***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[NanaKat]

Quote: Kass, we have the wild passion vine on our place too. They always come back in the same place where they were the year before. This may be from the older vines or they could be reseeding where they are established. Some of our vines are really big...so they might be coming back on the old vines. Some are large enough to give a "roof" on a few big brush piles we left for the wildlife in the back pasture. I wouldn't cut them back and I would use leaf litter to mulch the roots. My Aunt had one at a house she rented years ago. It was growing on the chain link fence and was there for several years. Maybe it's like a Clematis.vine.

 

[NanaKat]

Quote: Do you ever see seedlings under or near the tree? I would be interested in getting a starter.

 

[Kassaundra]

Kass, we have the wild passion vine on our place too. They always come back in the same place where they were the year before. This may be from the older vines or they could be reseeding where they are established. Some of our vines are really big...so they might be coming back on the old vines. Some are large enough to give a "roof" on a few big brush piles we left for the wildlife in the back pasture. I wouldn't cut them back and I would use leaf litter to mulch the roots. My Aunt had one at a house she rented years ago. It was growing on the chain link fence and was there for several years. Maybe it's like a Clematis.vine.

That is what I was thinking, the blooms remind me of a fancy clematis. I will leave he vines and see in the spring.

Gotta love pics of broodies and babies.


My peach and cherry tree died this spring, were drown.

 

[Poco Pollo]

It's the kind that plugs up to a propane tank, with a big metal pot that just sits on top. It's meant to be used outside. I will bring my propane tank. It should be mostly full.

Perfect. We'll have hot water that we don't need to carry.

 

[Ironsights]

I have too many chickens and that's counting (as opposed to chicken math). Oh well, I just have to build more pens. Lots of chickens are expensive.
@ Kassaundra,
I noticed in another thread that you are an expert caponizer? I want to do some. Is there a kit available and instructions? Is it too hot now?
On a side note, I found my fathers kit which was never used, but purchased in the early 60's. Yes I remember him buying it. LOL

 

[Ironsights]

I just don't know if the tools have changed.

 

[Poco Pollo]

Coyotes are driving me to distraction. Free-rangers were reluctant to leave their pens yesterday, so I set traps before I went to bed. I put a flag on the anchor post, so I could tell that I'd caught something without going all the way to the traps this morning. I'm getting better with practice. This one went down with the first shot and was motionless in under thirty seconds. You can see the exit wound on the chest. I'm going to put up some wire fencing when I move my pens in a couple weeks. I want to have a protected space for the free-rangers. Does Lowe's still carry bird netting? Does anybody know who has the best price? I want to put something over the top of the run area to keep hawks and owls out.

 

[NanaKat]

Quote: We lost an Apricot, a nectarine and a cherry tree. Seems some young trees just don't like to have their feet wet for a long period of time. We also lost a honeysuckle bush too. Hated to loose this one since it was from my mother's yard.

Coyotes are driving me to distraction. Free-rangers were reluctant to leave their pens yesterday, so I set traps before I went to bed. I put a flag on the anchor post, so I could tell that I'd caught something without going all the way to the traps this morning. I'm getting better with practice. This one went down with the first shot and was motionless in under thirty seconds. You can see the exit wound on the chest. I'm going to put up some wire fencing when I move my pens in a couple weeks. I want to have a protected space for the free-rangers. Does Lowe's still carry bird netting? Does anybody know who has the best price? I want to put something over the top of the run area to keep hawks and owls out.

Great guardian! Last time I checked at Lowe's, they still had bird netting.
FarmTek catalog has pretty good prices on fencing, netting, etc (agricultural, growing and storage needs)
The sell by the roll, and the foot in different widths.

 

[NanaKat]

Both hubby and I come from a long line of recycling/repurposer families. In fact we used to call his father's barn...The Store...because of all the stuff he had tucked away in there.
Anyway, my sister in law sent me a whole stack of oval plastic Blue Bunny ice cream cartons with lids that hold about 7 cups of ice cream. I have been trying to decide what to do with them and after cleaning cages today in the brooder room, the light bulb went one. Several of the cages have birds in them that love to scratch out their feed which then falls thru the wire bottom to the tray below. This not only wastes food, but the mice love the free buffet.
Chicks in the brooder are the same way.

So this is what I have been experimenting with.... A serrated knife and a sharp pair of scissors along with a permanent marker was all I needed. .
Trying to figure out how to attach the feeders/waterers to the sides of the cages, I used the pieces cut from the openings and figured out two different hanging ideas.

The S hooks have a bigger end to accomodate the thickness of the lip of the carton and a smaller end for hanging on the cage wire. The second is so I can use nail heads. the plastic bends easily although the painted surface cracks and peels.


Several configurations on the cuts for chicks, bigger birds, food wasters.....Of course, the large fowl could just have the containers attached in their cages without the lids. Even with all the cut out openings, the plastic is surprisingly strong. The lids snap on and off easily from the front of the container..

 

[Adorkable]

Coyotes are driving me to distraction. Free-rangers were reluctant to leave their pens yesterday, so I set traps before I went to bed. I put a flag on the anchor post, so I could tell that I'd caught something without going all the way to the traps this morning. I'm getting better with practice. This one went down with the first shot and was motionless in under thirty seconds. You can see the exit wound on the chest. I'm going to put up some wire fencing when I move my pens in a couple weeks. I want to have a protected space for the free-rangers. Does Lowe's still carry bird netting? Does anybody know who has the best price? I want to put something over the top of the run area to keep hawks and owls out.

Not sure about Lowes, but we just order this bird netting from amazon. It's $20 for 14 x 45 feet to put over our run. I might spray paint some silver stripes on it to try and keep the hawks away. I just lost a speckled sussex hen yesterday to either a hawk or an owl. This is the second we've lost this year to an aerial predator (my run isn't covered and my layers free range. It was early evening sometime after my husband mowed the yard. Soon as we get the run covered I'm going to lock them up in the run for a few days so they can eat the grass in there since it's getting really tall and to see if the hawks go away.

http://www.amazon.com/Dalen-BN4-45-...435867395&sr=8-4&keywords=bird-x+bird+netting