We had chickens - all sorts of breeds - when my kids were little. They were ‘pets with perks’! We loved gathering the eggs and watching their antics. I loved their little ‘satisfied’ noises. I found them calming. But, we grew weary of going in the coop and finding one of them without a head . . . or without a butt. My daughter didn’t eat chicken for years, because of that.
Seemed no matter what we did to try to keep them safe . . . the possum, fox, and raccoons around here could outsmart us.
We let them wander during the day - and they made a total mess of any landscaping I tried to maintain . . . so after about 8 years, we finally gave the flock to someone who wanted them.
I remember that we waited until night - when they all went to roost - to catch them. I had devised a method, however unusual, to transport them. I saved up over 30 brown paper grocery bags . . . and we put a chicken in each of them and stapled them shut! Then, we put the ‘chicken bags’ in the back of my husband’s truck and delivered them to their new home!
Hey - whatever works! They were quiet - and didn’t struggle. And settled into their new home quite well!
I miss them every so often, and look longingly at the little chicks that arrive at ‘Tractor Supply’ . . . but I like my landscaping!
they do make a mess of things. i don’t free range mine and they have a big run. I’ve been lucky as the foxes haven’t touched them in 3 yrs. i think its because i put the coop in the front of my property near the road where its more exposed so the foxes don’t want to go there. i also have 2 geese with them that make a racket when something comes in the yard. i also let my dogs out there and the 2 males ‘’ mark ‘’ around the coop. that probably helps also.
Its that time of the year when I get requests from many to pick up the lemons from their trees. Picked up 4 bags of Eureka lemons from a friend’s place over the weekend. The tree still looks untouched, with a lot of lemons left
The right one is a recipe I found online - rosemary, peppercorns and cloves. Left one is my take on Indian spices - curry leaves, coriander seeds and dried red chillies.
@PomGranny
I can relate so well! I lost 3 chickens to skunks of all things, and at different times. Mine free range, but I do have a nice coop/run that I can close them in, and an ador chicken door that opens and closes with the sun (big help!) I struggle so hard trying to landscape with chickens. They toss mulch around, dig up plants, but are so cute when they follow me around like the pied piper. I love their noises too, although I dont like rooster crows at all hours. I havent bought eggs in the longest time. My saddest moment other than the skunk events was when I tried introducing the new silkies into the fold. I had kept them penned next door but visible for several weeks and introduced them at night. They started picking on the smallest and eventually pecked her head until she was senseless. I was crushed! I brought her in and put her in a shoe box and tried calming her. Alas, she died that night. I am really too soft hearted to be a real farmer. It does tug at me–chickens vs landscape, just as with you.
Since it was nice, decided to do a little bit of pruning. Worked on an apple and pear tree, and cleaned out some old/dead blackberry canes.
It’s looking like my canes are doing better than last year as far as winter kill is concerned, but we still have a ways to go before they’re out of the woods.
The temps are in the 50’s and my hornfaced bees are emerging. Not many flowers for them to feed on right now, but some hardwoods should flower in another week or so with the temps we’ve been having. My plums look like they’ll flower in that time too.
Just got done with my apple bench grafts. Last week I picked up four scions and four rootstocks (M7) at the grafting class I attended. I like to take my time with the grafts, so I just wrapped them up in a damp paper towel and stored them until today.
The varieties I did were Spartan, Dayton, Melrouge (a supposedly deeper red and better tasting Melrose), and Loriglo (a sport of Jonathan, developed here in KY).
I did whip and tongue grafts, and they look kinda rough, but I think I got good enough cambial contact, especially after tightening them up with electrical tape. Guess we’ll see in a week or so how they do.
I did my work in the kitchen, and made a big mess, but would rather do the work inside to keep the wood and roots from drying out. Looked like a sawmill with all the shavings (I’m not good enough to get a nice long, flat diagonal cut, so I have to do a bit of whittling).
Provided these take, I think they’re going to go straight in the ground, instead of a pot. Will have to figure out though, where I can put them.
Has anyone done their first cover spray on their plum tree yet? My tree has dropped most of its blooms and I am thinking of spraying it. Suppose to rain tonight and tomorrow though.
