Michigan

[Olive Hill]

Farmerboy - If you haven't already you might try contacting these folks about Brown Swiss heifers. They're only advertising bull calves, but it doesn't hurt to call and chat with them. If you're polite most people wouldn't mind. They may be able to direct you to someone else with Brown Swiss or may be willing to put you on "the list" for when they have extra heifers, or cull cows in the future.

 

[NovaAman]

Is everyone whose forecast is calling for 1/4in of ice tomorrow evening/wednesday morning ready?

I am not. LOL. I am almost tempted to salt the path back to the coop, but I don't think I want to salt that for real. Nothing would grow... LOL, but I wouldn't fall down.

 

[Chickmate]

I can partition the yard to keep the chickens out of the hostas, raspberries and hop beds. This year I'm going to use several sheppard hooks to act as fence anchors for the fencing. I can hang flower pots to help hide the runs from prying eyes. Although I'm still tempted to build a straw bale wall about 6 foot tall.

I have been wanting to ask how the rest of you keep the chickens out of your flowerbeds. I hadn't thought about it before and now I realize I've created a problem for myself. Last year was the first summer with chickens and after I realized they love to munch on hosta and just about every other plant I had, I closed the gate and made them stay in the back when they free ranged. Unfortunately the back yard is surrounded by woods which the chickens go into and that's how the fox got them. When I close the gate that also keeps the dogs from having the run of the property, which is why I bought 5 acres to begin with, so my dogs had a large area to run in.

When fall came and I cleaned out all my flower beds I left the gate open so the chickens could free range both the front and the back yards. I moved all my hosta out of the back because the beds had become one big dust bath area for the chickens anyway, and put them in the front beds. So now, they are used to free ranging both front and back and I don't know how I'm going to keep them in the back. Last summer they were too young to figure out how to fly over the fence, this year I'm sure they will figure it out and all my plants will be salad for them again.

Anyone have any great ideas for having chickens and flower beds too? The beds are too big to put fence around, which would be an eyesore anyway and would have to be 6 ft. tall to keep them out. And my hostas looked so nice from the road last year lining the front of the house.

Is there anything organic that wouldn't hurt the chickens that I could spray on my plants and make them taste bad? Only problem with that is I'd have to do it after each rain.

Anyone having success with anything?

 

[Chickmate]

A wife asks her husband, "Could you please go shopping for me and buy one carton of milk, and if they have eggs, get 6." A short time later the husband comes back with 6 cartons of milk. The wife asks him, "Why did you buy 6 cartons of milk?" He replied, "They had eggs."

That's probably what my husband would say if I had one.

 

[babigyrl22]

Mom2 - I agree with Opa. I think your hens are goofing off with the eggs. As Nova suggested, I would lock your broodies away with their eggs so they won't get disturbed. I tried to keep Blueberry in with the rest of the girs but she kept getting picked on and the other girls were moving the eggs about. That way your broody can be in peace and zen-out with her eggs.

 

[RaZ]

Chickmate,
I had a lot of luck with those step-in fence posts and the plastic netting. It was pretty inexpensive and I could move them where I wanted. The mesh was black and hardly visible but the stakes were white and stuck out like a sore thumb. That's why I want to use sheppard hooks this year. I suppose you could paint the stakes.

My caveat is that I don't have a predation problem like many of you who live out in the country settings. So I can get away with a more flexible containment run. On the other hand, with a small suburban backyard, I have to get creative in keeping chickens separate from the flower beds and keeping them and the dogs away from where they should not be.

Even though I've joked about a straw bale wall, I'm still considering it because I can grow a lot of plants in straw bales and with some selective plantings I get a living wall that looks really nice.

 

[snowflake]

I threw egg shells in my compost bin over the summer to help with that. OR...you could plant your seeds in egg shells....so cute.

