Good morning!!!!

[toppop52]

I would think the hawks, owls, coyotes, foxes, stray dogs, domestic pets, chicken snakes and bobcats would get all the uncaged chickens in a few months.

We had free roaming chickens for years, lost a few to hawks, owls, foxes and weasels, but not that many. No coyotes back then in that area.

 

[toppop52]

I hear a hawk nearby, I don’t have anything he wants.

Been putting the kitty memorial back together that was destroyed in the building fire last summer, Lynn worried a lot about that, I hope it gives her some peace.

 

[freedomlives]

Our chickens are out down by the house. The dog is outside all day as well. As long as I close them at night, we just occasionally lose one to a hawk. Usually they notice the hawk circling first, and if they make any sort of scared noise then the dog runs out to them. We do have a fence around us, just it isn't perfect and foxes can climb things. I think the fence helps though-- they can't just run in quietly.

This year they're going back up the hill, but now its all surrounded by high tensile electric fence. We might lose some to hawks, but they are just a liability being anywhere near the vegetable garden down here. Wife carefully plants a bed of seeds, and all it takes is one chicken getting out and scratching through the new bed to screw things up.

I used to have the chickens out in the field with electric net around them. Never lost any to foxes except the one time I was distracted while moving the fence and forgot to connect the ground to the energizer. Electric netting keeps all the predators except hawks at bay. Salatin keeps geese with his laying hens, they are supposed to be better watchers for incoming hawks.

 

[wngsprd]

I would think the hawks, owls, coyotes, foxes, stray dogs, domestic pets, chicken snakes and bobcats would get all the uncaged chickens in a few months.

They got the 6 bantams that a friend gave us the first night.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Nope, no word limits, Drew. Write on.

Drew has a word limit...


Just joking.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Good morning everyone. A beautiful sunny late winter day here. A great day to prepare for tomorrow's storm and "episodically" stare blankly at the computer monitor looking at weather information. This area is in one of the modeled "sweet spot" if one likes snow. 19" predicted for this area in MA by the NWS graphic which has been pretty accurate to date. Phil is in an even sweeter spot at 20" predicted. And this storm will help set up the next modeled coastal storm ~March 12th - 14th. We'll see.

I like peas any type, fresh or dried. I used to like them mushy until I tried eating the "pre-chewed", "altered/modified diet" foods they served nursing home residents with swallowing challenges. Nasty stuff. I could see and taste why they were losing weight .

Car shopping is done = Wifey bought a Subaru Forester Limited edition with a couple of options = The touring package w/o the heated steering wheel. I am glad this is over with. Now all I have to do is try to understand the 1 hour tutorial at the dealership on Friday on how to operate all the electronic whizzbang gizmos. The "key" is fancier than my flip phone that I can barely operate. 0 money down and 0% financing is hard to argue with.

My + thoughts, prayers, and wishes for everyone.

I hope that everyone has a decent day today.

Congrats on the forester.

My dealer is bringing a premium in for me to look at, later this week. I dont want the bells and whistles, but might take a heated seat. Only looking at premium due to wanting dark glass.

 

[ronjhall]

Biggest threat to chickens here is Skunks. They will suck blood out of a chicken and leave it. Only time it happened to us when someone forgot to close the coop door at night.
I see they have automatic doors now.

 

[toppop52]

They got the 6 bantams that a friend gave us the first night.

Really? Must have been coyotes, banties as we called them are a game breed and we had two roosters that would gang up and kick the snot out of weasels and foxes. Couldn’t do much with chicken hawks and bobcats though. They fly so well that we seldom lost Bantams.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Good morning all, 33 going to 40 with a 60% chance of a wintery mix.

Drew, the old people in central Va used to cook butter beans/lima beans, the big ones were limas, with a big glob of bacon grease, a good amount of sugar and then cook them slow all day. They were very good.

Someone said they like fresh peas not canned, peas should be frozen, never canned. :2cents:

My grand mother used to raise yellow english peas, only used them to make pea soup. Mom said she never got used to the idea of yellow pea soup.

There is a guy in our area, Joel Salatin that raises chickens on pasture for meat and has a big wagon chicken house for layers. We have his book, Pastured poultry Profits, Great book if you are thinking about chickens. This guy is the Guru of back to the land chickens and raises chickens in a big way.

Prayers for those in need, have a great day. Ed

Frozen peas and corn is ok
Frozen or storecanned greenbeans, yuk.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

0 money down and 0% financing is hard to argue with.

It's hard to argue with most salespeople at dealerships about anything. But you can be assured that it's a rare occasion that any kind of deal involving financing comes out in your favor. If you wanna see a salesperson squirm, just tell 'em you'll be paying in cash, and what's the lowest price they'll take for the car. It's even more fun if you whip out the Consumer Reports listing for the thing, and show them how their price is thousands above what it should be. Then get up and make for the door when they try to feed you another line of BS and watch their mouth make like a fish out of water. All great fun!:laughing: