The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Mumsy]

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

Thank you. My philosophy for gardening is very simple. If you have a plant that thrives, plant more of it. If you have a plant you love and it thrives, let it take over your world. I live on a scant 1/2 acre. I planted 230 rose varieties and species over 24 years ago. Those that survived and thrive have taken over. My wild gardens are a haven. A sanctuary. A paradise for my chickens, for me, and for any who visit.


A weed is any and every plant that is growing in the wrong place. Period. My 1/2 acre is a densely planted and intoxicating place in the Spring and summer. Something is blooming eleven months of the year. That was intentional. The chickens benefit from that endeavor.

 

[lalaland]

Thank you. My philosophy for gardening is very simple. If you have a plant that thrives, plant more of it. If you have a plant you love and it thrives, let it take over your world. I live on a scant 1/2 acre. I planted 230 rose varieties and species over 24 years ago. Those that survived and thrive have taken over. My wild gardens are a haven. A sanctuary. A paradise for my chickens, for me, and for any who visit.


A weed is any and every plant that is growing in the wrong place. Period. My 1/2 acre is a densely planted and intoxicating place in the Spring and summer. Something is blooming eleven months of the year. That was intentional. The chickens benefit from that endeavor.

sounds wonderful - I can't imagine all the roses. I have rugosa roses, too, but here the deer eat them even with the thorns! But they still thrive and spread and I love the scent. Nothing worse than planting a flowering plant that has no scent - something that seems to be bred out of a lot of varieties of flowers.

Say Mumsy, some 20 years ago when you had scaly leg mites, how often did you do the kerosene leg dip to get rid of the mites?

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Quote:
Deal, but I have a "black thumb". I can't even get a cactus to live. If it is not already established in the ground, I tend to kill it. You will have to give me LOTS of instruction. And ya know our Silkies prolly won't be laying til late summer, I hope by then. Also I think maybe "Kung Pow"(Black Silkie) that I thought was a cockerel may actually be a pullet. The only one that is getting real big and has a much bigger comb is the Blue one. So I may have to wait til next year to get some of her eggs, unless you want an AOV color. I have a feeling we are going to do a BBS pen and a Buff/Partridge pen. And use our white as an incubator(too hard to keep clean)

 

[Leahs Mom]

Mumsy - you are our resident garden expert so I have a question.

As I was saying earlier, I'm wanting to plant some kind of hedge/privacy/windbreak along the front of the property. There is currently a 6 ft. chain link fence up there but I need privacy for various reasons. I was hoping for something that would cover for winter too but not arborvitae, or yew. Here in Indiana the spruces die from the bottom up and I think I'd rather have a hedge type plant similar to the roses you showed us.

But...I don't want thorns.

Do you have any recommendation for something hedge-like, about 5 ft. tallish that doesn't require a lot of maintenance but would give good privacy? It would be a benefit if it was chicken-friendly but I mostly need the privacy and wind-break aspect.

My knowledge of plants is pretty nil. I don't have problems planting and maintaining them, just don't know what to get. I was going to try to wade through that list of hedges on that website I listed earlier but I'd love to hear what you'd recommend!

 

[Mumsy]

sounds wonderful - I can't imagine all the roses. I have rugosa roses, too, but here the deer eat them even with the thorns! But they still thrive and spread and I love the scent. Nothing worse than planting a flowering plant that has no scent - something that seems to be bred out of a lot of varieties of flowers.

Say Mumsy, some 20 years ago when you had scaly leg mites, how often did you do the kerosene leg dip to get rid of the mites?

That's the true beauty of Rugosas. The deer can browse on them but can't kill them. They keep coming back. I had forgotten to mention the heady aroma of a Rugosa bloom is that of strong cloves. I speacalize in growing scented flowers. Most of the two hundred surviving roses on my property are old European or species. Some of the 24 year old shrubs are the size of a garage! They have engulfed some trees! My property drips in roses in June.


That rose climbing up the vine into the Hemlock tree is a rose that originated here. It has my name.

It's hard to find my chickens in this garden if they don't want to be found.

About the kerosene for leg mites. I did it one time. If I did it again I'd do it this way. Clean the legs first with soap, water, and a soft tooth brush. Pat dry. Getting the dirt and gunk off those crusty mite infested scales. Then brush on the kerosene or dip. Keeping the kerosene off the feathers on the upper leg. If it's a heavy infestation, I'd repeat in a few days. You can also make a solution of the kerosene, lard, and sulfur. Much like Nu Stock. Instead of pine oil substitute Kerosene. Much the same.

I use kerosene for different things in the coop. I put it in a sprayer and douse the chick house between batches. I let it dry out and air out. Kills all buglettes. I use it instead of Neem oil if I don't have any. It's what the farmers used in the old days. My local farm store sells one gallon and five gallon cans.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I was pretty excited today to find that the hen house was running inside temperatures about 10 degrees higher than outside. That's a first for me. Not sure if it's the litter but whatever it is, I'll take it!

And that's w/the pop door open as usual.

 

[Melabella]

Mumsy - you are our resident garden expert so I have a question.

As I was saying earlier, I'm wanting to plant some kind of hedge/privacy/windbreak along the front of the property. There is currently a 6 ft. chain link fence up there but I need privacy for various reasons. I was hoping for something that would cover for winter too but not arborvitae, or yew. Here in Indiana the spruces die from the bottom up and I think I'd rather have a hedge type plant similar to the roses you showed us.

But...I don't want thorns.

Do you have any recommendation for something hedge-like, about 5 ft. tallish that doesn't require a lot of maintenance but would give good privacy? It would be a benefit if it was chicken-friendly but I mostly need the privacy and wind-break aspect.

