What did you do with your flock today?

[ChicksnMore]

Was visiting Clyde and he was being so cute

 

[FBMcrazy8]

I still need to get started with mealies. I read about keeping them and it sounds so easy.
In the meantime...my coffee time is usually spent in the garden grubbing around. This morning there was a lot of big grubs...think these are palo Verde boring beetle larvae. They're huge! The biggest are about thumb sized! The chickens go mad for these guys View attachment 3240183

I have been catching grasshoppers and taking them out to the chickens. Of course I can only get 2 at a time and there is 18 of them so it turns into a football game.

 

[TropicalBabies]

I still need to get started with mealies. I read about keeping them and it sounds so easy.
In the meantime...my coffee time is usually spent in the garden grubbing around. This morning there was a lot of big grubs...think these are palo Verde boring beetle larvae. They're huge! The biggest are about thumb sized! The chickens go mad for these guys View attachment 3240183

I'm sorry but they look really delicious! What a good mom you are!
*** they look a lot like our Mango beetles

 

[TropicalBabies]

I have been catching grasshoppers and taking them out to the chickens. Of course I can only get 2 at a time and there is 18 of them so it turns into a football game.

Ya know, sometimes I think there is something wrong with me because everytime I see a grasshopper fly across the street while I am driving or see a bug or lizard I have the urge to jump out and catch it and take it home to my girls. .. but I now see I am not the only one with these weird tendencies...

 

[TropicalBabies]

@ChicksnMore I think it is easier than it looks and way more fun. I really enjoy raising them and don't see myself stopping if I can help it. I also found them very forgiving. Like you can forget about them, kill many off but the ones who survive will start your next colony.
One lesson that I learned was the less the light the better- hence dark beetles. Having them stored in a cool shady place was not enough. They do not like light much at all.

I just separated my beetles from their substraight and am starting another bin and can do it again in about 3-4 weeks. Too cool

 

[FBMcrazy8]

Ya know, sometimes I think there is something wrong with me because everytime I see a grasshopper fly across the street while I am driving or see a bug or lizard I have the urge to jump out and catch it and take it home to my girls. .. but I now see I am not the only one with these weird tendencies...

Oh no, not at all I see them hit my windshield and I’m just like “what a waist!” I don’t have lizards out here but that would be cool to give them!

 

[TropicalBabies]

Oh no, not at all I see them hit my windshield and I’m just like “what a waist!” I don’t have lizards out here but that would be cool to give them!

My people! ♡

 

[TropicalBabies]

K. I've got to give this gal a shout out. My long ago friend likes my feed bag project and as she was wandering the street of Whidbey Island she ran across this gal

She donates her efforts to helping the homeless. My gal pal got her # and she took her time to coach me on my bags. I was able to purchase some of her fabulous bags by donating to the coalition. Total shout out to this wonderful and talented lady ♡♡♡ thanks for making the world a more livable place! ♡♡♡♡ and inspiring the heck out of me.

 

[ChicksnMore]

@FBMcrazy8 if you have any mice around at all and set mice traps...the chickens will go nuts for those too. I use reusable, multi-catch live traps. I happen to think mice are adorable and used to release them at a nearby picnic spot in the desert. Then one day I picked up the trap and the top popped open and the mouse escaped. It didn't get far though before the football game commenced. Poor mouse but o so happy chickens!

@TropicalBabies my oldest was telling me about seeing a giant grasshopper in a ladies driveway. She was at work and just leaving someone's house. She said she had to fight the urge to catch it and thought "what's wrong with me!" My poor kids never learned how to go "eeks!" about all kinds of things.

Those bags are neat. I reuse my bags for garbage, donations and all kinds of things...but I still end up with too many now and then. I wonder if theres anyone near me who does that? I still hand sew for repairing things, but my sewing machine is deeply buried on a storage shelf. I know there's a group that crochets plastic shopping bags into blankets for the homeless here. I might try contacting them with the shopping bags thought.

 

[FBMcrazy8]

@FBMcrazy8 if you have any mice around at all and set mice traps...the chickens will go nuts for those too. I use reusable, multi-catch live traps. I happen to think mice are adorable and used to release them at a nearby picnic spot in the desert. Then one day I picked up the trap and the top popped open and the mouse escaped. It didn't get far though before the football game commenced. Poor mouse but o so happy chickens!

@TropicalBabies my oldest was telling me about seeing a giant grasshopper in a ladies driveway. She was at work and just leaving someone's house. She said she had to fight the urge to catch it and thought "what's wrong with me!" My poor kids never learned how to go "eeks!" about all kinds of things.

Those bags are neat. I reuse my bags for garbage, donations and all kinds of things...but I still end up with too many now and then. I wonder if theres anyone near me who does that? I still hand sew for repairing things, but my sewing machine is deeply buried on a storage shelf. I know there's a group that crochets plastic shopping bags into blankets for the homeless here. I might try contacting them with the shopping bags thought.

I use snap traps. Last year before we were able to move in, there was a LOT of them ending up in the house. Part of that is the kitchen was open due to redoing the foundation and completely gutting out the kitchen. We had the rest of the house blocked off as best as we could. So I don’t know how bad the mice will be out here yet, but after clearing them out we have only had 2 show up and they were gone immediately. I believe we have an idea of were they are coming in at but with our luck there will be a few places. If it gets too bad, I will probably use a live trap, one that will catch more than one. Only because the snap traps can only catch one at a time. Mice are cute, but I also hate them. I grew up with them and you would think I would be used to them but to this day they freak me out. I’m always waiting for one to run at me and crawl up my leg pants. I know more than likely not gonna happen but…..the thought is there