Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[SilkieSensation]

Quick question: I have a cute little frizzled serama hen. What should I do with her in winter?

I tried to knit her a sweater, but it was a flop. Her legs keep getting stuck up in it and I'd find her laying on the coop floor all stressed out and tangled up. So... dangerous.

Seramas tend to need heat in winter, especially the frizzles. If you can put her & a friend in garage, basement, shed, barn with a heat lamp she will do much better.

 

[LittleMissPurdy]

My pussy willows are the "old fashioned" kind. They were surprisingly hard to find, but my sister wanted some like out Mom used to grow. I remember my Dad hating the flowering bushes, but especially that pussy willow, so one time he cut it down to the ground. My Mom was furious because it came from her Mom and had sentimental value. I was a young boy, but even then I knew a lot more about plants than my Mom, so I told her to not worry, it would come back - and it did, it grew more than 6 feet high in 1 summer, and the next spring it had the best "crop" of giant-sized pussy willows ever! What a great comeback. After that, Mom let Dad cut it back every spring, after she cut some to force inside.

That is the way I manage our bushes also, cut back to the ground every spring and sheared again in mid-summer to make them branch and keep them lower. Not a low-maintenance hedge or anything, but they have sentimental value for me now that my Mom is gone.

I have never worked with willow of any kind, am thinking they may be a little too involved for me here..in such a small area. I would always be having to trim them. They are one of favorites though, always thought they would make great "forts"..hahaha..and much can be made from their branches. Love your story, reminds me of my parents..if my mom wouldn't keep a good eye on my dad, he would have everything chopped back...for him, sometimes it comes back..sometimes not..then he really hears it!

...
I planted a rose garden when we had lived with them, now it is my mothers..I told my dad to just pretend it's not there. I take care of it every time we visit. Mom makes sure he leaves it alone

..

 

[sharron]

I have never worked with willow of any kind, am thinking they may be a little too involved for me here..in such a small area. I would always be having to trim them. They are one of favorites though, always thought they would make great "forts"..hahaha..and much can be made from their branches. Love your story, reminds me of my parents..if my mom wouldn't keep a good eye on my dad, he would have everything chopped back...for him, sometimes it comes back..sometimes not..then he really hears it!

...
I planted a rose garden when we had lived with them, now it is my mothers..I told my dad to just pretend it's not there. I take care of it every time we visit. Mom makes sure he leaves it alone

..

danielle, if you don't have alot of property its best not to have willows of any sort, they hunt water with the roots even being able to crack pipes, enough roots block the pipes so that nothing goes thru them, (plumbers wife

) i'm not allowed to have willows around close to the house, had some of the curly limbs given to me , needless to say, they went to the very back of the acres, don't know if they grew of not, don't go down there very often

 

[dragbikeguy]

Northumberland county

 

[chiques chicks]

Northumberland county

welcome! Now tell us what you have!

Lots of friendly people here, join in the fun.

 

[chiques chicks]

danielle, if you don't have alot of property its best not to have willows of any sort, they hunt water with the roots even being able to crack pipes, enough roots block the pipes so that nothing goes thru them, (plumbers wife ) i'm not allowed to have willows around close to the house, had some of the curly limbs given to me , needless to say, they went to the very back of the acres, don't know if they grew of not, don't go down there very often

Ditto on the poplars. I keep them 30-40 ft from any pipes for the same reason.

Poplar and willow are both good at removing contaminants, but their roots spread and both suck up a lot of water, that explains their fast growth and soft wood.

Neither is extremely long lived or strong. They break easily in storms.

 

[dragbikeguy]

from central pa, milton that is, I am raising 25 right now in the house and cant wait to get them in the coop. this is my first attempt, and love it, so fare. all of my birds are 3 weeks old now, I have 10 buff orpingtons, 10 barrad rocks and 5 araucanas AKA easter eggers. and then I had bought 5 sexlinks for the wife, she just had to have some fresh eggs, its funny now she is all proud she can go into the coop and hold them and I swear the one is a dog because I was digging potatoes yesterday and she followed me all over, and bonus for her was, she ate the worms when I was digging potato's got to love them or eat them. lol

 

[chippysmom327]

Quick question: I have a cute little frizzled serama hen. What should I do with her in winter?

I tried to knit her a sweater, but it was a flop. Her legs keep getting stuck up in it and I'd find her laying on the coop floor all stressed out and tangled up. So... dangerous.

Seramas tend to need heat in winter, especially the frizzles. If you can put her & a friend in garage, basement, shed, barn with a heat lamp she will do much better.

Thanks! I'll look for a friend for her at the swap this weekend.

 

[chippysmom327]

For sale: two 5-month old call drakes. I have too many boys. They're very nice, passive little guys. And they're super cute. I don't know if the brown one is grey or snowy, he still needs to feather out. I think grey, but he has a snowy looking breast.

Really needing a white hen, would love to trade or cash is fine. Just make an offer

 

[OneMountainAcres]

isn't this the cutest little puddle of feathers you've ever seen? I had them shut in the main run today and sprinkled treats up the ramp to get them to climb it. A few of them did and then they realized there was a big roost up there (in the run) that they could jump to. After a while, I grabbed mama and each of the babies and threw them in the coop so they could check it out. Well, that was at 2:30 and apparently Cloud thought it was bedtime so she called everyone over to one of the nest boxes and snuggled in lol. They've been there ever since. Those babies little crops were so full that I think they'll be fine till morning lol.

Daisy came in to lay her egg (scared all the babies with her very loud egg song) and was quite curious. ...

This is what she got for her curiosity lol. Thankfully she's very mild mannered and didn't freak out lol. She left them stay there for about 5 minutes before she got out and picked a different box lol.