Maine

[Widget]

No idea how my bees are doing. I did not harvest any honey this year so hopefully they will have enough stored to make it through the winter.

There are tracks on my roof that I know did not come from flying reindeer. Looks like the turkeys have been wandering around up there. I know heat rises but I doubt it was any warmer up there. Great view though. So glad I did not get the bantam coop ready for the winter. The birds are doing great in the basement pen and I know they are safe from the weather and predators. The big birds seem to be tolerating the cold okay. They roost together and get plenty of food and fresh water that stays fresh for about 30 minutes before ice forms on the top.

Snow is off the horse shelter. At least until tomorrow. Again another storm with the predicted amount of 2-12 or more inches. All depends on which website or news channel one looks at as to the amounts. Thank goodness I can sit home and just watch it snow tomorrow. While I was asked to work at the airport I have not had a day off since before Christmas and I am just exhausted both mentally and physically so I said no.

 

[mlowen]

[/quote]

Widgett, the numbers don't actually count if money does not change hands.  So, those of you who have leghorns, how do you find their temperaments?  I've had them in the past, mini-pearl as I recall.  I wasn't overly impressed with their personalities, as I remember... they had no personalities, were quite skittish and I couldn't tell them apart, but what egg laying machines they were!  I'm intrigued by the rose combed brown ones. 

The two leghorns I have are little meat hunting machines! They are first to the door, first at the window, right on top of "the food thing" (me) all the time. They are the only ones of the five who squat for me and I can easily pick up. I expected flighty and stand off-ish, but they are very cute and tickle the spit out of me. They are top of the order but are not beating up anybody else. There is just some feather eating from the bottom pullet going on.

 

[lazy gardener]

Meaning, that they are feather picking from the under dog?? Perhaps I'll have to add a couple to my little flock. Wish I could have a silent rooster. There's a "rooster necklace" advertised that's supposed to cut the noise. Not sure how ethical that would be!

 

[IZZYBELLA]

Thanks, Bucka... no visible spots of frostbite. After I messed around with her yesterday she gradually stopped the shaking. I wonder if she didn't have something in her ear that I somehow knocked out when I looked in. Who knows!

It is almost not worth checking the predictions at all they are so far off! I've been very tempted to turn the red heat lamp on, too, but I haven't and am so far not going to. I wouldn't dare to leave it on overnight or for extended periods of time and I don't think turning it on for an hour here and there would actually make any difference.

What I have found the girls really seem to enjoy... warmed (15 seconds in the microwave) suet with a mixture of scratch in it. Also, I've periodically taken a fresh bowl of lukewarm water to them. (They have a water heater out there, but that water still is just above freezing.) They gobble both the warmed suet and warm water. I figure getting warm liquid/food into them must help...

Happy 2014, all!

 

[buckabucka]

My leghorns are extremely skittish, but all my birds are skittish. They all come running for food, but if I move my hand towards them at all, they are gone. Most of my birds I can only pick up if I trap them in a net first, even those I raised myself. The only exception is the flock of lavender Ameraucanas. They will let me pat them, even the rooster, although they still don't like to be picked up.

Lazy gardener, comfrey was the enemy on my property for quite a while. A neighbor gave some to DH as a welcome when he first lived here, and he stuck it in the corner of the garden. After years of ripping it out, mowing it, and covering it in plastic, it continued it's relentless spread. Finally, I began to methodically dig out every piece of root. It went 3 feet under the ground, throughout a 15 square foot area. In the end, I won, but I threw the roots into the brambles beyond the edge of the lawn, and it's still out there.

Now we have a new weed that is totally choking out the asparagus bed. It is a twining vine, not sure what it is officially called, but the roots are white, go very deep, and are extremely fragile. Every tiny broken piece forms a new plant, and it spreads like crazy. Maybe I can hope the extremely low temperatures will kill that off!

For the record, I closed the pop doors in the coop and I'm running the reptile heater just for a few hours. It might make a little difference, since the coop is insulated. The hoop coop birds will be the guinea pigs in the "how cold can you go?" experiment. The space is way too large and open for a tiny lamp to make any difference. And even though tomorrow it may snow, that flock gets a break and a tropical vacation, every time the sun comes out.

 

[MEMama3]

Thanks SCG.  Perhaps I'll add one or more brown RC leghorns to my spring order.  So many birds, so little space. 

