FLORIDA!!!!!ALWAYS SUNNY SIDE UP!!!

[jwtyrcha]

I was wondering if Loblolly Bay flowers are safe for chickens to eat. I have an abundance of them falling off of my tree and was thinking the girls may like them as a treat. Thanks in advance!

 

[Wyandotte Blue]

I was wondering if Loblolly Bay flowers are safe for chickens to eat. I have an abundance of them falling off of my tree and was thinking the girls may like them as a treat. Thanks in advance!

Loblolly bay, an American native plant, is an attractive evergreen tree with large white flowers about 3 inches across, appearing late spring into early fall!

Much easier to grow than its cousin, the Franklinia Tree, Gordonia is long-lived, as long as regular water is received.

The white blossoms begin as a white ball-shaped bud and open into a lovely 5-petaled bloom with a golden yellow center. The fragrant blooms attract many insect species.


Gordonia lasianthus will reach up to 60 feet tall at maturity. It is native to the Southeastern United States and is found in swamps, bogs, and wet woods. Loblolly Bay is the common name for this tree. It will grow well in any garden as long as regular water can be given.


Hardy in USDA Zones 7-9, Gordonia withstands temperatures down into the teens for short periods of time.







The white fragrant blooms resembling camellia blossoms appear sporadically all summer, attracting many pollinators to the garden.








The Gordonia or Loblolly Bay Tree cannot survive drought so water well in the absence of rainfall.








This rare native tree can be purchased directly from Shady Gardens Nursery.

IT DOES NOT SAY ANYTHING ABOUT BEING TOXIC BUT . . .if Chickens do not naturally go for it I would not volunteer it until I knew for sure.

 

[poppycock1974]

Ok so I'm getting very aggravated at my (guessing Austrolorp/black star) mix. Ive had my 10 week old chicks in a dog cage and then put it in the coop with the bigger girls to get them used to each other for a week now. I let them out to run with the bigger girls yesterday and my BR is getting picked on constantly. I only have two older girls which are 16 weeks and then my two 10 week olds but it is very sad watching them chase her/him around. She/he manages to always get away from them but it makes me mad because my barred rock is such a sweetheart.
I'm leaving today until Sunday afternoon and I'm worried if I put them back in the brooder box I'll have to start the whole introduction process over on Sunday and I'll get nowhere with this. Is there something I can do to make things easier or will they eventually get along over the weekend?

 

[love laugh farm]

While the dog cage is in the run can the older girls get to the younger girls? The one I have my 8 week olds in the hens can't peck through` though i tried to fit it into the coop it wouldn't fit through the door

so I ended up just putting it up next to the coop, it will take a few months for them to get used to each other though and they still need to get through the pecking order once they get in there. I took the EE pullet into the run yesterday and let her run around for a bit but removed her once Rawr, my dom girl got to rough. Integrating is difficult to watch when they are mean when you love them so, lol!
I also want to set something like this up!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1069595/introducing-chicks-to-adults

 

[poppycock1974]

While the dog cage is in the run can the older girls get to the younger girls? The one I have my 8 week olds in the hens can't peck through` though i tried to fit it into the coop it wouldn't fit through the door 
so  I ended up just putting it up next to the coop, it will take a few months for them to get used to each other though and they still need to get through the pecking order once they get in there. I took the EE pullet into the run yesterday and let her run around for a bit but removed her once Rawr, my dom girl got to rough. Integrating is difficult to watch when they are mean when you love them so, lol!
I also want to set something like this up!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1069595/introducing-chicks-to-adults

The dog cage is inside the coop and they can't get through but I've been letting them run loose since were going out of town this weekend. If I leave them locked up in the dog cage over the weekend they won't have a closed shelter and I'm worried a critter might come through and scare them to death even though it won't be able to get to them. I have food on both ends of the coop and water on both ends of the coop and the little ones tend to stay at one end and the big ones on the other but every once a while the big ones will just start chasing the little ones especially the barred rock. I expect the pecking order to happen I just didn't realize it could be this aggressive.
I may need to lock them in the dog cage anyway. I just remembered I had to put the little ones in the coop last night because they didn't want to go in on their own so they may not go in at all over the weekend

