The Old Folks Home

[Wickedchicken6]

Yeah, we have fought the deer and raccoons for our fruit ever since the trees popped their first blooms. Last year they stripped every ripe peach off our Red Haven the night before we were planning to pick. We found all the pits in tidy little piles so maybe raccoons?

Another reason to hate the nasty things.

I was very disappointed in our trees in general. We bought them from Stark's in southern MO. Don't get me wrong, when these trees work, they produce big time. The problem with them is that when we bought the first 9 trees from them, we specified that we wanted disease resistant trees and were told that the Asian pears and the trees we bought were hardy disease resistant. Well they weren't. Many were susceptible to fire blight. We have been replacing the vulnerable trees with truly resistant trees, Candy Crisps, Enterprise, Arkansas Blacks, Red and yellow delicious. The Asians are just about done for which is a shame. We got one good season out of them and the pears were as big as soft balls.

I'm starting to feel like we've hit the trifecta of farming, Marek's disease in our chickens, Fire blight in our pear and apple trees and leaf curl blight in our peach trees. Almost makes me glad we don't have horses, goats or cows. We already tried sheep. They died too.

Maybe I should try ducks...........

Well, when I was reading up on ducks apparently they have a higher temperature and are supposed to be more unlikely to acquire diseases if I understand it correctly. I thought that was pretty cool. Still not cool enough for me to want some to have to over winter them though. SCG's description of her duck's water during the winter was exactly what I needed to hear to encourage me to slap myself and tell myself "NO ducks!"

 

[microchick]

My parents had a bartlet pear tree on their property when I was in my 20s and had my two Appaloosas. I can still see my black and white snowflake App, Billie pigging out at that pear tree with juice squirting out of both sides of her mouth and her eyes rolling with bliss. I had a heck of a time riding her past that tree without her demanding a stop for a snack. She was a character.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

I'm off to watch some AI videos. I introduced one of the hens I wish to breed to the rooster of choice, a cuckoo marans...and all I had was a long wait. He's too busy dancing to get the job done. He did mount her a couple of times with dismal results. Rather embarrassing.

I'm considering breeding her to the BCM cross, he's out of an olive egg and I'm wondering if his offspring might produce a brown egg being crossed over her. She lays a pinkish tan egg with spots. She's one of my most stellar producing hens. Her eggs are always 100%. I was hoping to set more of her eggs and get a few chicks for myself.

However I want to know her eggs from the sea of green, blue and olive eggs. I've only got a couple of brown egg layers.

 

[microchick]

Well, when I was reading up on ducks apparently they have a higher temperature and are supposed to be more unlikely to acquire diseases if I understand it correctly. I thought that was pretty cool. Still not cool enough for me to want some to have to over winter them though. SCG's description of her duck's water during the winter was exactly what I needed to hear to encourage me to slap myself and tell myself "NO ducks!"

Can't be much worse than my chicken's water when the hens decide to soak their feet in the basins after spending time in the run after a hard rain.

I know I know, I have chicken nipples. I have tried them. They peck the pretty red plastic but can't seem to make connection with the nipple. I used a 2 liter pop bottle to train them. My sweet idiot birds pecked at the water through the plastic bottle and ignored the nipples even when I triggered them to drip water and manually tapped their beaks against it.

They're nice chickens, just not the brightest bulbs on the Christmas tree.

 

[NotAFarm]

My parents had a bartlet pear tree on their property when I was in my 20s and had my two Appaloosas. I can still see my black and white snowflake App, Billie pigging out at that pear tree with juice squirting out of both sides of her mouth and her eyes rolling with bliss. I had a heck of a time riding her past that tree without her demanding a stop for a snack. She was a character.

Apps!

 

[CapricornFarm]

Yeah, we have fought the deer and raccoons for our fruit ever since the trees popped their first blooms. Last year they stripped every ripe peach off our Red Haven the night before we were planning to pick. We found all the pits in tidy little piles so maybe raccoons?

Another reason to hate the nasty things.

I was very disappointed in our trees in general. We bought them from Stark's in southern MO. Don't get me wrong, when these trees work, they produce big time. The problem with them is that when we bought the first 9 trees from them, we specified that we wanted disease resistant trees and were told that the Asian pears and the trees we bought were hardy disease resistant. Well they weren't. Many were susceptible to fire blight. We have been replacing the vulnerable trees with truly resistant trees, Candy Crisps, Enterprise, Arkansas Blacks, Red and yellow delicious. The Asians are just about done for which is a shame. We got one good season out of them and the pears were as big as soft balls.

I'm starting to feel like we've hit the trifecta of farming, Marek's disease in our chickens, Fire blight in our pear and apple trees and leaf curl blight in our peach trees. Almost makes me glad we don't have horses, goats or cows. We already tried sheep. They died too.

Maybe I should try ducks...........

The deer always ate the peaches, and one year we went on vacation and the squirrels took hundreds of apples from our favorite tree. What kills me is they eat a little bit, drop it and go get another one.
We only have hickory, black walnut and paw paw trees here. Hundreds of paw paw trees. But i wil be planting apples, pears and plums for sure.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Can't be much worse than my chicken's water when the hens decide to soak their feet in the basins after spending time in the run after a hard rain.

I know I know, I have chicken nipples. I have tried them. They peck the pretty red plastic but can't seem to make connection with the nipple. I used a 2 liter pop bottle to train them. My sweet idiot birds pecked at the water through the plastic bottle and ignored the nipples even when I triggered them to drip water and manually tapped their beaks against it.

They're nice chickens, just not the brightest bulbs on the Christmas tree.

Mine always want to get that one foot up on the edge of the waterer...lol. I bought 4 chicken nipples. I haven't put them on anything yet...lol. I'm still partial to the waterers.
Right now I'm trying damaged rims with cookie/baking cooling racks and the waterer set on top of the racks. I find that provides a place for the little chickens to stand on while they drink, and the racks knock much of the mess from the feet which falls through. Cooling racks are quite fantastic for all the waterers...lol.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Apps!
View attachment 1143981

X2!

 

[Wickedchicken6]

The deer always ate the peaches, and one year we went on vacation and the squirrels took hundreds of apples from our favorite tree. What kills me is they eat a little bit, drop it and go get another one.
We only have hickory, black walnut and paw paw trees here. Hundreds of paw paw trees. But i wil be planting apples, pears and plums for sure.

I can't imagine having all the different fruits everyone is describing.
That would be so cool!

 

[CapricornFarm]

I want to plant pecan trees too. Maybe i will pot up some paw paw trees and sell them or trade them off.