Consolidated Kansas

[Ghostnuke]

@chicken danz - It's my Buff Orpington, I'm pretty sure... First my Wyandotte and now this, all my prettiest birds are leaving me!

 

[chicken danz]

@Ghostnuke take a picture of the feathers just before his tail. We should be able to tell for sure if you get a clear picture.

 

[chicken danz]

Lots of rain this week but not a drop here. Grrr. We really really need it. Of course it will come at the worst possible time. I actually am cold. At 72 degrees out this AM I felt chilled.

 

[lizzyGSR]

Those of you who have great Pyrenees dogs... What is the weirdest thing you have ever caught your dog chewing on?

I was just sitting here at my computer desk, finishing up my shopping list for tomorrow, and I happened to see my GP, Jaz, chewing on something. Upon closer inspection, it was the potted raspberry plant that we just bought from the nursery a couple days ago and haven't yet had a chance to plant. She didn't seem to mind the thorns. Of course, her chewing resulted in breaking the main stem of the plant not too far above the soil. I like plants, but don't happen to have any rooting hormone, so I got online and looked up some DIY methods. Apparently, Apple Cider Vinegar is a popular option for homemade rooting hormone. I mixed some up and dipped the unintentional raspberry cuttings into it. I suppose we'll see how they do. Here's to hoping the original plant AND all the cuttings survive.

 

[Trish44]

@lizzyGSR I can empathize with you. My Jasmine & Lily have been really making me angry lately. I haven't done much on the landscaping for about 3 years because of my knee replacement & other things but finally have been trying to lately. I found a spirea bush I was so excited about because I have had this particular variety by my garage for years & it's such a nice bush & the chickens love it because it dips down to the ground on one side. They get under there on really hot days & it provides them some nice cover & shade. It's kind of unusual to find this one variety & I hadn't seen any in years so I just was elated to find one. Well I planted it in front of the house where the goats had wiped out all of my bushes a few years ago. I came back from a day of errands & shopping to find that bush all dug up & not only dug up but shredded so there was nothing left but one little stem coming up out of the roots. I yelled at Lily, who I knew was the one that did it because she was laying in the spot where it had been & she ran off down the yard. I replanted what was left of it only to come back later to find it all dug up & the roots were just obliterated this time, grrrrr. So I went yesterday & found another one that is a bit bigger along with some other bushes & I planted them all yesterday evening & put some hefty rocks around each. If she digs these up it will take some major effort. Then if that was not all enough Jas went over to my herb garden that I had hauled two loads of compost up the hill for & dug up every herb I had planted & dug a hole in there. I was so angry that I threw my plastic bucket at her & she took off up the hill. I replanted what was left & filled the hole to come back the next day to it all done again, double grrrr. So when I have time today I have to go haul more compost up & I'm going to put chicken wire over the soil that is there & cut small holes to plant the plants through then cover the wire with more compost material. We'll see how she likes finding chicken wire under there. I give these dogs places where they can dig holes to cool off & even wet the areas down for them at times plus there is a duck pool they could get in, but they still do this stuff where I don't want them digging. Between them & the chickens digging I about give up on having anything any more. I used to have really beautiful flower beds until I got chickens again & now I can't grow anything but the few things they won't touch. Oh & I forgot to mention the male Anatolian/GP. He is confined with the goats & sheep & every day I have to fill holes right by the gate where I have to go in & out to keep from falling & the sheep & goats from breaking a leg. He doesn't just dig a small hole, no it's at least 12 inches deep.

 

[chicken danz]

Pyrenees love to dig in the dirt and lay there to cool off. It's part of their make up. So if you take the time to dig up some dirt they are going to be attracted to it simply because it is already loose and easy to dig.
Mine also are great mole and mouse hunters and will dig a big hole in the ground when they hear one.
But I don't think anything is forbidden to a pyr to chew on for the first couple years of their life especially. My smallest one is professional at grabbing any tool she can reach and taking off with it. Yesterday she took my battery operated impact tool. Those things are heavy.

 

[Trish44]

My females are 6 now but when they were young they used to grab gloves or anything you happened to sit down anywhere & run off with it. They would even take garden tools off the front porch bench & take them out in the yard. Well the aggravating thing is they have most of 10 acres to dig in & choose to dig in my herb garden or dig up bushes I just planted. They have plenty of places they could dig & not get in any trouble.

 

[lizzyGSR]

Oh goodness! All these stories of Pyrs digging up freshly planted plants makes me want to run and go check ours! We've put in 3 new fruit trees, a raspberry bush, and a grape vine recently! Plus, we have one more tree we are waiting to put in until we can get an old mulberry tree cut down. So far, Jas hasn't dug up any of my plants, but she has run off with potted plants! The jury is still out on weather my raspberry clippings will live or not. It looks like there might be new growth on one of them, but I'm not sure if that was there originally or not.

Danz - I really like the birds I got from you. The rooster doesn't seem real fond of being handled, but if he sees me out in the yard doing something, he will call the girls over to me, hoping for a treat. He's a sweety even though he doesn't want to admit it!

 

[chicken danz]

Yeah the breeders weren't handled much and the boys always seem a little more cautious. I make it a habit to put just a ring of short fence wire around newly planted trees or bushes. I planted some flowers by my duck pond recently and Yeti decided it was a nice cool place to dig a hole to lay in. Can't say I blame them much as hot as it has been

 

[Trish44]

I put 2x4 fence around the 3 bushes I planted over next to my main coop. I just kind of made a hoop over it & then yesterday had to close in the ends because the hens were going in there & scratching around. I need to give these bushes a chance to get going. They were clearance plants so they need some extra TLC anyway.

I finally got the herb garden done after 5 wheelbarrow loads of compost to cover the chicken wire underneath there. That doesn't include the two loads underneath that before I had to put the wire down, ugh. I was about to die by the time I got that all hauled up the hill & in where I wanted it. Then I planted the herbs I wanted in there & I still need a few more to add in there. I had to warn Jas a couple of times yesterday to stay away from there & Lily as well. I have let Lily lay up by the house since I put big rocks around my bushes but only if she behaves herself. If she starts moving rocks around she's in big trouble. The thing is we have a lot of shaded areas these dogs can lay in to stay cool so that's why it makes me so angry that they choose to dig in the few places I don't want them to.