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Limpy

Banned
Oct 20, 2015
14,842
27,929
I’m growing a bunch of peppers and tomatoes. Once they’ve grown a bit more I’m going to plant them in a cedar planter box I built on Monday.

I’m excited!!

 
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Limpy

Banned
Oct 20, 2015
14,842
27,929
Nice build!
Thanks, it was fun! It was part of a gift for my girlfriend. It was her birthday so I helped her build one. She actually schooled me, she helped me more than I helped her. She also put a brad nail through her finger.

I got half pissed doing it and kept losing my tape measure.
 

Banchan

The Most Dangerous Dame
Oct 2, 2017
4,515
2,905
My wife really wants to get some yard birds. I'm not necessarily against it, but at the same time I don't need any more shit to take care of. In short, we'll probably end up with chickens soon :D

We have some friends that have chickens, and they also use ducks in their garden for bug/pest control. Apparently ducks eat the shit outta garden bugs.
Slugs are low on the chickens favorites list. They must taste bad.
 

Banchan

The Most Dangerous Dame
Oct 2, 2017
4,515
2,905
Yes, that is the bastard vine that takes over everything.

Fucking with my cedar trees. The neighbors don't clean it off the side on their property, dumb fucks. If the cedars die, we will build a fence and they will be paying half.
How is the bindweed situation this year?

If it's an northern white cedar, those are very hardy and not likely to die. Are the cedars right on the property line? In addition to pulling the tops continually the best way to get rid of them organically is using other weeds that are far more competitive that stunt the bindweed. Bindweed grows very poorly without access to full sun. Meaning if you seeded or transplanted another variety of weed that does not climb but covers the soil floor, they will choke out the bindweed. After a couple years. You would want to use a native weed to your area that isn't considered invasive and one that you wouldn't mind growing around you. The good news is that after a few years it's likely the weed will then spread to your neighbours lawn and choke the bindweed out there too. I wouldn't mention it to them that you introduced the weed there but it sounds like they don't care about their lawn anyway.
 

Banchan

The Most Dangerous Dame
Oct 2, 2017
4,515
2,905
well I got chicken tips when the time comes...and they will also eat the shit out of your garden LOL...they eat and dig at roots of everything looking for bugs, often exposing roots

there is some daily maintenance involved but it can be minimized...the chickenshit makes great fertilizer if you have a garden

we have our coop doors on a timer and they are electric, so they get out in the morning and get locked in at night without us doing jack

I built a pretty fancy coop so I know some of the do's and dont's of that also


Hardest thing is to get be able to get rid of them when they stop laying as much...My lady treats em like pets so we have some old birds now...I would prefer to cull or give them away every 3 years and get some heavy layers in (320 eggs per year plus on some breeds)

but we hold on to em, and currently we have 3 and one is 7 years old and lays maybe 50 eggs per year only


out of a total of 14 owned 11 have died over the 9 years we have had chickens(usually production breeds that burn out and get egg bound around year 3)...I put a cap in a couple of their domes to help em go down quick....so chickens do teach the circle of life....as chicks so cute and when old/sick quite sad.

take care
If you can get your hands on them, I recommend trying amber stars over reds isas.

They lay just under the reds isas in the first 2 years (obviously thats why they were replaced by red hybrids) but they are healthier birds with better quality eggs. Even though reds and isas have the capacity to lay more eggs (320 reds isa, 300 amber), they also lay more defective unusable eggs such as increase in soft shells and shell less eggs in that 320 per year. Amber's also aren't nearly as suspectable to egg binding, salpinitis, peritonitis, cancer etc. as reds so you don't have to manage their laying as closely unless they have recently been under stress (sick or attacked by an animal etc) They're also more predator savvy and less aggressive towards other hens. They will whine in stress if you cage them though (also why they were replaced by reds isas). They are best if you can let them forage so they make good backyard / home raising birds. This is truly a great egg hybrid red links really are not great outside of brief intensive production.

 

Rambo John J

Eats things that would make a Billy Goat Puke
First 100
Jan 17, 2015
71,541
71,465
If you can get your hands on them, I recommend trying amber stars over reds isas.

