Michigan

[yorkchick]

I have extra tires here. They are still mounted on rims, but I can have them broken down in no time. You can have them but you'll have to explain to me how or why a goose nests in a tire.

Just PM me and we can go get that shed. Any day is fine as long as you keep in mind that I have school on Tuesday and Thursday at 3:00.

OK, story of my life here. I only know what I read. I read a lot. Unfortunately, it seems that my chickens and geese don't always read the same things I do. So it remains to be seen whether Penelope and Libby are going to find tires irresistible places to make nests. But someone on one of the BYC threads said that's what they do for their geese. The tires are on their sides, obviously, inside the shelter, One side of the tire is cut away so the goose can just walk into the inner circle of the tire (they are not particularly good hoppers or climbers). You can put lots of straw inside the tire to make a nice inviting nesting spot. And the sides of the tire keep the straw contained and the eggs can't roll away. However, I am aware that P. and L. may turn up their adorable goosey beaks at the tires and find somewhere much less convenient (to me!!) to lay their eggs. We shall see.

 

[Olive Hill]

Grandma -- I think we might have been posting around the same time. Make sure you check out those links in my previous post. I think they'll answer your questions.

OK, story of my life here. I only know what I read. I read a lot. Unfortunately, it seems that my chickens and geese don't always read the same things I do. So it remains to be seen whether Penelope and Libby are going to find tires irresistible places to make nests. But someone on one of the BYC threads said that's what they do for their geese. The tires are on their sides, obviously, inside the shelter, One side of the tire is cut away so the goose can just walk into the inner circle of the tire (they are not particularly good hoppers or climbers). You can put lots of straw inside the tire to make a nice inviting nesting spot. And the sides of the tire keep the straw contained and the eggs can't roll away.
However, I am aware that P. and L. may turn up their adorable goosey beaks at the tires and find somewhere much less convenient (to me!!) to lay their eggs. We shall see.

Oh, don't let 'em fool you. They can hop and climb just fine. Ours regularly hop their way into knee high water troughs to go for a swim and bale back out again. They hop up into the chicken coop without a ramp which is probably 8 inches off the ground. They climb to the top of the hay daily....

 

[RaZ]

OK, story of my life here. I only know what I read. I read a lot. Unfortunately, it seems that my chickens and geese don't always read the same things I do. So it remains to be seen whether Penelope and Libby are going to find tires irresistible places to make nests. But someone on one of the BYC threads said that's what they do for their geese. The tires are on their sides, obviously, inside the shelter, One side of the tire is cut away so the goose can just walk into the inner circle of the tire (they are not particularly good hoppers or climbers). You can put lots of straw inside the tire to make a nice inviting nesting spot. And the sides of the tire keep the straw contained and the eggs can't roll away.
However, I am aware that P. and L. may turn up their adorable goosey beaks at the tires and find somewhere much less convenient (to me!!) to lay their eggs. We shall see.

Like you, I read a lot. A hobby not shared with any of the other animals here at the homestead.
Last year, a robin made her nest from pieces of cellophane and a soda straw woven in with the natural grasses. She raised 3 little ones.
When my chickens first started to lay, I would sometimes find an egg on the bare floor.
Oddest yet, is watching my 4 pound female cat groom my 70 pound golden retriever. Like I said before, animal behaviour confounds and amazes me. Every day is an observation wonder.

 

[Opa]

I I've mad a lot of coffee and no one is here to share it with me.Today is starting out 10 degrees warmer than yesterday so can this be a harbinger that we have reached an end to the bitter ?

 

[NovaAman]

Would be nice...

 

[Mom 2em All]

OK, story of my life here. I only know what I read. I read a lot. Unfortunately, it seems that my chickens and geese don't always read the same things I do. So it remains to be seen whether Penelope and Libby are going to find tires irresistible places to make nests. But someone on one of the BYC threads said that's what they do for their geese. The tires are on their sides, obviously, inside the shelter, One side of the tire is cut away so the goose can just walk into the inner circle of the tire (they are not particularly good hoppers or climbers). You can put lots of straw inside the tire to make a nice inviting nesting spot. And the sides of the tire keep the straw contained and the eggs can't roll away.
However, I am aware that P. and L. may turn up their adorable goosey beaks at the tires and find somewhere much less convenient (to me!!) to lay their eggs. We shall see.