 

[TravelingWillow]

Ok so I'm getting very aggravated at my (guessing Austrolorp/black star) mix. Ive had my 10 week old chicks in a dog cage and then put it in the coop with the bigger girls to get them used to each other for a week now. I let them out to run with the bigger girls yesterday and my BR is getting picked on constantly. I only have two older girls which are 16 weeks and then my two 10 week olds but it is very sad watching them chase her/him around. She/he manages to always get away from them but it makes me mad because my barred rock is such a sweetheart.
I'm leaving today until Sunday afternoon and I'm worried if I put them back in the brooder box I'll have to start the whole introduction process over on Sunday and I'll get nowhere with this. Is there something I can do to make things easier or will they eventually get along over the weekend?

I've had a similar situation! I have 3 @ 3 months and 2 @ 9 weeks. They have lived in separate browsers right next to each other since I brought the 2nd batch home @ one day old. They free range together every day. Well, the older 3 in one area, the younger 2 in another. My BR was the mean girl! She would seek them out to peck them! I finally finished the coop so it was time to live together as a flock. So- I moved the babies in first for 3 days- let them get to know the place. Then I moved the older ones in. It's been 3 days of living together and now my older EE is the meanie. Nothing vicious or bloody- just a "back off, that's mine. And that's mine. That, too". It just sounds terrible when the babies SQUAWK! I figure as long as no one's drawing blood and everyone gets food & water they'll figure it out. Sadly, it looks like my favorite is the lowest and the mouthy EE is queen hen. Go figure. Also haven't let them out until they learn that's home- and not the garage anymore! They're getting coop fever!

 

[poppycock1974]

I've had a similar situation! I have 3 @ 3 months and 2 @ 9 weeks. They have lived in separate browsers right next to each other since I brought the 2nd batch home @ one day old. They free range together every day. Well, the older 3 in one area, the younger 2 in another. My BR was the mean girl! She would seek them out to peck them! I finally finished the coop so it was time to live together as a flock. So- I moved the babies in first for 3 days- let them get to know the place. Then I moved the older ones in. It's been 3 days of living together and now my older EE is the meanie. Nothing vicious or bloody- just a "back off, that's mine. And that's mine. That, too". It just sounds terrible when the babies SQUAWK! I figure as long as no one's drawing blood and everyone gets food & water they'll figure it out. Sadly, it looks like my favorite is the lowest and the mouthy EE is queen hen. Go figure. Also haven't let them out until they learn that's home- and not the garage anymore! They're getting coop fever!

I understand completely. The problem is my girls have been in the coop for a couple of months now and the little ones first night was last night so I don't know if they will know to go in on their own over the weekend. I like them all but my little barred rock is my favorite and I still don't know if it's a boy or girl yet so I may end up not having it anyway but they pick on that poor thing and it does drive me crazy. I use my fingernail to pack my black one back because she is the worst but then I didn't want to be mean so I got out the water bottle and would squirt her every time she would peck. It's the same method I use on my dogs won't stop barking. I really hate it because my barred rock is constantly running the other direction whenever my black one comes around because he or she is so terrified of it.

 

[AuntNomi]

I had one bullying my littles like that and I took and old milk crate and put it over the top of the bully where she could see but not get to them. I only left her like that for like 10 mins, and let her out and she went back to bullying after a few mins. So I put her back under it with food and water for a few hours, never had a problem with her again, I had to do it one other time to anothr hen. It works for me. If you have a milk crate or something similar try that, it may work for you. Good luck.

 

[BootsMcgee]

Had a baby possum in the coop last night!

 

[chickrunfun]

Had a baby possum in the coop last night!

Oh no no nononononooooooo that will NOT do! Though by the picture you took, it looks young, an egg eating rodent is an egg eating rodent! HOW did it get in? You figure it yet? We had squirrels getting in to steal feed a while back and I was actually thankful to them because in watching them get in through out the day I was able to rodent proof it Ga! seeing that pic of that possum gets my hair up! Maybe see about setting a live trap ? Good luck to you, I wouldn't be able to rest myself...we got lots of possums and raccoons around here. Feral cats too.