Official Squatch Watchers

[Chickassan]

@21hens-incharge if you get milkweed put it in a pot at least at first the rhizome system is teeny tiny but freakishly long a potted start helps loads with finding new plants.
The seeds are my white whale, iv'e never been able to get the pods.
They've broken off and last year the monarch pillars ate them.

 

[Parront]

And you don't dare mention it b/c someone w a stick up their butt will start making suggestions.

Yeah, guess posting it here could be considered mentioning it
But, you guys here won't tell! I compared the county here with Prescott, unless you have 5 acres the county rule is 8 chickens/acre after the first acre, where you can have 8 on any size lot. But, you can have 2 horses per acre.

 

[Chickassan]

What a pretty bee! Down here we have a new kind of bee the asian shaggy digger..yeah it is really called that lol! They'll scare the poop out of you, they dig obviously but they do it together.
Imagine 100 plus all living in a hole but only one bee per hole. They're hyper so a lot of in and out, for the longest I thought they were yellow jackets due to the ground being alive with these goofy looking bees.

Those are wicked cool!



OH NO!!!!
You may have to hand pollinate.

WTH with all the bee colony issues! Whyyyyy would they spray such an awful chemical.


I think my neighbors bees died again.

I have not seen ANY in at least a week.

I better check my tomato plants.
The peas are getting pollinated but likely just from the bumbles. Those big guys pry open the flowers to get in there. Pretty fascinating really.

https://guides.nynhp.org/american-bumble-bee/

I am 99% sure this was the type I saw.

 

[Molpet]

WTH with all the bee colony issues! Whyyyyy would they spray such an awful chemical.

they figured the gypsy moths were worse, I live next to forest preserves. They sprayed about 1/2 mile out from the woods to try and control them. https://www.daily-journal.com/news/...cle_d263f36d-965a-5338-8414-35aa3da94eb2.html

 

[apryl29]

It is time to either send in a poo sample or treat the flock for worms. Soft shelled eggs are a symptom. Any vet that does fecal float testing can test for worms in chickens. Poo is poo after all

Good idea. I have a vet that does it. I got a post card in the mail from them this weekend too. I wormed them over winter so hopefully it's not that... I'm getting about 6 eggs a day and I don't really want to be throwing them away for a month.

 

[Parront]

they figured the gypsy moths were worse, I live next to forest preserves. They sprayed about 1/2 mile out from the woods to try and control them. https://www.daily-journal.com/news/...cle_d263f36d-965a-5338-8414-35aa3da94eb2.html

People think BT is harmless because it is listed as ok for organic.

 

[ronott1]

People think BT is harmless because it is listed as ok for organic.

I know!

 

[Molpet]

People think BT is harmless because it is listed as ok for organic.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bt-corn_b_2442072

 

[Parront]

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bt-corn_b_2442072

Exactly.

 

[21hens-incharge]

@21hens-incharge if you get milkweed put it in a pot at least at first the rhizome system is teeny tiny but freakishly long a potted start helps loads with finding new plants.
The seeds are my white whale, iv'e never been able to get the pods.
They've broken off and last year the monarch pillars ate them.

Good to know!
The garden center I go to has a guy that is a pond specialist.
He said the milkweed will do well in my bog filter and should attract boards of bees and butterflies.

Overwintering......he thinks it should be ok outside but I think I will bury the pot in the garden just in case.