My knowledge of plants is pretty nil. I don't have problems planting and maintaining them, just don't know what to get. I was going to try to wade through that list of hedges on that website I listed earlier but I'd love to hear what you'd recommend!

I am no expert by any means, but all along my front line of my property is a line of Forsythia hedge that in the two years I have owned this house, has swelled to over 6 ft. Of course, in Spring it is a burst of yellow, then moving onto a wonderful green hedge in summer and fall. It loses it's leaves very late, and even though it is only branches in the winter, they're very abundant and also interwoven so thick, I notice the deer can't get through it, and it still provides a very good privacy shield. We've enjoyed it so much, we planted a whole row along our back property where we lost some white pines and needed privacy from our back neighbors. They grow extremely fast. Some people manicure them for a very trimmed appearance, but we let our just go wild, and it's wonderful. They are also quite affordable.


MB

 

[ChickChickChicky]

Mumsy - you are our resident garden expert so I have a question.

As I was saying earlier, I'm wanting to plant some kind of hedge/privacy/windbreak along the front of the property. There is currently a 6 ft. chain link fence up there but I need privacy for various reasons. I was hoping for something that would cover for winter too but not arborvitae, or yew. Here in Indiana the spruces die from the bottom up and I think I'd rather have a hedge type plant similar to the roses you showed us.

But...I don't want thorns.

Do you have any recommendation for something hedge-like, about 5 ft. tallish that doesn't require a lot of maintenance but would give good privacy? It would be a benefit if it was chicken-friendly but I mostly need the privacy and wind-break aspect.

My knowledge of plants is pretty nil. I don't have problems planting and maintaining them, just don't know what to get. I was going to try to wade through that list of hedges on that website I listed earlier but I'd love to hear what you'd recommend!

How about red twig dogwood? It has lots of nice green leaves spring & summer, colors up well in fall, then the branches are a bright showy red over winter. There are many varieties of it, with the main differences in varieties being the color of the bark and height, and sometimes the leaf color as well. The flowers aren't showy but the small fruits are edible (songbirds and chickens!). Just google "red twig dogwood"/

 

[lalaland]

That's the true beauty of Rugosas. The deer can browse on them but can't kill them. They keep coming back. I had forgotten to mention the heady aroma of a Rugosa bloom is that of strong cloves. I speacalize in growing scented flowers. Most of the two hundred surviving roses on my property are old European or species. Some of the 24 year old shrubs are the size of a garage! They have engulfed some trees! My property drips in roses in June.


That rose climbing up the vine into the Hemlock tree is a rose that originated here. I has my name.

That is so amazing and cool

It's hard to find my chickens in this garden if they don't want to be found.

About the kerosene for leg mites. I did it one time. If I did it again I'd do it this way. Clean the legs first with soap, water, and a soft tooth brush. Pat dry. Getting the dirt and gunk off those crusty mite infested scales. Then brush on the kerosene or dip. Keeping the kerosene off the feathers on the upper leg. If it's a heavy infestation, I'd repeat in a few days. You can also make a solution of the kerosene, lard, and sulfur. Much like Nu Stock. Instead of pine oil substitute Kerosene. Much the same.

I use kerosene for different things in the coop. I put it in a sprayer and douse the chick house between batches. I let it dry out and air out. Kills all buglettes. I use it instead of Neem oil if I don't have any. It's what the farmers used in the old days. My local farm store sells one gallon and five gallon cans.

I am definitely trying the kerosene. I hoped to do it Wed but life intervened and now tonight it is -40 windchill and I don't want to mess with it. Sunday will be the next daylight chance I get, and I think it might be above 0 , so.... thanks.

 

[Mumsy]

Mumsy - you are our resident garden expert so I have a question.

As I was saying earlier, I'm wanting to plant some kind of hedge/privacy/windbreak along the front of the property. There is currently a 6 ft. chain link fence up there but I need privacy for various reasons. I was hoping for something that would cover for winter too but not arborvitae, or yew. Here in Indiana the spruces die from the bottom up and I think I'd rather have a hedge type plant similar to the roses you showed us.

But...I don't want thorns.

Do you have any recommendation for something hedge-like, about 5 ft. tallish that doesn't require a lot of maintenance but would give good privacy? It would be a benefit if it was chicken-friendly but I mostly need the privacy and wind-break aspect.

My knowledge of plants is pretty nil. I don't have problems planting and maintaining them, just don't know what to get. I was going to try to wade through that list of hedges on that website I listed earlier but I'd love to hear what you'd recommend!

A number of plants come to mind. Shrub honeysuckle. Lonicera Nitida. It's easy. Takes maybe three years to fill in densely. The draw back is it's decidous. Looses it's leaves in the winter. Good side. It's dense.

Lilac. Many species. Dense. No thorns. Lovely. Same draw back as honeysuckle. Not much to look at in the winter.

Spirea. Same as above but the pretty flowers aren't as fragrant.

There are the big boys in the shrub department. They are evergreen and grow into a solid dense wall. Down side. They can grow immense! True beasts of green mountains and will eventually need massive pruning. I don't like those kinds of hedges unless I live on a big property and want to hide my 'less than desirable neighbors property'. Been there. Done that. Laurels, Cypress, and those types.

Chickens will hide where ever they can fit. I like thorny shrubs because they offer protection. Barberry is good like that. Has berries too. The best thing to do. Sneak a peak at what is growing in your neighbors lot. If you like it, ask them what it is. At least you know it will grow where you live.