Fugly Farm

[igorsMistress]

That's helpful the weather is being kind when you have so much to do outside! I'm interested in learning abut the bee waterer you're setting up...have you done one before?

The new shade cover looks great!

The bee waterer is just an old pie plate with pebbles in it. I grade it so it’s like a beach and as the water evaporates they can walk down to the water to drink. You can make it cute by adding a little frog or a bird or something. Nothing fancy. I put it on a plant stand to keep the chickens out of it though.

 

[N F C]

The bee waterer is just an old pie plate with pebbles in it. I grade it so it’s like a beach and as the water evaporates they can walk down to the water to drink. You can make it cute by adding a little frog or a bird or something. Nothing fancy. I put it on a plant stand to keep the chickens out of it though.

Do you get wild birds drinking out of it too? (For some reason I was picturing a bee waterer to be a lot more complicated )

 

[igorsMistress]

Do you get wild birds drinking out of it too? (For some reason I was picturing a bee waterer to be a lot more complicated )

Probably a few little birds. We have a lot of sparrows and Mexican doves.

 

[igorsMistress]

Shadow is looking rough and may need a saddle, I’m looking into those today. The two pullets are integrating well, at least they’ll come around for scratch on the mornings I toss some out. Their combs and wattles are getting darker, just waiting for that last growth spurt and they’ll be laying soon.

I ordered a solar powered automatic door today and we’re making a second feeder. My plan is to have a feeder and waterer in the shade garden this summer in addition to those in the yard with the coops. We pulled out the fruit trees and I’m reusing the frames for a couple of grass patches. The chickens have a couple of straw bales to dismantle so should be busy this week. They’re to cover the ground from the heat in summer, but also offer a softer surface than the larger pieces of wood leftover from the mulch. I also ordered a new Vitex. The two out there don’t appear to be recovering, although the limbs are still pliable. If they start to green up I’ll plant the third one somewhere else. If I decide to change the sun garden into a shade house it’ll be a bit smaller I think, to eliminate that damn pole out there. We can’t dig it up, we’ve tried, so I’m going to paint it and put a trellis around it and grow something on it. This will also give us more space to walk around the lemon tree and better airflow out there.

 

[N F C]

Shadow is looking rough and may need a saddle, I’m looking into those today. The two pullets are integrating well, at least they’ll come around for scratch on the mornings I toss some out. Their combs and wattles are getting darker, just waiting for that last growth spurt and they’ll be laying soon.

I ordered a solar powered automatic door today and we’re making a second feeder. My plan is to have a feeder and waterer in the shade garden this summer in addition to those in the yard with the coops. We pulled out the fruit trees and I’m reusing the frames for a couple of grass patches. The chickens have a couple of straw bales to dismantle so should be busy this week. They’re to cover the ground from the heat in summer, but also offer a softer surface than the larger pieces of wood leftover from the mulch. I also ordered a new Vitex. The two out there don’t appear to be recovering, although the limbs are still pliable. If they start to green up I’ll plant the third one somewhere else. If I decide to change the sun garden into a shade house it’ll be a bit smaller I think, to eliminate that damn pole out there. We can’t dig it up, we’ve tried, so I’m going to paint it and put a trellis around it and grow something on it. This will also give us more space to walk around the lemon tree and better airflow out there.

That's a great idea about the pole IM

 

[igorsMistress]

The boys helped me get a bunch done in the yard yesterday. We added a bunch of stuff to the compost pile, I fixed one of the auto waterers for the plants, I must have closed it off too much, and gave things some blue juice before we got rain last night. I have some premade ports coming so we can make another feeder, I think a five gallon bucket will work. The current feeder will hold almost 50 lbs of food, the bucket will be enough to use the rest so I don’t have open bags laying around. The chickens got a couple of straw bales to deconstruct, they’ve been super busy out there. We also have three fruit trees, two plums and an apricot. I had to put a bunch of blocks around them so the chickens can’t dig. The straw bales also help in that regard. I ordered some food grade buckets for my hydroponic project, just waiting for the seeds to sprout so I can get those going. I’m trying various types of tomatoes first.

 

[N F C]

The boys helped me get a bunch done in the yard yesterday. We added a bunch of stuff to the compost pile, I fixed one of the auto waterers for the plants, I must have closed it off too much, and gave things some blue juice before we got rain last night. I have some premade ports coming so we can make another feeder, I think a five gallon bucket will work. The current feeder will hold almost 50 lbs of food, the bucket will be enough to use the rest so I don’t have open bags laying around. The chickens got a couple of straw bales to deconstruct, they’ve been super busy out there. We also have three fruit trees, two plums and an apricot. I had to put a bunch of blocks around them so the chickens can’t dig. The straw bales also help in that regard. I ordered some food grade buckets for my hydroponic project, just waiting for the seeds to sprout so I can get those going. I’m trying various types of tomatoes first.

I wonder if the boys will be glad to go back to school tomorrow for a rest IM, sounds like you all had a good workout

 

[igorsMistress]

I wonder if the boys will be glad to go back to school tomorrow for a rest IM, sounds like you all had a good workout

You should have heard the ten year old, he sounded like he was 90 and it wasn’t back breaking work. Aiden is always good about it though and gets stuff done as long as he has someone to keep an eye on him.

 

[N F C]

You should have heard the ten year old, he sounded like he was 90 and it wasn’t back breaking work. Aiden is always good about it though and gets stuff done as long as he has someone to keep an eye on him.

It's good for them to help out. And nice time for you all to spend together too (Even if 10 yr olds sound like 90 in the process)

 

[igorsMistress]

When I collected eggs yesterday I found a tiny one, but I wasn’t sure if it was because someone was just starting up again or if one of the little girls is laying. I think Tarot is though, I saw Elvis mate with her today.