Michigan

[RaZ]

I'll have to look for that book. All of my gardening is organic and natural. I stopped using pesticides about 10 years ago and only use natural compost and mulches. Last fall I dumped 70 bags of shredded leaves in the backyard alone. I even make my own container soil.

The only pests I have are these giant slugs which is why I wanted chickens and ducks in the first place.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

OK. Been doing some thinking about what exactly i do that makes nail trimming easy. (Besides their liking to be held anyway) You ever had a cat who thought he was invisible just because his head was covered?

DH just took this one, after i crazied him up with catnip.
OK, back to the story. It works that way with chickens too. If you cover their head, they think they're safe. Especially good when you are going at their feet with some kind of scary tool. How would you like to be trussed and have someone come at you with tools? So when i grab them i push them down in my lap. They struggle a little, but if you give them firm support, they will settle down and relax. (Visualize mom sitting on babies)
Then I grab them firmly on the body, by the wing part so they don't flap, tipping them on their side. (takes a few tries sometimes, they are squiggly) As soon as i tip them i put their head under my arm. (Mommas put their babies under their wing) It usually calms them right down. When i feel them relax, i gently pick up whatever foot is on top and snip off the extra nail tip. When i'm done i flip them over and do the other side. Sounds like a lot, but it goes a lot quicker than what it sounds like. Sometimes when i hold them other times i put them on their side too, so that they don't freak out if i have to do foot inspections. (leg mites, bumblefoot, etc)

 

[fuzzybutt love]

Quote:Originally Posted by RaZ Wow.

do you suppose that it is the organic nutrition??! I've heard setting out a glass of barley pop does wonders for them if you are trying to get rid of them. Also putting copper strips in the ground around prized plants is supposed to give them a zap and keep them off. (I guess copper scrub sponges work too, if you unravel them and bury them a little around the plant.

 

[un-named543]

I have to say I love you guys, your stories and hearing about your daily lives (cuz I don't have one).
Even if I don't have time to read all the posts or keep y'all straight.

Now back to painting the rooms.....

 

[yorkchick]

those little duck pictures are adorable. Makes me miss have ducks. But I sure dont miss their mess. I cant wait to see if Henry Goose becomes a Proud Papa this Spring..

Wait, he's too young, they haven't been to college yet, if they start having babies this soon what about their careers???
More importantly, what would I do with the babies? I keep rolling this over in my mind, reading up on goose incubation and nesting and so forth. Most sources say that if you want them to be pets, they need to imprint on you so you need to hatch them in an incubator. But I did read of one BYC'er at least who had success letting her goose hatch the eggs but handling the babies a lot--and the babies were human friendly. If I were to hatch goosers, and could keep the babies tame, I'd much prefer to have Henry/Penelope/Libby do the hatching and raising. I so loved watching all the maternal instincts come out in Edna, my Sebright who hatched some eggs this summer.

So, it's tempting. But then, again, what about the babies? Three geese seems good. More?

And then I recently read a post where someone in Chelsea/Grass Lake just recently had their geese start laying! I was thinking more like March! (Or maybe not at all this year as I guess some geese are 2 years old or older when they start to lay?) Anyway, I have been promised a big dog shed with one open side that a friend's dad wants to get rid of, was planning on setting that up as a nesting area connected to Goose Jail. But the friend's dad will have to haul it here and I haven't liked to nag about it as he is giving it away. Guess it's time to think about nagging... Also time I guess to start offering some oyster shell...

 

[teeville5]

I found a great book called "The Vegetable Gardener's Container Bible" by Edward C. Smith.

My DH has that on his regular library rotation along with his other book 'The Vegetable Gardener's Bible' (which is currently in a stack of books 2 feet from me). We have a small library nearby that is part of the KDL branch and he gets all his books there. I think he's the only one who checks them out because he always finds them when he wants them.

The only pests I have are these giant slugs which is why I wanted chickens and ducks in the first place.

Gads! Those are huge!

 

[RaZ]

Anyway, I have been promised a big dog shed with one open side that a friend's dad wants to get rid of, was planning on setting that up as a nesting area connected to Goose Jail. But the friend's dad will have to haul it here and I haven't liked to nag about it as he is giving it away. Guess it's time to think about nagging... Also time I guess to start offering some oyster shell...

If you need help to haul the shed let me know. I have a truck and a flat-bed trailer and tons of tie-downs.

 

[Opa]

I think those nasty looking slugs are Black Slugs. Here is a couple of nature methods to deal with them.

Black Plastic Bag Method: If you have a slug attack in one area in your garden this is a quick method to reduce the numbers . Take one black garbage can liner and place on the ground in between your tender plants. Then place two heads of lettuce which are well past their prime. Add two tea cups of breakfast bran and pour a cup full of beer (bitter is best) over the lettuce. Leave over night with the top open and check in the morning. Slug should have climbed into the bag over night and as the sun comes up in the morning they will stay in the bag for shelter in the bottom of the bag, You are ready to get rid of them and repeat the process if needed.

Beer Batter Bait: Mix 2 tablespoons of flour with enough beer to make a thick batter. Put 1 teaspoon of this in a small paper cup and lay the cups on their sides around your plants. Slugs will flock to this, get snared in the flour and die. When the trap is full toss the whole thing in the compost pile.

 

[RaZ]

I took that particular slug to school and asked the prof who teaches invertebrates, but she didn't know. You can't tell from the picture but they are beautifully iridescent with every colour of the rainbow.

I've used a simple beer bait trap for them. A pot-pie tin set in the soil and filled half way with any old beer. The slug crawls in and drowns, but they sure do make a gooey mess.

I trapped a huge one last fall; he drank the entire cup of beer but came out twice to take a leak.

 

[dmclalin]

My family assures me that when ever I knock on wood, it is perfectly safe to use my head!