Yorkchick,

WHen here they were extremely interested in the table on our deck. Okay fine- it is a large piece of plywood that is sitting on two sawhorses against the house. They found that to be the best nesting area of all. Of course, they didnt lay eggs but they checked that spot out every day, and even sat under it very frequently. I used to joke that that was the spot that they would raise their families. My husband built them a goose house. A square box with no front piece. They could walk in and out of it, full of straw. It was tall enough so they didnt feel confined. They checked that out, but preferred my deck table. Well, underneath it.

I I've mad a lot of coffee and no one is here to share it with me.Today is starting out 10 degrees warmer than yesterday so can this be a harbinger that we have reached an end to the bitter ?

Im here- and brought my cup./ I am willing away the bitter coldness- I hope it works.



RAZ-

terrarium info needed. Give me some basic pointers if I was making a terrarium, best plants, soil, etc. Its a project. My office at work is soooo dull- not much light, in fact, NO natural light. Am I doomed to not have any plants? My bamboo did fabulous for a very long time, then it just decided to turn brown and die off.

eta-
I have illegally rehabbed baby mallards every year for years. Every year they hang around and learn to fly and finally they fly the neighborhood and return each day and then eventually they go away in the fall. Some of them return every year. I know I cant be sure its them- but they know where the food is...and march right up to the container inside the chicken yard to eat it. They hang out here- but none have nested here- dogs, ya know... Its nice. I make sure they dont get attached to me. That natural fear is a good thing out there in the big world.

ETA again:
Someone just posted this on FB, is it true?

Bees and other insects can see ultraviolet light that humans can't see. While we're drawn to the beautiful colors of flowers in the visible spectrum, they are drawn to a different sight, the ultraviolet glowing nectar within the flowers.

​

 

[taprock]

I've been super busy and only was able to check in once yesterday - resulting in lots of pages to read.
My baby chicks kept trying to sand bathe in the food dish, very messy. So I put a container of sand in for them. They looked it over and decided not to use it for sand bathing but rather as a nest.


For the past two days I have also had a broody Cochin. I took all her eggs she had under her but have not had any chance to try and break her more than just taking the eggs. Hopefully I will have a chance today. As tempting as it is to put some eggs under her, the coop just isn't in any way ready to have a broody and babies right now.

Off for my coffee and a ton of things that need to be done before church.

 

[babigyrl22]

Raz - The beekeeping class was fun! It was 6 hours and you felt like you were drinking from a firehose but worth it. Plus it's nice having someone there to answer all of your questions and concerns. There is a second part to the class that I can't WAIT for which is that we get to observe him, up close and personal, with one of his hives at a local orchard. Funny, it never dawned on me that I could house my bee's on someone's farm or orchard. I am still not certain that my neighbors would approve of me having a hive (and there really isn't a way that I can mask it). They are still getting used to the chicken....and the rooster. If you have any ideas, let me know.

How many hives to you have, and are they all located on your property? Curious.

Changing topics...

So, I have decided I wanted to dwelve into the craft of making cheese! The first task, was where the heck to age the cheese? I scored on a brand new wine fridge for $40

Thank YOU craigslist! Then, I thought I would try my hand at some really easy soft cheese. Gotta start small right? So I made my first batch of Ricotta...omg...YUM! Anyone else making cheese?

 

[Olive Hill]

I I've mad a lot of coffee and no one is here to share it with me.Today is starting out 10 degrees warmer than yesterday so can this be a harbinger that we have reached an end to the bitter ?

35 and sunny here tomorrow.

 

[BobBry]

Medium- old fashioned oatmeal, wheat grains, carrot pieces for required moisture [alternatives many, ex. apple, potato pear, celery, Not enough to promote mold.
Remember these will become part of your food chain. No poisons.





view to show size, oatmeal/wheat mix, carrot quantity, T P tubes hide places, concentrated worms (left center)









I cover with newspaper/ paper towel, they crawl between sheets and are easier to collect. also hide, they're shy.
One does not really have to catch them, they're slow crawlers. Remove excessive waste, especially the moisturizer.
They take care of all the stuff [ like life cycle ] quite well. I'm going to post this now before ti evaporates.