The Old Folks Home

[Wisher1000]

Bwahahahaha!

 

[chickadoodles]

Wisher I am sorry about your losing your bird. I hope your dog recovers quickly. Good luck on your trip, I hope you get gorgeous birds!

 

[vehve]

Wisher, was there any swelling around the leg? Did the vet check for snakebites? Prime snake weather that heat.

Our ridiculously small amount of currants had ripened, so we decided to pick them today. We already lost half of what little we had to the birds since it took over a week for us to notice they were enjoying the buffet before we intervened with bird netting. Today I discovered, that the bush apparently decided to fight back.

Poor thing must have suffered before dying of dehydration, it's been 30 deg C in the day all week. Might be a good idea to keep chickens away from such nets too, they could get tangled pretty badly.

We got about 3 liters berries from our red and white currant bushes. Not very much, but they only moved out here last fall, the other one was half of a bush we split, and the other one looked pretty old when we picked it up. Hopefully we'll get a better yield next year.

Also emptied the compost, harvested a potato tower (bad yield in that one too, it's been too dry, only got about 4kg total from it, but we had to harvest since the taters were dying in the heat). The potato tower harvesting meant that it was time to start filling the compost some more again, so now I've got my next batch cooking.

It's been a long day.

 

[Bunnylady]

Wisher'd need more than luck trying to get old folks into a tent at this time of year; it's all you can do to get them out of the AC.

But I fear that if you ever did get 'em into a tent, you might never get them out again . . . .

Wisher, sorry about your bird, but I guess he made the culling decision for you, didn't he?

I'm glad Paisley will be no worse for the wear; that does sound like something a goat would do. Some goats don't seem to care, but I had one that was worse than the mule about going after anything dog-like that came near her. I once saw her chase a fox around the barn 3 times before it got enough of a lead on her to slip back under the fence (sadly, not before it killed several chickens, though).

I hope your chicken adventure to Shreveport goes smoothly, and am looking forward to pics of the beautiful birds you bring back!

@vehve We have had to resort to bird netting on our blueberry bushes. My mother saw that, and asked, What? You can't share with the birds?" "Oh, I don't mind sharing with the birds," I told her. "The problem is that they don't share with me. If we didn't use the nets, we wouldn't get any!"

It's sad about the little bird, but I guess you've learned the hard way (as we have) that you need to check the nets. I've seen snakes get caught as well as birds; a couple of times, I was barely one step ahead of the cat!

 

[CanuckBock]

Heel low:

Busy and lovin' it. Everything's a blur and hard to suck it all in...but no matter, what FUN to be had, eh!

More birds hatching, more projects completed, more and more of SUMMER TIME.

Bought the dog a nice cush cushy blanket for our bed and yeh, she's been making the most of the good life. Always grin when I am testing a new product I may want to buy...can't EVER admit it has to be DOG approved...ha ha ha...

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Finding lots of spots to sit in the shade (marking eggs here on the 24th for setting to Buster).

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Ruminants have been placed in shady spots to do their environmental mowing...

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Can you hear the HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM...<<nummy>>​

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Can you imagine trying to clear this mess out beside the Coop fer Sure??

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Great work crew!​

Now I gotta go in and clip off the stems...

Moving birds, hatching birds, setting more eggs of birds...bird bird BIRDS! Yee haw and wee hee hee!

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First two bantam Wyandottes hatched

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Heritage turkeys are such curious creatures!

L00Kit...new Neighbours in the HOOD!​

GARLIC - Village idiot gardener up in frozen North...in spring, buy garlic at grocery store, divide up cloves and plant...

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...in fall harvest, dry some but while still pliable, braid and hang in kitchen on wall...​

Well no concept on how lucky we have been in the past 15+ years...truly say what you don't know don't keep you up worrying at night...SIGH!

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So we are hanging swingy dowels (frightfully priced those things but I did whine at Rick while he was buying a pair regarding the cost but he does what he does because he figures it is the bestest...can't argue with that!)...he put the camera INside the Mandarin pen with a nice plywood shield over top to inhibit them tree ducks from perching and duck gooing the whole affair!

We already know the band of tree ducks like to perch on high!

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We are doing the perimeter, been too hot to be hauling gravel but steady eddy it is being completed.

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So fine and dandy...I go in to make up a nice quick lunch and I come round the corner to see Rick looking off to the side. He figures he is looking at the UGLIEST dang squirrel EVER...not no squirrel it registers in both our minds at once...

WEASEL...dang WEASEL in the middle of the day...weasel in summer fur! Admittedly a cute thing...eratic movement, flit flit flit about but a DANG WEASEL is scurrying around on the logs of the fence right beside the Taj. So the Taj IS weasel proof...no ducks lost...no diggy digs...the Taj is Weasel PROOF! OK...gold star beside that design Rick my Hero! LOL

Cripers...I know we got them in this area...yeh, I KNOW I KNOW but to see one in the middle of the day and brazin' enough to come zipping about into view! It makes me ponder...new influx...is he just harvesting the mice...will he take one of the Mandarins...are these wild ducks dumb enough to sit by and be taken (they can fly, and now have more options of where to fly up and outta the danger area...perch on the swinging dowels).

