Izzy, I don't think that's poison ivy, but I'd avoid contact. I don't recall poison ivy having the serrations that those leaves have. they are shiny, and in groups of 3, appears to be in the ivy family. Hairy on the under sides of the leaves and stems? As I recall, poison ivy is completely fuzzless. I do hope you gloved, even gloved for handling a suspicious plant.
Jazor. Thanks for the suggestion re: goats. I love goats, however, Hubby can't stand them. He says they have evil eyes.
I had a very frustrating chicken related experience today. Moved the new 6 x 7 tractor down to the garage. That was an interesting but totally doable feat with the help of my 3 - 3" x 10' PVC rollers. I was able to move it out of the garage, and about 100' including 3 90 degree turns and down a steep grade. Then, being the impulsive knucklehead that I am, I decided to put the chicks into it, in spite of the fact that it has yet to have a roof on it, and I did not have completed "chunnels" to link the small tractor to the new tractor. So, I rigged a roof with cattle panel, cloth, tarp, bungee cords, and jerry-rigged some chicken wire to "direct them" into the new tractor. They were having none of that, and kept escaping out through the sides where I didn't have it secured. It took 1/2 hour to get them all inside and settled down. By then, it was 2:20 pm, just enough time to eat lunch, take a shower, but not enough time to put the chicks back into their small predator proof tractor, before leaving for 12 y.o.'s baseball game in Glenburn. No sweat, I figured that the 7 y.o. could help me when she got home at 2:45. It really shouldn't take that long with the 2 of us, right? Wrong. Every time we'd get 2 moved into the small tractor, 3 more would escape. Finally, I was crawling around on my hands and knees trying to move them out of the big tractor, 7 y.o. was trying to usher them into the little tractor, but she'd get excited and start flapping her hands, so they'd run the other way and succeed in weaseling through the few places that weren't secure. Of course the Doms and RCBL were the most successful at that. Eventually, I was inside, covered with poo... after my shower and clean clothes... chicks were milling around in the enclosure between the 2 tractors, 7 y.o. was still "trying to help", and there were half a dozen chicks running around the outside of the tractor, screaming at the tops of their lungs. Along comes my "big hunter" cat. I expected him to join the games. Thankfully, he chose to sit on the steps and watch the entertainment. By the time all was secure, it was 3:30, and I still had a 45 minute drive to the game... that started at 3:30! I need a clone or 2! If my experience with the leghorns is any indication, those little ones will be just about as predator proof as a chicken can get!
