The Old Folks Home

[Highcotton]

Quote:

Ask any wild turkey hunter if their quarry is stoopid and you will easily learn, a wild turkey is formidable prey to make even the most skilled human hunter look foolish a time or three. The only fault I have ever seen in a heritage turkey is they are curious...curious to a very fault and as their surrogate parent, it is YOUR duty to ensure that if they decide to fly over an inadequate fence to investigate something that's caught their fancy, you are always within ear shot to hear their cries of "Help me...save me...I have tested the rules and gone too far!" Heritage turkeys are NOT stupid...I however, wish I could say the same about the humans that raise them inadequately and blame the bird for their inadequacies.

There is a really good show on PBS. I think it is on Nature about a man who was a surrogate mother to a flock of Wild Turkeys for several months. He had to teach them everything they needed to know to survive.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Corn. What gives?
I admit I haven't raised what we used to call 'field corn' or 'horse corn' for many decades but I'm a bit stumped.
My wife and daughter brought corn seed from the Elephant sanctuary in Thailand. I planted some figuring it might be non-GMO.
It is now 11 feet tall and doesn't seem to be trying to go to seed. There's not a hint of an ear starting nor any tassling.
At this rate, compared to other corn I've grown, it will be 15-20' before it puts out ears.
I guess this is Thai elephant corn.
The sanctuary gave packets of seed with the message to grow this seed and bring corn back to feed the elephants. I think I'll need an elephant to pick it.

ETA

I remember people on Cat Island in the Bahamas harvesting corn from scrawny stalks that were about 3' tall.

 

[subhanalah]

Now, see, you are making a number of assumptions that may or may not be valid. First, you are assuming that my chickens could eat a snake. Most of my birds are bantam sized, and are in numerous cages; I'm not sure they have the beak strength to eat the snake. At the very least, I'd have to chop it up into little bits for them to even have a chance to eat it before it spoiled. Most likely, a snake dying here would go to waste - I've found several that got caught in bird netting or whatever; the smell is what drew my attention, so even the local scavengers didn't find them before they rotted. I'm not up to putting a snake in my Cusinart just so the chickens can make use of it.

As I said, it's the rainiest part of the year here. Water is abundant, small prey is abundant, cover - well, have you ever been in a poquoson? A surveyor with many years' experience as an outdoorsman died of heatstroke when he got lost in one a few years ago here. They found his body only a few hundred yards from his truck. I nearly got shot by a couple of kids playing with a .22 near my house a few years ago - they were only about 100 feet from me, and didn't see me (boy, they sure heard me when I heard that bullet rip through the leaves near me, though!!) I daresay something as secretive as a snake would have little trouble avoiding being seen in such conditions. Temperatures are so warm right now, the snakes are active at night, too. This snake didn't get 5 feet long eating my eggs and chicks, so it must be reasonably good at finding prey and avoiding predators. The way I see it, wild animals risk their lives every day: they almost never die of old age. While I understand that this snake's chances in unfamiliar territory aren't good, they are far better than his chances with me and the shovel. Chances are, whether this snake survives for long after being relocated or not, its cause of death won't be either hunger or thirst. Hopefully, whatever kills it actually will eat it, and it will feed more than flies and fungi.

I haven't been able to read the whole thing...because I got distracted....YOU LIVE IN POQUOSON?! Like, Virginia's Poquoson?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

And no "My chickens ate my homework" excuses are valid. (Although I would not be amazed if a chicken did that)

They did eat my homework.
In my chicken classes I bring ingredient/analysis tags from all types of feed and distribute them in class. I use them to reinforce the relationship of protein and calcium in various feeds so the students won't be confused feeding their birds when they're on their own.
Whenever I have some feed bags in a building with a bunch of roosters they eat the tags off of them limiting my teaching aids.

 

[vehve]

They did eat my homework.
In my chicken classes I bring ingredient/analysis tags from all types of feed and distribute them in class. I use them to reinforce the relationship of protein and calcium in various feeds so the students won't be confused feeding their birds when they're on their own.
Whenever I have some feed bags in a building with a bunch of roosters they eat the tags off of them limiting my teaching aids.

Scoundrels.

 

[chickisoup]

Now, see, you are making a number of assumptions that may or may not be valid. First, you are assuming that my chickens could eat a snake. Most of my birds are bantam sized, and are in numerous cages; I'm not sure they have the beak strength to eat the snake. At the very least, I'd have to chop it up into little bits for them to even have a chance to eat it before it spoiled. Most likely, a snake dying here would go to waste - I've found several that got caught in bird netting or whatever; the smell is what drew my attention, so even the local scavengers didn't find them before they rotted. I'm not up to putting a snake in my Cusinart just so the chickens can make use of it.


OK, OK, I'm trying to just quietly lurk and get caught up but I just can't let this go by!!!! Sorry

What's long and green and slimy and goes a hundred miles an hour????

A SNAKE IN A BLENDER!

 

[superchemicalgirl]

HI EVERYONE!!!! I HAVE MISSED YA'LL!!! So I am officially a nurse! and I have my first official job!

Everything here is going great. How have ya'll been?

CONGRATS!

 

[Wisher1000]

Good morning friends.

I think I am going to need several espressos to get me thru this day. Started out early because it was too hot and muggy to sleep in for me and our the chooks. Hubby slept in a bit which was just fine by me, good hubby. He finally crawled out and plopped on the couch in front of the fan where I was able to give him a huge hug and "I love you" and tell him a huge "Happy 20th Anniversary"! I spent most of my adult life as a single mom (married and divorced very young) with no intent of ever re-marrying when this knight in shining armor rode into my life. Funny how you can not even know you need rescuing until you are

Then, I no sooner started for a fresh cuppa when the phone rings. It is the wife of hubby's brother. With a quick apology for calling so early, she asked to speak with Pa (never a good sign). The brain tumor has returned for my sweety's brother and it's bigger than before.

He's on meds to try and shrink it and they meet with the neurosurgeon on Thursday to set the date for the next surgery. Your prayers for him and my sweety would be greatly appreciated.

I think I need to go outside and get a little chicken therapy now.

I'm sorry to hear that Chicki, you will all be on my prayer list. Happy Anniversary, and bless you all.

HI EVERYONE!!!! I HAVE MISSED YA'LL!!! So I am officially a nurse! and I have my first official job!

Everything here is going great. How have ya'll been?

Welcome back and congratulations! I wondered where you were. I hope you go back with your scrubs and ID badge and give those instructors who kicked you out a great big

!! Be proud of yourself, I know your Mom is, and so am I.

 

[Bunnylady]

Quote: No, I've been trying to spell a word that I've often heard, but seldom seen - pocosin (Spell-check has no clue). It's a common ecosystem around here, characterized by dense, shrubby vegetation and rather wet, boggy soil (I guess Poquoson's founding fathers didn't know how to spell it either, since it is apparently the inspiration for the name of the town).

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Inland non-tidal wetland

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocosin

Is this it?

http://mtnhp.org/nwi/PEM.asp