They lay just under the reds isas in the first 2 years (obviously thats why they were replaced by red hybrids) but they are healthier birds with better quality eggs. Even though reds and isas have the capacity to lay more eggs (320 reds isa, 300 amber), they also lay more defective unusable eggs such as increase in soft shells and shell less eggs in that 320 per year. Amber's also aren't nearly as suspectable to egg binding, salpinitis, peritonitis, cancer etc. as reds so you don't have to manage their laying as closely unless they have recently been under stress (sick or attacked by an animal etc) They're also more predator savvy and less aggressive towards other hens. They will whine in stress if you cage them though (also why they were replaced by reds isas). They are best if you can let them forage so they make good backyard / home raising birds. This is truly a great egg hybrid red links really are not great outside of brief intensive production.

in my experience a production breed will burn out and die or malfunction(egg bound) within 2.5 years

all my production breeds have died off and I am stuck with 3 durable Hens that lay 100 per year...one is 6-7 years old and still lays

All my hens have spurs like a rooster because we have hawks above in the skies most days and My two cats mean mug them all day...predators in proximity make mediterranean breeds grow spurs

I am talking 1.5 inch spurs on these hens...
 

Banchan

The Most Dangerous Dame
Oct 2, 2017
4,515
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in my experience a production breed will burn out and die or malfunction(egg bound) within 2.5 years

all my production breeds have died off and I am stuck with 3 durable Hens that lay 100 per year...one is 6-7 years old and still lays

All my hens have spurs like a rooster because we have hawks above in the skies most days and My two cats mean mug them all day...predators in proximity make mediterranean breeds grow spurs

I am talking 1.5 inch spurs on these hens...
Red sex links varieties are by far the worst I've ever seen. It used to be that you could use spent layers for stew birds. The reds are not suitable for that because they have significant rates of cancer by age 2. That's why they become diseased and stop laying and die. Not all production birds are like this. The leghorn is a long used production bird of large white eggs and it doesn't have these problems near the same rate or speed as red sex links. The red sex link varieties are the only "breed" I've seen with this problem. The ambers I mentioned are champs. They're still great for the stew pot in 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 years. It's difficult to even get a R.S.L. to live past 3 years. It's just not bred for longevity so i'veno idea why novelty or backyard pet keepers are raising them. They are very problematic. The number of defective eggs laid is evened out when you get a hybrid like amber that lays a little less but lays more reliably and longer.
 

Rambo John J

Eats things that would make a Billy Goat Puke
First 100
Jan 17, 2015
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Red sex links varieties are by far the worst I've ever seen. It used to be that you could use spent layers for stew birds. The reds are not suitable for that because they have significant rates of cancer by age 2. That's why they become diseased and stop laying and die. Not all production birds are like this. The leghorn is a long used production bird of large white eggs and it doesn't have these problems near the same rate or speed as red sex links. The red sex link varieties are the only "breed" I've seen with this problem. The ambers I mentioned are champs. They're still great for the stew pot in 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 years. It's difficult to even get a R.S.L. to live past 3 years. It's just not bred for longevity so i'veno idea why novelty or backyard pet keepers are raising them. They are very problematic. The number of defective eggs laid is evened out when you get a hybrid like amber that lays a little less but lays more reliably and longer.
U raise chickens yo?

I am 3 for 3 with reds dying at 2-3 years...they literally just lay down and die after feeling sick 1 day

Got a 7 year old Blue andalusian that is smarter than most TMMACers and flies over and back over all the 8 foot fences in my yard just so shot off....it has the longest spurs of the bunch...also has never been caught by hand, it is the fastest breed known...they recommend a fishing net to catch them but that doesn't work

Only time I caught her was when she got ambushed in her sleep by a Raccoon...he/she ripped the floppy part of her comb off and I found her in the dark with a bleeding comb...i applied neosporing and it healed up...no longer has the floppy comb over one eye all the time...her name is Blue

this is one with the floppy comb...it is way too long and floppy
Mine is more Grey
 

Papi Chingon

Domesticated Hombre
Oct 19, 2015
25,475
32,244
U raise chickens yo?

I am 3 for 3 with reds dying at 2-3 years...they literally just lay down and die after feeling sick 1 day

Got a 7 year old Blue andalusian that is smarter than most TMMACers and flies over and back over all the 8 foot fences in my yard just so shot off....it has the longest spurs of the bunch...also has never been caught by hand, it is the fastest breed known...they recommend a fishing net to catch them but that doesn't work

Only time I caught her was when she got ambushed in her sleep by a Raccoon...he/she ripped the floppy part of her comb off and I found her in the dark with a bleeding comb...i applied neosporing and it healed up...no longer has the floppy comb over one eye all the time...her name is Blue

this is one with the floppy comb...it is way too long and floppy
Mine is more Grey
If I ever got some chickens, I'd have to get those really stupid looking ones with the feathers on their feet.
 

Rambo John J

Eats things that would make a Billy Goat Puke
First 100
Jan 17, 2015
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If I ever got some chickens, I'd have to get those really stupid looking ones with the feathers on their feet.
l have had those....LOL so funny, they look like those things from star wars...shit is hilarious

they also come with bald legs but feathers on the feet.....that shit is hilarious also

but if you mix a new gang with a old gang of chickens....fools like that don't last...they ain't built to fight IMO
 

Banchan

The Most Dangerous Dame
Oct 2, 2017
4,515
2,905
U raise chickens yo?

