Michigan

[RaZ]

Also here in the swamp of WA we have a "weed" called plantain. When I am doing anything with the bees the first thing I do is locate some plants. Then IF I get stung I grab a leak and smash it to juicy. Then I rub it on the sting GONE!
Ya know ya could always put a decorative Tree trunk in yer yard. And if it had a hole in it and if bees moved in ....it's only NATURE!
OK sorry for the interruption we now return to your regular programming .

I put a lot of stock in herbal and/or natural remedies. There are so many plants that have curative properties. I'll take them over any commercial product every time. But that only applies to me personally.

Part of the problem is that I'm a student of biology and that I've been schooled to accept scientific based research. So I am often conflicted in offering advice based on ancestral anecdotes, so for anything that goes public, I'll suggest that you check with experts or professionals. That's why I don't suggest peeing on a bee sting, even though it helps with the sting.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

Quote:

Babygrl has eggs pipping I am so envious!! Not a pip or a peep here yet. Not due until saturday tho.
Fuzzy I think you had a Nova moment - do you mean d'uccles?

Well, no porcelain for me. I was looking closer at the little bits of feathers on the wingtips, and i see black markings starting. Bummer. So i still need porcelain or lavendar for my project. Little rose is doing better, no sniffles, just weak and can't walk more than a few steps at a time. Makes me wonder if she sprained something when she jumped out of her box the day i found her out of it, with the eggs cold. I buried the eggs today, probably why she dosn't want to set anymore, they gotta be bad. i slipped the newbies under her tonight, fingers crossed that she will accept them.
Also, my giggly rooster isn't so giggly anymore. The getting of a hen combined with the extra neighbor roos hanging out over here apparently has gone straight to his head. Spurred me from behind 3 times in a row....... I didn't raise him, and he hasn't been coddled, so he's just not smart. My pet roo can be stopped by angry cursing and a big stick when he "has a moment" , this guy is not too tame, so i have zero control over him. He's real close to that long walk to nowhere. I dearly hope these neighbors don't leave those extra roos behind when they go up north for the summer, they are supposed to be free range, no food being given, but they keep coming over and giving longing eyes to my chicken house and the happy food sounds within. They have a tiny doghouse, with rotten fish out front

 

[NovaAman]

There is a guy down in Pullman who is that way with his chickens. No coop in from spring to fall, and he usually gets rid of them before winter, or provides a lean to. Doesn't feed em after they go off chick feed. I don't know how he keeps any alive, but he does. He lets "nature take its course." How does he even have eggs? He does feed in the winter though if he has them still...

Now, the neighbors roo nailed me 3 times, and I chased his rear end around the yard... He has not attacked me since.

 

[RaZ]

To those of you with hives.....how much honey do you get in a season? Any of you get enough to sell?

Well before I lost my hives, I could expect about 100 - 125 pounds per hive by August.
If I can rebuild the colonies, I would expect about 3/4 of that.

I do happen to have about 20 pounds of lat year's honey available right now. Nice thing about honey is that it never goes bad.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

I like the "natural remedies" Raz! i respond to them better than the dr pills, usually. For poison ivy, something about the plant with the orange flowers, that the seed pods blow up when you touch, is supposed to help with poison ivy, and usually grows near it for some reason. Problem is, for me, the ivy comes up before they do!

Do you know of any others?

I'm thinking it would be good for me to take a natural anti-allergen/ anti-inflammatory for the summer. I'm leaning toward mangosteen, since it works on skin ailments when taken by pill.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

Well, crossing my fingers then Nova. He has been aggressive to my roo, though. Taunting him, since it was one of "his" hens he claimed....... Never fought before, but now he thinks he's hot stuff!

As far as the neighbor roos go, letting the birds free for the summer is probably fine, since that is what they did in the wild. It just don't help when you get them as adults from a place that did daily feedings, with a nice big coop, and then there i am doing mine, and they just don't understand why they can't join! I can't stop them from scrounging when i leave for the day, but i don't feed them over here. I broke down a couple times and brought food over, when they said they ran out, now it seems it is on purpose. Aunt don't want to buy food, uncle wants to keep as pets. I think she's trying to push him into canning them, so.....

 

[RaZ]

I like the "natural remedies" Raz! i respond to them better than the dr pills, usually. For poison ivy, something about the plant with the orange flowers, that the seed pods blow up when you touch, is supposed to help with poison ivy, and usually grows near it for some reason. Problem is, for me, the ivy comes up before they do!

Do you know of any others?

I'm thinking it would be good for me to take a natural anti-allergen/ anti-inflammatory for the summer. I'm leaning toward mangosteen, since it works on skin ailments when taken by pill.

I was afraid that I would be challenged on this. There is a plant that grows near poison ivy that is supposed to negate the effects. But for the life of me, I can't think of what it is. I'll have to ask my plant prof or one of the other docents at MBG. I hate forgetting what I should know.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

not a challange, just a bit desperate here, since i can't nail down exactly what is giving me the rash. I thought it was the goat, but i got another one since, so that points to something else, since i have been avoiding them..... I will say, the rubbing alchohol stops a rash in it's tracks, but it does feel like you lit it on fire for a minute! Unfortunately, i usually am nowhere near it when i start welting up.....Went on all summer last year.

 

[M.sue]

Well before I lost my hives, I could expect about 100 - 125 pounds per hive by August.
If I can rebuild the colonies, I would expect about 3/4 of that.

I do happen to have about 20 pounds of lat year's honey available right now. Nice thing about honey is that it never goes bad.

My Aunt had a guy who had a couple hives on her property and lost them also this year. Don't know if they have plans to get more or not.
I was just curious if you guys actually got enough to sell & make a little profit. Bring the extra to Chicken Stock.....I'm sure it'll go!

 

[Chickmate]

I was afraid that I would be challenged on this. There is a plant that grows near poison ivy that is supposed to negate the effects. But for the life of me, I can't think of what it is. I'll have to ask my plant prof or one of the other docents at MBG. I hate forgetting what I should know.

In my yard if you see Virginia Creeper you also see Poision Ivy and vice versa.