The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Bulldogma]

On the subject of fencing...
Or.... There is always this.... Me, LoinMaster.... Fencing.....



Trivia question: What is it that I am holding?

Stop it! It hurts when soda exits through my nose! And you're going to make Stony mad...
LOL!
Yes - a foil. Great for fencing... not so great for containing chickens.

 

[loanwizard]

It is called a foil..the blade that is being held by the chipendale man.

thanks for the info about willow

I was searching for the word Epee but you may be right depending upon length and weight..... Dang! Bunch of smart people heah!

 

[delisha]

 

[Bulldogma]

Just put Tanker in solitary... Went out to feed the quarantine birds and she had a foamy eye. I thought I had heard her sneeze before.
She's eating well and not lethargic, but I'm taking no chances. The other new birds all have clear eyes. Hopefully she gets over this in a day or two... just probably not a great idea to keep her out with the temperatures dropping like a rock tonight. I think the stress of moving to a new place paired with temperatures that have gone from the 20's to the 70's and now into the teens put her over the edge health wise.

I'll take the opportunity while she's in the house and soak her feet. Those poor things have a real job holding up so much bird all the time. I think they have impacted glands and I know some scales are lifted up (treated with NuStock the moment they hit our property).

*sigh*

put a stunning very Randy RIR/Buff Orphington rooster in the roosterless coop. Not his permanent home, but for now it will settle things down a little in the front yard. He has been chasing RIR's around, all 7 of them. They aren't "his" girls. He is or was

a "free agent" getting whatever he could...when he could. I want to breed him to my RIR's....but he needs to grow up a little. This isn't him, but he looks almost exactly like this.

6 or 7 months old and full of hormones.

. Hopefully 7 of his own girls will calm him down a little

Very pretty bird!

 

[Leahs Mom]

After all this talk about hedge fencing, I went out looking for information. Those Rugosa's are very pretty but I'm not sure I want to deal with the thorns. I found this web site that has a run-down on lots of different kinds of hedges in one place. Thought someone else may be interested in it.

http://www.hedgesdirect.co.uk/acatalog/Right_Species.html

 

[Leahs Mom]

Bummer on tanker.

 

[Mumsy]

Wow...those are really pretty.

I wonder....if I had a goat or lamb...I wonder if they would eat those? (I'm still thinking I'm going to get a couple for meat this spring.)

I'm looking for something to run across the front fence line since it's state highway and I'd like some privacy up there. That would be beautiful, I think. I don't plan on the goats or lambs to be in that particular pasture but... goats may end up over there of their own accord!!!

Mumsy - what do they look like in the winter?

Rugosa roses are super tough. I have them planted though out my property. They are best in larger gardens or properties. As a hedge they are unequaled. Beauty. Ease of cultivation. Impervious to uninvited trespassers. Animal or human. They naturalize after planting. Slowly spreading but not invasive. Deer don't like them. (a bonus where I live). The down side? They are not much to look at in the winter. They are so dense they will catch wind blown litter. Not a problem where I live. I'm all about growing plants that are indigenous and not invasive. I'm also all about growing things that don't need fertilizing or spraying. Rugosa Rosas fit the bill for all of that. Plus. Those hips are a super source for vitamin C. Higher in concentration than oranges.

 

[Mumsy]

Rugosas come in single flower and Doubles. There are few roses on earth that are more hardy. The hips are beneficial to chickens and humans. They can be dried. I add the ground dried hips to my FF.


The Nootka Rose. Grows from Alaska to Northern California. Naturalized in my wild garden. Smaller hips than the Rugosas.

These are all wild roses. They grow easily and freely. They are natives and extremly hardy. Chickens like to hide under them, eat the hips, and scratch in the litter beneath the shrub. They can and do naturalize.

 

[armorfirelady]

Mumsymthise roses are beautiful.....I'm always looking for new plants to grow that are easy to do. Def thinking about adding them to my property line for some privacy.

Aoxa I also love the willow hedge. Bet it would love living in my "lake" I get frequently when it rains lol

 

[stonykill]

We can't remove wild roses fast enough. They are so invasive. Constantly removing unwanted ones in the yard. My chickens didn't really care for ours. That might just be because they had better hiding places without thorns?