What did you do in the garden today?

[pennyJo1960]

Hey gardeners it is just wet here cleaned the coop fed the 8 in the tractor may take a light look if they left eggs

 

[igorsMistress]

Listen to their voices to sex . Mallard based breeds only - does not work on Muscovy . Hens have a loud voice males softer raspy voice .

Thanks! I think it’s still too early to tell yet, they are only three weeks old.

 

[karenerwin]

I made 2 batches of grape jelly last night and neither batch looks like it is going to set up. I even used pectin. I hate having to recook it and recan it, especially since it is SO hard to find lids these days. My husband heard me whining and gave me an early Christmas present. He had ordered me a bunch of lids !!❤❤ They almost fill a tall Pringles can.
Now I just need to get motivated to get it done.
I was going to do it tonight but I went out to lock up the chickens and only 4 were in the coop ( out of 18) and it was full on dark here!
So I had to start hunting and catching them. Which caused them to start squawking and raising a ruckus. Which got the puppies over excited. Zelda managed to get through the gate ( I have no idea how she managed to fit herself through that small of a space!) I didn’t even know she was in the chicken yard until I heard the ( few) hens in the coop raise an uproar and I could hear her toenails scrambling to get a purchase as she chased them. Anyway, I managed to grab her and get her to let go of the chicken. After I got all 3 dogs in the house I was able to find all 18 chickens and get them put away. I don’t know what spooked them while we were gone. ( The puppies were in their crates in the house and the older dog was inside as well, so they aren’t suspects!)
The other coop, just on the other side of the fence, were all in their coop and as calm as could be.
Hopefully I didn’t aggravate my back catching the puppy and getting her out of the chicken yard and into the house.

 

[chickengr]

I spent about an hour outside with the ducklings this afternoon. I’m beginning to wonder if one might be a drake. Fig is quite a bit bigger than Bean and Pip although you can’t really tell in this pic
View attachment 2458966

males have wide open legs when walk while female put one leg in front the other (sort of inwards).

 

[Chickenman MAN]

Building a run for the Avian Flu order!

 

[igorsMistress]

Building a run for the Avian Flu order!

That’s a bummer! I hope your flock remains unaffected

 

[Chickenman MAN]

That’s a bummer! I hope your flock remains unaffected

Me too we are making good progress... recycled timber, not the best quality but it'll do for termporary. Wooden structure with coop in the corner, tarp roof and single side, bottom half of sides are chicken wire top is plastic bird netting... plus a door. Will post an image when complete!

 

[jerryse]

Today has been canceled .

 

[igorsMistress]

Today has been canceled . View attachment 2459492

Cool pic though. I love tree silhouettes

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Good morning gardeners. Sounds like quite the to-do at your house @karenerwin. Glad all the chickens were accounted for. And sadly, @Sueby, I don't let Randy have any conjugal visits with the ladies yet. He's such a good chicken, but his sheer size is a bit too much for the girls and I don't want them to lose any feathers as we head into January. He used to go into his coop at dusk and wait for me to close his door, however lately he waits for me to come and pick him off his roost in his run. I hold him for a couple of minutes and pet him then put him into his coop. As for your darling duck babies @igorsMistress, give him some time to get his feathers. The difference in voice is pretty telling with the girls being the loudest with traditional "quack, quack" sounds. Also, male ducks will have at least one curled tail feather. I don't believe the ladies ever have curled tail feathers. I was able to buy some seeds yesterday at my discount store. I found some bush variety of green beans. Also bought some Mesculin mix lettuce to try growing indoors. I remembered to buy marigold seeds so hopefully that will help with the bugs. I thought some of you in the warmer climates might appreciate my parade of hardy New Englanders taking a winter stroll. Have a great day all.