Homesteaders

[Beekissed]

Very cute! And I LOVE how you incorporated her nest site into the coop run....convenient to have it that close, huh?

 

[rancher hicks]

Very cute! And I LOVE how you incorporated her nest site into the coop run....convenient to have it that close, huh?

That is pretty ingenius. I have a tree similar but I hope they don't start laying in the hole. I dread when it falls. If it falls.

Generally speaking I can tell when a broody is off the nest as there is a big stink and a big pile.

Moved two more chicks to the Del hen in the half coop. I wonder how much longer I want to chance taking chicks from hens before they get frustrated. I don't have a place set up like some. I just don't trust the predators from digging under.

I've got a ground hog under the coop that I need to dispatch. OR get to move out. My plan is to stuff an old shirt in his hole and mark it on a regular basis and/or get some dog hair at Pet Smart. I have a trap and may try that but this guy is big.

TTFN,

have a nice day.

 

[vmlocks]

Couple of questions:

Bielfelders how long should they take to lay? These two were hatched in October and nothing so far. One was injured (attacked) when young but full recovery seems to have been made.

Squash:
Started from seed on time moved out into hay bale garden (that had layer of old compost and then layer of dirt). Plants look
HA-MAZING!!!! So good infact that I think they stunted and finally killed some corn we started due to lack of sun. However, only a couple of fruit so far and this should be the end of the season here in central NC. Any tips as to what is missing from the soil that is inhibiting their growth? I recently cleaned out 6months worth of deep litter from the coop and put around a tree. I'm thinking of moving some of this to around the squash plants and waiting a week or so, before calling it a loss for the summer. I just hate to give up that much real estate if I am not getting the production.

 

[rancher hicks]

One thing about chicken manure is it's high in Nitrogen. Some plants don't like a lot of nitrogen.

A couple of thoughts. Plants that can't hand large amounts of heat might do better with some filtered shade.

Here in Syracuse, we're experiencing a lot of dry and not much rain so watering is a must everyday.

Peat moss added helps to hold the water. I notice my compost drains to well. Making compost involves a balance of materials. I suspect mine doesn't have the right balance as I've added lots of leaves, grass clippings and chicken cleanings, but not enough dry. I did add peat moss but it must not have "baked" long enough. Too the chickens got in there and probably ate all the worms. Look for worms. No worms might mean dead soil.

Planting to close to trees isn't good as trees use up a great deal of the nutrients.

Hope some of this helps.

In other news, I bought tomato plants again this year and found that some were not what they were lableled. I'm getting Yellow cherry tomatoes. I don't care for Yellow tomatoes so know they were not what I wanted.

Got about two cups of black currants and a hand full of gooseberries. Have covered the Red currants with bird netting. Hopefully I'll get enough of the three to make some jelly. These three do make a nice mix.

TTFN,

 

[vmlocks]

Thx for info. Good luck with the jelly

 

[rancher hicks]

ANYONE here use Solar lights. Specifically those Solar motion sensor lights advertised on Amazon.

 

[Raech]

I have a couple of solar lights from Walmart, the ones you just push into the ground with the top of the light being the solar panel. Dad uses a small solar panel on the camper to keep the batteries up while we are gone. Saw the solar motion detector lights on Holmes Makes It Right last night, and the panel could be separated by 15 feet to the light. It looks like a great idea for the side of the house or backyard.

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

Processed 12 fryers yesterday. They were a little too young (12 weeks), the breast meat was not as large as I would have wanted. I had 2 older birds (16 weeks), same breed, much better breast meat. These were Red Ranger and Rainbow Dixie. I really think overall I like these breeds much better then the Cornish Cross. I know some of you disagree, and I respect that, I just like the slightly slower growing bird.
I think I will definitely get both breeds again, and I have a hen from each breed. The Rainbow Dixie are beautiful birds and the Red Ranger seemed to be very hardy.
I still have half a dozen Jersey Giants growing and a few odd Cockerels in my layer pen. I am going to give some new recipes a try.
Looking forward to hatching out some birds next year.

 

[rancher hicks]

Something has been "plowing" up the yard. Not sure what it is but it seems larger than a vole. Maybe a chipmunk? I've set traps but to no avail. Not even touched.

I'm not sure if the ground hog has taken leave since I've stuff an old shirt in one hole and "marked" it regularly for a few days. Once I'm sure I'll cover that area in the front of the coop with hardware cloth to keep any other critters away. The ground hog hasn't created a major problem but I'm afraid of what it might bring in.

The heat has made watering a chore. I expect to get some grapes this year. IF the birds can be averted. Any suggestions on protecting my crop.

 

[lcertuche]

We have armadillos that will dig a trench at night. I've seen them in town before I moved to the country. I saw a place where they were digging here at the edge of our property. Moles and gophers do a lot of damage too.