North Carolina

[ramirezframing]

hey yall!!! just wanted to speak since I have not been on in a lonnnggg while.. SPRING HAS ARRIVED!!!! Im so EXCITED!

Long time no see. How are things going?

 

[ramirezframing]

Quote: I keep forgetting that NC does have skunks, luckily we don't have them in our area. Imagining how many times I probably would have found one as a kid much less how my kids would fare now.

 

[ramirezframing]

Quote: Glad to hear you are doing better.

 

[cwhittington]

I know this may sound a little hokey, but I swear by the vitamin C packets like Emergen-C to prevent or reduce a cold. The CVS or store brand is just as good. I'm in healthcare and prefer to not take meds as much as possible, but I think these work well. Obviously, if you have any health conditions, talk to your PCP first. If I feel a cold coming on (thanks to working in pediatrics, that's not uncommon!), I'll immediately take a few packs a day and it rarely develops into a full blown cold.

In other news, this little guy has decided to camp out in my coop!


I think we managed to peacefully evict him, but both of us were quite surprised to see each other

I'm surprised he was willing to leave the all you can eat buffet! How did you peacefully evict him? We have them around here...I catch a whiff every now and then

 

[ChookAtThis]

I keep forgetting that NC does have skunks, luckily we don't have them in our area. Imagining how many times I probably would have found one as a kid much less how my kids would fare now.

He/she was actually really cute and just kinda stayed in the corner with his nose tucked under his tail while I straightened up the coop... moving slowly and talking to him. You know, 'cause telling a skunk "Hey buddy, it's going to be alright. I'm not gonna hurt you but I'm going to have to ask you to leave soon, ok?" is really helpful and not in the least bit crazy! I was probably 10 feet away from him the whole time with the chickens running around us. I just figured I would high-tail it out of there if he stood up and/or started stomping his feet. Luckily, it didn't come to that. We seemed to have come to an understanding

 

[Hollowoakfarm]

Quote: Kept trying to take some yesterday, but it wasn't staying where I put it. TMI

I also talk to the wildlife and move slowly around them. Hubby thinks I'm nuts because the wasps don't react to me. I leave them alone except for evicting the ones around doorways, in nest boxes and in rabbit cages. But since they're beneficial, I leave the rest. I'll have a dinner plate sized nest inches over my head without them reacting to me. If hubby goes in without following my directions, though...he's gonna get stung. We even had hornets one year! Wish I could get more. We had NO flies that year!

Yay, spring has sprung! The eggs are blooming!

Gorgeous!

 

[ChookAtThis]

Kept trying to take some yesterday, but it wasn't staying where I put it.  TMI

Lol, all I could think was "maybe don't put it there then!" but I'm not sure how that comes across NOT in person Like I said, I'm in healthcare... there's no such thing as TMI. Or maybe I should rephrase that to... I get paid to hear TMI!

 

[ChookAtThis]

I'm surprised he was willing to leave the all you can eat buffet!  How did you peacefully evict him? We have them around here...I catch a whiff every now and then

We had sunk sheets of metal flashing 12" underground around the coop, so that's been keeping things out. Every now and then I would see a little hole started until dink! they ran into the flashing and I would laugh and mutter "sucker!" under my breath. Well, apparently he was pretty persistent and kept trying until he found an area in the corner where the sheets were not overlapping far enough and squeezed in there. He wasn't bothering the chickens up on the roosts and couldn't climb into the nesting boxes for eggs, but he was loving the free chicken feed! The first time I saw him was when I went in to close up one night and he was chowing down at the feeder. I had made our feeders out of PVC pipes and just went to the store and got end cap plugs (?) from the plumbing department and have just been plugging the feeders when I close up at night. I also got quik-crete and poured it in the hole he dug, but he just dug back through that! When I actually found him in there and took the pic, it was because I moved a chicken hut that sits in the coop and he came running out from under that. I think he had actually made a den in there for at least a few nights, so was used to me coming and going. That's when I told him he had to go, so I opened up all the doors, let the chooks in the yard, turned the hut over on it's side so there was no more hidey space under it, and just went back in the house for a few hours to let him mosey out in peace. Since I took away his den and plugged the feeders, I haven't seen him back. I don't mind him being in the area to eat rodents and what not, but i told him he just can't live in my coop or eat my chicken feed!

Sorry for the crummy pic, but this is the cap I'm talking about. You can barely see the top of the flashing too against the wood.

 

[ChookAtThis]

Very pretty! There's an egg photo contest going on over in the hatch-a-long section. You should enter if you haven't already.

Thanks! My best friend just told me I have too much time on my hands when I sent her that pic I told her chicken time and chicken math defy the laws of nature!!!

 

[flockofbantams]

Very pretty! There's an egg photo contest going on over in the hatch-a-long section. You should enter if you haven't already.

Thanks! My best friend just told me I have too much time on my hands when I sent her that pic I told her chicken time and chicken math defy the laws of nature!!!

Lol! Agree!