Dreaming of Spring Gardening in the Middle of a Wisconsin winter part 2

[WIchickMama]

Barb, lots of long distance hugs and will be thinking of you today. Those anniversaries can be so hard. Glad the tree falling went well and a new run is just around the corner.

I started raspberries this year with 8 plants, which has grown into about 16-20 and all have berries right now. I am getting the ones on Friday from the same person I got my first transplants. She sells them for $6.

I put fresh peat moss out in the dust bathe area of the run yesterday afternoon, I am pretty sure all 12 chickens had a bath yesterday! Lol

I need to figure out how to get another coop built with the help if the hubby. He had said no more until we move, which could be 1 year or it could be 10! I have an itch for a bantam flock or a small standard flock with a couple ducks. I wonder if he will let me section off part of the part, cut a pop up door and just add a run?

Next week's weather looks really nice here mid to upper 60s and no freezing temps. I will take it. I always hope the nice weather lasts until Halloween because I don't want to take the kids trick o treating in the snow or freezing weather.

Need to cook up/can or bake with some ground cherries we have. Maybe muffins?

Hope everyone has a good day.

 

[WIchickMama]

I got my first sick hen--had the ladies for 1.5 years so I consider myself lucky. Just got in from chores and she just wanted to lay on the coop floor. She did finally go out and ate maybe one bite and is now laying in a corner of the run. I checked her for lice and mites (it was still dark so with a headlight) and nothing-beautiful fluffy feathers. Last night she was on the coop floor at lock up time and I just thought she couldn't get up the ladder and to her favorite spot because with the new chicks now there is a tad more commotion at roost time. I checked her for injuries and find nothing. No eye or nose discharge or wheezing. I don't know if she has laid or not in the last few days as the ladies are slowing down and she is one of 3 Brahmas that don't lay daily but more like every other or 3 days. Guess I will put her in a dog kennel in the garage for a bit and give her some egg and electrolytes and see if she perks up. Maybe eggbound? I guess some calcium can't hurt, right?

Diagnosing these little buggers is hard! and who knows, it could just be her time-I get that too but she isn't horribly old.

 

[jvls1942]

thanks, my surgery went very well. the only pain involved
was when they stuck the needle into my ear to numb it.
the procedure was, take the spot out and test it. the
lab takes about an hour. then if she didn't get the roots,
take another piece and test it. after the second round,
I was finished. Now I have a huge bandage on my ear.
after Saturday I can take it off and use bandaids for a week or so.
No, no notch. no stitches either.
glad the tree came down well. we have a six trunked
maple right next to our deck. I would like to have it removed.
the combined trunk is about four feet in diameter. one of the
trunks is leaning toward the house. that makes me nervous.
I would have to hire someone to take it down. probably
will need a bucket truck. I would save the logs and have
them sawed into lumber

 

[Callender Girl]

How's your girl doing, Anjanet?

Glad surgery went well, Jim.

Most of the run got built yesterday -- all but the door. By reusing a lot of old-style hardware cloth (much stronger and with a fancy edging) I'd snagged at auctions, we avoided another trip to Menards and more expense. The design is more elaborate than I would have come up with; Tom likes building stuff and arrived with a detailed sketch in hand and some pre-cut lumber, leftover from a deck project.

Yesterday went really well, and we were busy all day. I was able to focus on the build and not on Jim's passing. Most of the time.

 

[WIchickMama]

She was up on the roost last night but a little lazy yesterday. I gave her a dose of antibiotics and checked over again in the daylight and all looks well (they all do, I checked them all). I will likely dose her again today and tomorrow. I dont think she laid yesterday so I will be on the watch for that.

Great progress on the run Barb, so nice to have help. How many chickens do you have?

Jim, hope you were able to rest yesterday and just enjoy a day of the amazing weather!

Today I will be grabbing groceries for my in-laws who are homebound, setting the raspberries and transplanting them, cleaning for guests and then spending the rest of the day outside since it is going to be in the 70s. I am excited for the warm weekend weather.

 

[Callender Girl]

Hope your hen continues to get better, Anjanet. How's she doing today? I share your enthusiasm for the warm weather; I am never ready for the cold stuff. Did you get all the raspberries in the ground?

I never remember how many chickens I have; I just tick off how many per coop since there's only two to four in each structure. Turns out, I have 23 outdoors and my lone house chicken, Dottie. There's also seven runner ducks and a pair of American Buff geese -- all outdoors, thankfully.

We finished the run yesterday. I was basking in the warm glow of a finished project when I looked up and noticed the rain gutter on the east side of the house was swinging back and forth. At least three brackets have come loose. I had been thinking it was time to get the gutters cleaned. So I called the young guy who's worked here before. He's coming out this morning to clean and reattach gutters. His family runs a siding company, and cleaning gutters is his side hustle. He has access to all the hardware he needs to make repairs.

While I had two people to hold goats, I trimmed hooves yesterday. All went well -- until I hit the quick on one of Bandit's hooves. When will I learn to have the blood-stop powder and bandaging stuff with me BEFORE I start trimming? Tom used to work on his uncle's South Dakota cattle ranch and has a real knack for safely and gently holding unhappy horned critters. Renee was the "goat whisperer" stroking their faces and talking sweetly to them. Clearly, that made me the bad guy. But all was forgiven when I handed out goat treats.

What's everybody up to this weekend?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

We have third cutting on the ground with the hopes to bale it today. Tomorrow we will make a run to Fleet Farm and Menards.

 

[Callender Girl]

Did you get anything fun at Fleet Farm and Menards, Lisa? And, how did the baling go?

Anjanet, is your hen still making progress?

The nice young fellow who cleans gutters came out yesterday, cleaned those and reattached the loose one. He tossed in the repair for free!

At Menards, an employee asked if I needed help when I was loading picket boards. I said, no, but that I wouldn't mind help with the 28 12-inch square pavers I needed next. He took off on a loader, speeding away in the opposite direction.

As I was driving the truck to get to the pavers, he passed me, and by the time I got there, he already had a pallet of pavers on the loader. He then helped me put 28 in the truck bed.

It was a good day! Hope everyone else had one, too!

 

[WIchickMama]

Barb, sounds like you ran into some nice people in the world. Nice to see once and awhile.

Yes Lisa, did you buy anything fun? I always find something extra at Fleet Farm.

Jim, how's the weekend going?

Thank you for asking about my hen, now that I have watched her for a couple days....she is not sick, she is broody! Ha and ugh. I wouldn't have thought at the end of Sept. She started on the floor on day 1 but once I got her out and eating she needed up in a nesting box and hasn't left for 2 days. I didn't have any eggs to give her so I gave her two rocks (weird I know) and she tucked them in. She is a Brahma, nice big lady now do I set a few eggs or not? I could try and break her but I try and do everything as natural as possible and let them be chickens. So maybe I give eggs maybe not? Thoughts? I have room, it is going into winter that I worry about.

Took the kids to an apple orchard yesterday, it was so nice out! Our youngest was falling asleep in the way home she also had a birthday party in the morning so it was a fat.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Did you get anything fun at Fleet Farm and Menards, Lisa? And, how did the baling go?

Some critter feeds. The price keeps climbing, so we are putting a few extra birds in the freezer this fall. The all flock ration went from around 13 dollars 2 years ago to 22 dollars now.

Got a new yard light for my shed. Some dog toys, a couple of puzzles, and a bag of snickers.

We also got 40 more bales off yesterday. So that will help.