What you don't know eh?

Nice! Were they expensive?

The stainless therapy tub I would not buy new...

http://www.electro-medical.com/hydrotherapy-tubs/

List prices started at $2,550 and ends at $6,200... sure, sure...love the chrome but buy it new??

Hmm, got me wondering now if the manufacturer's warranty covers bird brooding...bwa ha ha. I can buy like TEN of those dingy encased fancy smancy brooder boxes for the new price of one of these tubs.

Ad for Stan the Brooder Man
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Obviously I use him without the motor--unless I would like chick a la milkshakes???

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Some seven years ago, Buster's retail price up here in the Great White North was $1,200 and add in shipping (fairly heavy bulky item). We drove up to get him because they told us it might take SIX weeks to ship him down our way...nope, in the truck and ROAD TRIP the next day was Rick's response. Love that hero of mine...Buster gets about 80 to 90% hatch rate once I toss the clears in the spring (cold weather can kill embryos before I get round to collect them--not the bird's faults but mine for not being two or more places always at once!) so because I have no temperament tolerances for things that don't work at doing what they say they can, the Sportsman has been my salvation to no fuss no muss hatching. Works for me...Buster is wonderful!

We dig the hole in the summer/fall and cover it with a tarp and lots of hay. (For the cemetery)

I've been in all sorts of things poultry...from APA/ABA Youth Program Adviser for Canada to judging showmanship competitions at sanctioned poultry shows and Rick and I hosting a Youth Exhibition Poultry Club for two dozen people.

Nuff said, eh? I could keep going on & on but I probably overloaded you already...hee hee..



Originally Posted by ChickenCanoe :
I have a plan to install 4 extremely loud horns under my car pointing forward, backward and to both sides. When I'm in traffic at a stoplight adjacent to someone with such a loud radio that I can't hear my own, I'll have the opportunity to drown out their boom box.

Do I sound like a cranky old road Nazi?

So long as you are never deemed a SOUP Nazi...

I have no issues with drowning out other vehicle stereos! Back in the day, we use to do canned music to make extra funds for raising the family...Rick made his own set of speakers to fill auditoriums with sound so I use to get the giggles when the drunks would wander in the WRONG direction in front of one. See their hair blowing around in the sound WAVES--and they thought the headache was from the booze they consumed!

My kid is so kewl...this an outfit he greeted me with when we went to visit him this weekend...going to a medieval jousting tournament next month.

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I am so going to get him to come do Chantecler functions...dressed as the creator of the breed...Brother Wilfrid...bwah ha ha!

I could not figure out why Rick called him just before we arrived at his place...them two buggers were in on this, "Let's make Mom's Day" which it did! I so love my boys, eh? BRATS!

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So clearing out more and more bird pens...Rick is tiling it in and looking forward to all the composted rejuvenated soil.

On Friday went and picked up what they had in stock, bought and ordered up the 48 rubber buckets.

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So that is near done. The first bucket changed was that goosey gander's one!

It was not that I found a place that had a better discount (ten percent) on the quantity but a better initial price structure. One place was $3 higher on the 18 quarts which adds up quickly on two dozen buckets! LOL

So off I meander again...into the mayhem of all summer can be...

Oh oh oh WHAT FUN STUFFS!

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

 

[bamadude]

I need cliff notes

 

[chickisoup]

I need cliff notes

 

[bamadude]

Can any1 guess what these are? If u guess right, i will give u a free round trip to wherever u are...

 

[bamadude]

 

[vehve]

Wisher'd need more than luck trying to get old folks into a tent at this time of year; it's all you can do to get them out of the AC.

But I fear that if you ever did get 'em into a tent, you might never get them out again . . . .

Wisher, sorry about your bird, but I guess he made the culling decision for you, didn't he?

I'm glad Paisley will be no worse for the wear; that does sound like something a goat would do. Some goats don't seem to care, but I had one that was worse than the mule about going after anything dog-like that came near her. I once saw her chase a fox around the barn 3 times before it got enough of a lead on her to slip back under the fence (sadly, not before it killed several chickens, though).

I hope your chicken adventure to Shreveport goes smoothly, and am looking forward to pics of the beautiful birds you bring back!

@vehve We have had to resort to bird netting on our blueberry bushes. My mother saw that, and asked, What? You can't share with the birds?" "Oh, I don't mind sharing with the birds," I told her. "The problem is that they don't share with me. If we didn't use the nets, we wouldn't get any!"

It's sad about the little bird, but I guess you've learned the hard way (as we have) that you need to check the nets. I've seen snakes get caught as well as birds; a couple of times, I was barely one step ahead of the cat!

Blueberries there are in an overabundance. They could just stick to those

We really would need to pick some too.

I've been checking the nets pretty regularly, this guy had not been hanging for long. Not flies on him or anything, and the dogs had not noticed him either.