Next spring I will get things planted earlier & maybe get a couple more things put in there. The bug screen really worked great & kept the bugs off of the lettuce & the chickens out of it, so I was really pleased about that. I have a greenhouse cover that you can use to extend the season but probably won't use it this year due to a vacation coming up later on. I wouldn't really mind having another VegTrug but I would have to figure out where I could put it. I had a spot figured out for the one I have now but I'm not sure where I would put another one with how things are so hilly here & where it could get sun. We have a lot of trees here & some spots would be too shady.

We're getting more rain now, it was pouring a bit ago. I think it's supposed to rain all weekend. I wish it would just spread out more & not rain so much at once, it just makes a huge mess that way.

 

[Ralph Moyer]

I was reading the "milk comments" and as I have raised Nubian goats for over 45 years, I have had good and bad experiences with the milk. First with the bad. As most of this product is nutritious , it will pack the weight on and is not recommended for cardiac patents Also a goat will eat a rosebush before they will eat alfalfa, and they like alfalfa hay!
The good, I started raising goats due to the fact that I had stomach ulcers. One of my brothers did also. He had surgery, mine was cured by the goat milk. My son had a milk allergy when he was a baby. His doctor advised us to give him goat's milk. He said that cow's milk wasn't fit for anything but baby calves.(I found this not to be true, as I. once had a baby calf with advanced stage of Sowers, and was so dehydrated, that it's skin was like dried leather. I had been giving it electrolytes that the veterinarian gave me, but it was at the stage of just barely breathing. I tube fed it a half goat milk and half water. It started to get better, and within three days, the only way I could tell it from the other calves, was that it's nose had blisters from the high fever.) I also had a co-worker that had bad hay fever . He wanted to try goat's milk from goats that browsed on ragweed. It did work, and I sold him a goat.

 

[HEChicken]

Yep that is what I had read as well but I thought maybe you had read some other plans. I don't plant pole beans either, but plant bush beans so that wouldn't work for me either.
I decided many years ago that peas were too much work for what I got. I just buy frozen peas when they are on sale. Corn takes way too much room and around here it is always wormy so I just don't plant it. If I want some I pick it up when I can find it cheap at a farmers market or someplace. We used to plant huge amounts and it was always an awful lot of real estate and work for little yield. I was trying to get into a coop of sorts this year where people share gardening goods but unfortunately most of us planted the same things.

So funny - you are the only other person I've ever met who doesn't grow corn due to lack of real estate. The first year I gardened, I grew corn because....that's what gardeners do right? But that was exactly my perception of it. Wait a minute....I spent all that time with the corn taking up all that space for what? 2 ears of corn? And even though the corn was good, about the time I was picking it, they were selling it for 5c an ear at Dillons!

So - I haven't grown it since - until this year.

Okay....moment of truth....all this time I've been saying corn and peas and beans because its what's easy. But - since some of you are into "fancy" breeds of chicken, you'll probably understand this more than most. I love experimenting with "fancy" breeds of vegetables. So - none of what I'm growing is your typical "sweet corn" "garden peas" or "green beans". To be honest, I hate green beans and though I love peas, I agree - they are a lot of work and I can buy a bag of frozen peas at the store quite easily. And, like I said, about the time sweet corn is ready to harvest, its dirt cheap at the store.

Nope - what I am growing are the things that you can't just go to the store and buy. I have two patches of corn, one of which is Black Aztec and the other is Glass Gem. The beans are Chinese Yard-Long beans and the peas are Asparagus Peas and Purple-Podded Peas. All of it is just for fun and to see what happens. Some of it is that I like to experiment with exotic things.

My chickens are ordinary barnyard mix, barred rock or New Hampshire Reds but my veggies are exotics