Anyone grow comfrey for chicken fodder?  I'm considering adding some of that, as well as Siberian Pea shrub. as well as a couple of small fruit trees: ? cherry, plum or apricots.

I'm planning my homestead additions lately too. I want to add a couple fruit trees as well as two more grapes to run down the chicken fence. I was mentioning adding more fruits and my mom said "goodness, don't buy and raspberries or blackberries. My client wants to thin hers out this spring". So yeah!!! My veggie gardens were mapped out, but I'm going to have to revamp it a bit. I plan to plot out two or three more 4' x 4' raised beds as well as setting up rain catches for watering gardens and livestock. I can't wait!!!

 

[superchemicalgirl]

It was only negative 10 here this morning. What a relief. One more day of this it looks like.

 

[Widget]

It was only negative 10 here this morning. What a relief. One more day of this it looks like.

+1 here but not expected to go up much. After this storm we get to look forward to Sunday night/Monday with freezing rain and rain with highs in the 30s.

Then back to the deep freeze.

It is so nice to be able to sit home and watch it snow and know that I do not have to go anywhere. Not that I am looking forward to venturing outside to feed and water everyone several times today but they are worth it.

Have my front door knob partially repaired. It is installed but wont latch. I still have to replace the plate for the latch. The old one is still installed but is not the same size as the new one. Thank goodness for the dead bolt. I do have to lock the door with a key from the outside every time I go out but that I can do until the weather improves.

Bennett should be going up on Big Fluffys adoption site anytime now. He is a very sweet but also very intelligent dog. His adoptive family had better be ready to stay one step in front of him. He learns quickly but will take advantage if you do not mean what you say. He has learned that the snow can be fun to play in but coming inside and curling up on the couch on a warm blanket is also fun.

 

[Widget]

http://honeybeenet.gsfc.nasa.gov/Honeybees/Forage.htm

This is a map of the US with a listing of what plants are great for honey bees. Just click on Maine and it will go to a page that lists plants (including trees) that our bees love. As much as people dislike dandelions they are one of the best early sources of nectar for bees. So the next time you think about getting rid of those yellow flowers think again. They are useful and much needed. Personally I have always like dandelions and never understood why people though of them as weeds.

 

[lazy gardener]

Bucka, there is one type of comfrey that is sterile. So, I'm contemplating that. Yeah, I've heard how invasive it is, also heard the other side of it's reputation as being an excellent fodder, and how the USDA highly discourages it's use.... on and on rages the controversy! If I do plant it, it will go to the farthest distance from my garden. I have heard that the one sure fire way to get rid of it is to put a chicken run over it. I'm not terribly concerned about it being invasive... at least it is useful. I had it in my past granola years, and it disappeared! And my gardening practice with the use of mulch will make it easy to control if it does mistakenly step into my garden. My plan for it would be to use it for fresh fodder, cut it frequently to layer up in my compost/lasagna gardens, and dry some for winter fodder. If I put it in the lawn where hubby (alias "Mr. Mows It ALL") can get around it with the mower, it should be controllable.

BTW, the viney plant with white brittle roots... does it have heart shaped leaves and a blossom that looks like a white morning glory? I've been battling that for a number of years. I tore out a whole section of an old garden that was riddled with it, and threw the stuff on a burn pile, hope to have a nice marshmallow roast this spring. From my research, the common name for it is Bind weed. It's extremely invasive, spreading from underground runners as well as seed, and the least little bit will start a new plant. It's now spreading through my lawn adjacent to that garden. It got a bit of a foot hold when I moved some of my prize day lilies from the bed it started in, but with diligent weekly checks, I think I've gotten it under control in the day lilies. I think it's in the nighshade family. I wouldn't bet that the cold weather would bother it, I expect that it will laugh in the general direction of this Arctic cold and continue it's march towards world dominion.

Speaking further re: invasive species: does any one out there have a plant called worm wood? It's a type of artemesia that grows at most about 18" tall. I'd like to put some of that around my coop, perhaps will contain it due to it's invasive nature. My plan is to grow a bunch of aromatic plants with insect repellent properties to keep around the coop, and throw into the coop mulch, nest boxes, etc. If any one has some ideas of good plants to include, as well as suggestions about plants that would not be a good idea, let's get the conversation going. Some of my ideas are wormwood, lemon balm, ? tansy, ? pennyroyal. ? if even throwing a few garlic cloves in the nest boxes would be beneficial.