Coronavirus, Covid 19 Discussion and How It Has Affected Your Daily Life Chat Thread

[IamRainey]

My hens haven't been laying for just about forEVER. 10 mature hens and I've been getting 3 or 4 eggs a week. Today I thought I'd give the pine bedding a good turning over in the coop and I found 28 eggs in a nest they'd made just to the side of the empty nesting boxes where I couldn't see them.

Thank goodness it's been cold and I trust that they're safe.

LOTS of homemade mayo and soufflés in our future!

 

[MROO]

Totally off subject here... but remember our ginger discussions? The organic stuff I planted and it grew well?? Well I had to bring the pots in for the winter and most went dormant so I dug in the dirt the other day in two of the pots and discovered the ginger more than doubled, maybe even tripled!

...and I know the rest if you are like what's snappy talking about??
After googling how to grow ginger in pots, I bought some plain organic ginger from a local upscale grocery store last Jan or Feb, planted it, and was rewarded with nice tall plants that almost bloomed (ginger takes forever to bloom!) and now I have plenty of ginger growing to cook with and will never need to buy ginger again.

Fresh ginger is freezable, or I can just break off a nub from the main plant whenever I need some. Ginger grows well in pots and can be brought inside for the winter.
Easy, and peasy.

I have some leftover ginger trying REALLY hard to grow. What type of soil do you use and what are the planting/starter instructions, please?

 

[MROO]

It aint me! It's snappy. I've never grown ginger. :O

Sounds like you may need to remedy that situation!

 

[IamRainey]

I need to lean down my flock too.

My original plan was starting with 3 and growing to about 6. But one of that second order turned out to be a roo (he was gorgeous but nasty) so I got up to a high of 12.

I'm down to 11 (lost one of my oldest hens a couple weeks ago; a lovely cream legbar we'll miss) and my present homegrown rooster is aggressive so he's got to go at some point when I can't deal with him anymore (I only go into the chicken yard armed with one of my husband's putters). Then I'll let the flock find its own way down to 6-8 hens. I think they'll be happiest that way and I should still get plenty of eggs.

I compensate for the population density by letting them out of the run into a good sized chicken yard every day. I'm happy to say we've never experienced any bullying (beyond integration of new chicks) or bloodying. But I think 6-8 will still be the ideal population for us. ...and, importantly, for them.

 

[aart]

I'm managing, for the moment, but only becasue I have a secret ...

I think my Zelda is going broody ... oh ... gosh ... darn ... NOT!

Are broodies part of the ban?

 

[MROO]

I've got 21, for now. Two bantam EE cockerels need to go and at least three Nankin roosters. If I can find someone willing to breed, I could let hens go with two of those Nanny boys, but I'd really rather hang onto them. It's so hard getting nice hens and there just aren't enough breeders ... guess that's what I get for taking on a critically endangered breed, right? sigh!

 

[MROO]

Are broodies part of the ban?

Nope! These are critically endangered Nankins. My kids know from past experience that I will NOT break a broody Nankin. The mixes, sure, but not a Nankin. Those babies are too genetically valuable!
That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

 

[docteurshepherd]

Consider yourself officially "jumped on," but not for voicing a controversy, ... for a hug! We're all in the same boat, here - confused by the naysayers and doing our best to keep ourselves and others safe.

Thank you so much!!
You guys are so nice here I love it.

 

[electrycmonk]

It aint me! It's snappy. I've never grown ginger. :O

/facepalm... sorry yall!

 

[docteurshepherd]

My hens haven't been laying for just about forEVER. 10 mature hens and I've been getting 3 or 4 eggs a week. Today I thought I'd give the pine bedding a good turning over in the coop and I found 28 eggs in a nest they'd made just to the side of the empty nesting boxes where I couldn't see them.

Thank goodness it's been cold and I trust that they're safe.

LOTS of homemade mayo and soufflés in our future!

Oh no not mayo.. I could go a lifetime without hearing that word again lol.

Spoiler: talk of throwing up

A couple weeks ago I ignorantly ate a sandwich with some mayo in the fridge. It looked like it'd been in there awhile, checked for an expiration date but didn't see one, I guess I was feeling risky. The next day, I won't go into detail but lets say I was beginning to feel regretful of my actions the day before.. the day after, I wake up and my stomach is immediately saying please, why did you do this to me? I go to the toilet, and while I'm on the toilet no less, it hits me. I grab the trashcan and hurl. I ended up hurling seven more times over the course of the night and the next day. I even started running a fever in the middle of the night, and yes I researched, you can get a fever from that bad of food poisoning. Then I was completely fine. All this is to say is I do not want to hear about mayo, I do not want to see mayo, I do not want to think about mayo.