I am 3 for 3 with reds dying at 2-3 years...they literally just lay down and die after feeling sick 1 day

Got a 7 year old Blue andalusian that is smarter than most TMMACers and flies over and back over all the 8 foot fences in my yard just so shot off....it has the longest spurs of the bunch...also has never been caught by hand, it is the fastest breed known...they recommend a fishing net to catch them but that doesn't work

Only time I caught her was when she got ambushed in her sleep by a Raccoon...he/she ripped the floppy part of her comb off and I found her in the dark with a bleeding comb...i applied neosporing and it healed up...no longer has the floppy comb over one eye all the time...her name is Blue

this is one with the floppy comb...it is way too long and floppy
Mine is more Grey
People are deeply uneducated going by hatchery numbers for eggs per year. Red sex links will only lay that on a very specific diet, temperature and light routine. In somebody's backyard on layer mash, they are not going to lay 320 good eggs per year. Many will have thin or missing shells and a high occurence of egg binding. The sales pitch behind that bird is misleading for a backyard poultry keeper but people rarely understand this until they have had the bird and compare to other birds that lay less but more reliably and it really equals the less laying bird is actually laying more edible eggs while the rsl is laying more less edible eggs with more laying issues. The hatcheries just sell what people want. They want more eggs but don't understand that this bird wont give them 320.
 

Papi Chingon

Domesticated Hombre
Oct 19, 2015
25,475
32,244
l have had those....LOL so funny, they look like those things from star wars...shit is hilarious

they also come with bald legs but feathers on the feet.....that shit is hilarious also

but if you mix a new gang with a old gang of chickens....fools like that don't last...they ain't built to fight IMO
That's even funnier. I'd love to see one of those stupid looking chickens get its ass kicked.
 

Banchan

The Most Dangerous Dame
Oct 2, 2017
4,515
2,905
The description claims 100 per year for an average female silkie. Tractor trading Co is selling them in lots of 10 for $40 delivered. How many eggs do you eat in a year?
Those figures are best case under specific feed, temperature and light regimine. It wont lay that in your yard. They are also extremely small eggs and that bird goes broody often. It will try to sit on the eggs which slows down their production.
 

Freeloading Rusty

Here comes Rover, sniffin’ at your ass
Jan 11, 2016
26,916
26,743
How is the bindweed situation this year?

If it's an northern white cedar, those are very hardy and not likely to die. Are the cedars right on the property line? In addition to pulling the tops continually the best way to get rid of them organically is using other weeds that are far more competitive that stunt the bindweed. Bindweed grows very poorly without access to full sun. Meaning if you seeded or transplanted another variety of weed that does not climb but covers the soil floor, they will choke out the bindweed. After a couple years. You would want to use a native weed to your area that isn't considered invasive and one that you wouldn't mind growing around you. The good news is that after a few years it's likely the weed will then spread to your neighbours lawn and choke the bindweed out there too. I wouldn't mention it to them that you introduced the weed there but it sounds like they don't care about their lawn anyway.
Thanks for the info.

So far, the fuckers are onto a strong start for the year. Ill take a pic this week of those bastards, although I spent a hour or two this weekend pulling em.

And of the minimal garden we have set up so far this year. Lost prime planting time going on vacation the last week of April into mid May.
 

Banchan

The Most Dangerous Dame
Oct 2, 2017
4,515
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Thanks for the info.

So far, the fuckers are onto a strong start for the year. Ill take a pic this week of those bastards, although I spent a hour or two this weekend pulling em.

And of the minimal garden we have set up so far this year. Lost prime planting time going on vacation the last week of April into mid May.
FY a fence wont work. They will just move under the fence and into your yard. You need a plantings around the base of your cedars to form a barrier from the weed.

If you look at bindweed growing beneath bushy shrubs, they actually grow away from the shrub in search of sunlight rather than over the shrub. They are usually stunted as well because they are in partial shade. However, if the shrub is sparse and has pockets of light filtration, the weed climbs up and intertwines the shrub. This is your situation now. Cedars are good barriers up top but you need species that grow over the bindweed at the bottom. Then they should actually grow away from your cedars. You also want perennials that will regrow with minimal effort from you year after year and continue to creep over into your neighbours yard to drive the weed further away.
 

ShatsBassoon

Throwing bombs & banging moms
First 100
Jan 14, 2015
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It was a miserably long winter but
Spaghetti squash, zuchinni, carrots and spinich are starting to sprout.