What did you do in the garden today?

[CapricornFarm]

We got back in the garden today after talking a few days to volunteer for the Harvey relief effort up here. Cleaned the coop and run...pretty amazing how much 20 chickens can poop in 3 days! D roasted peppers and tomatoes from the garden, and smoked the fish fillets from last week's outing. I mowed and cut a few more aspen to dry for chipping for the DL in the run. I have used oak, aspen, white pine, tulip tree, maple and hickory to chip for the garden and run mulch. We'll let the chickens into the garden later to till in the mulch and crop remnants, so have stayed away from black cherry and sumac as it is rumored to have some toxicity to chickens.
We had a message on our phone from Friday from the Ohio Animal Disease Diagnostic Lab pertaining to chickens we submitted last month after we lost a couple.
Marek's disease was confirmed...wonderful, but that's another thread in a different forum.

So sorry to hear that. Hugs.

 

[Pensmaster]

We got back in the garden today after talking a few days to volunteer for the Harvey relief effort up here. Cleaned the coop and run...pretty amazing how much 20 chickens can poop in 3 days! D roasted peppers and tomatoes from the garden, and smoked the fish fillets from last week's outing. I mowed and cut a few more aspen to dry for chipping for the DL in the run. I have used oak, aspen, white pine, tulip tree, maple and hickory to chip for the garden and run mulch. We'll let the chickens into the garden later to till in the mulch and crop remnants, so have stayed away from black cherry and sumac as it is rumored to have some toxicity to chickens.
We had a message on our phone from Friday from the Ohio Animal Disease Diagnostic Lab pertaining to chickens we submitted last month after we lost a couple.
Marek's disease was confirmed...wonderful, but that's another thread in a different forum.

Wow sorry to hear that about the mareks terrible stuff.

 

[GardenTillers44]

Wow sorry to hear that about the mareks terrible stuff.

Yeah, it has changed our goals with keeping chickens. Guess we are just going to keep a few for eggs and leave it at that. Turns out our neighbors had a lot of mysterious chicken death before they quit keeping chickens last year. It could have come in from anywhere, but I suspect it was infective in the area already.

 

[CapricornFarm]

So excited to be getting close to finishing the coop! Maybe i can actually get something done in the garden! Still have plants in pots that need planting.

 

[NanaKat]

Spent yesterday working on the chicken pens and today cutting down the huge wild sunflowers, the out of control "cut and come again" plants, and weeds from around and in the pens and garden. Even found a choke cherry vine taking over part of the chain link fence and some elm saplings coming up in some Rose of Sharon bushes.

Everything is out of control with the rains, heat and my lack of attention. Had to use the limb saw on some of the sunflower stalks! I actually filled the back of our pickup to dump in a brush pile in the back pasture and have another load ready to take down in the morning.
The ducks and chickens enjoyed the grasses I pulled.

I probably have a weeks worth of weed pulling to do in the garden and flower beds....need to pace myself.

Possum grapes are ripening in the back forty...I'm keeping an eye on them.

 

[Pensmaster]

Yeah, it has changed our goals with keeping chickens. Guess we are just going to keep a few for eggs and leave it at that. Turns out our neighbors had a lot of mysterious chicken death before they quit keeping chickens last year. It could have come in from anywhere, but I suspect it was infective in the area already.

Mine came from the neighbor a few miles away. Still kick myself for buying the chicks in the first place. The pair he had was in a very small coop and definitely were not acting right. He admitted it later and now vaccinates for it. I lost the 6 I bought from him and one of mine. I hear it's supposed to still be with them but it has been gone now for several years. Gut wrenching to see them die of it.

 

[GardenTillers44]

Mine came from the neighbor a few miles away. Still kick myself for buying the chicks in the first place. The pair he had was in a very small coop and definitely were not acting right. He admitted it later and now vaccinates for it. I lost the 6 I bought from him and one of mine. I hear it's supposed to still be with them but it has been gone now for several years. Gut wrenching to see them die of it.

We haven't lost one in a month. We already worked hard to keep a clean and stress-free environment, but are working harder on it. They are all vaccinated so maybe that is why we haven't lost more to date. We'll see how it goes. Glad to hear you have a remission...gives us hope for some of our flock. You're right, it is so hard to see them suffer with this! I euthanized the last one, just couldn't bear it.

 

[pennyJo1960]

We haven't lost one in a month. We already worked hard to keep a clean and stress-free environment, but are working harder on it. They are all vaccinated so maybe that is why we haven't lost more to date. We'll see how it goes. Glad to hear you have a remission...gives us hope for some of our flock. You're right, it is so hard to see them suffer with this! I euthanized the last one, just couldn't bear it.

How awful for you to date I have not heard of any here but would be devastated if it was
here

 

[karenerwin]

BTE THREAD
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-garden-methods.1114524/page-35#post-18929488

Thanks! I had tried finding it myself, but I wasn't having any luck.

 

[Pensmaster]

Spent yesterday working on the chicken pens and today cutting down the huge wild sunflowers, the out of control "cut and come again" plants, and weeds from around and in the pens and garden. Even found a choke cherry vine taking over part of the chain link fence and some elm saplings coming up in some Rose of Sharon bushes.

Everything is out of control with the rains, heat and my lack of attention. Had to use the limb saw on some of the sunflower stalks! I actually filled the back of our pickup to dump in a brush pile in the back pasture and have another load ready to take down in the morning.
The ducks and chickens enjoyed the grasses I pulled.

I probably have a weeks worth of weed pulling to do in the garden and flower beds....need to pace myself.

Possum grapes are ripening in the back forty...I'm keeping an eye on them.

What's a possum grape? The ones the possum gets?
Sunflowers sound like a great start to a compost pile.