Oh, forgot. I think my other Cochin is going broody. I caught her digging a nest in the straw bale where I had set todays eggs and settling down on them. She has already laid an egg today, so she wasn't getting ready to lay. Also, Veena laid another shell-less egg... What is that all about! They are getting enough calcium. They have free access to shell.... Hmmm....

I have had this problem for the past year. to much calcium on one shell and rubber shell on an other egg, all get calcium in food as well as calcium free choice. I think my older hens are laying the rubber shelled eggs so may be an age thing.??

My Icelandic babies from Hillbilly Hen


My beautiful Silkie Rooster from RIRJen yesterday. His name is Lancelot, Lance for short.

SO SWEET!!

So each day I have held water for her to drink, food to eat, and watched for some sign of improvement. Finally today she was standing. Still appears wobbly, but she is able to move in her cage. Still uncertain as to what the final outcome with be but she might make it after all.

yeah for the hen!! hope she makes it!

But, Olive
That was what I considered as well, but wouldnt the eggs be gone? They are all accounted for- just seriously displaced.
If they came up missing, I would probably have off-loaded the whole batch of chickens to my brother in law, set a trap, and started fresh and new once the rat was caught and killed.
I dont understand the scattering but not taking of the eggs...

And on the fighting note-

the eggs are not just tossed out..they had to be moved four to five feet to end up where they did- and the duccle egg was six feet from the nest, and out of the coop.

my daughter had a coon last year that was stacking eggs in the corner between to posts. couldn't figure out how they were getting in that spot till the neighbor said he was having a lot of trouble with coons steeling his eggs. I think he filled them up and the coon was saving hers for later.......coon gone

On a good note for me, after talking to the IRS and my bank, my bank is going to try and catch and push through my refund. I explained the situation about needing the refund on time, and how I already filled back in january and did not know that I had a new account number to use for direct deposit. Well, anyway, I had to give the exact amount and the date the refund is expected so that they can push it through. I will still have to wait for a paper check from the state though... Apparently though, I am not the only person who has used their old account number and have had the bank reject the refund and send them back to the state and the IRS. So, fingers crossed there. Praying that it works out and goes according to plan. Otherwise I will have to borrow the money from my sister, and she will give me the hardest time over it until I pay it back, even though she would know that she will be paid as soon as the check would come in the mail. SO YAY!!

Yeah, hope you get it on time

A wife asks her husband, "Could you please go shopping for me and buy one carton of milk, and if they have eggs, get 6." A short time later the husband comes back with 6 cartons of milk. The wife asks him, "Why did you buy 6 cartons of milk?" He replied, "They had eggs."

 

[b737drvr]

As I am contemplating my coop building project, there is a lingering question in my mind. I am building a run, but I would like to free range (at least a little, especially when I am out working in the yard). How do you get the girls back into the run when it is time to go in? Or will they come back on their own? Should they be kept in the run/coop for a until a certain age until the figure out where home is?

 

[BobBry]

My tomatoes grew over 6 feet tall last year, thanks to the help of unlimited amounts of horse manure. The girls love to climb on the Big Pile of Poo and search for worms. When you plant your tomatoes, put some bone meal at the base of the plant, that will provide calcium to prevent blossom end rot.

Thanks for that tip. I've had trouble with that.

Isn't a pigeon a winged rat?

Isn't that a seagull?

Anyone have any great ideas for having chickens and flower beds too? The beds are too big to put fence around, which would be an eyesore anyway and would have to be 6 ft. tall to keep them out. And my hostas looked so nice from the road last year lining the front of the house.

Is there anything organic that wouldn't hurt the chickens that I could spray on my plants and make them taste bad? Only problem with that is I'd have to do it after each rain.

Anyone having success with anything?

Check out City Chicks: Keeping Micro-Flocks of Chickens by Patricia Foreman Available at your local library, or I got mine @ Amazon for Kindle for $10
She deals extensively with that . Lots of ideas.

That's probably what my husband would say if I had one.

 

[BobBry]

My ww often says things like "Make me a sandwich;" in that particular example I often reply that I ain't no magician.