Recent content by Sill

Always start cuttings here in full shade, even in winter. You can wrap the top part of the cutting in grafting tape/parafilm that you can buy on Amazon so the top of the cutting doesn't dry out before the roots have a chance to form. It's also more successful to use coconut coir or peat moss as...

My sister breeds high production dwarf Nigerian goats in Rio Verde AZ. Google Rio Verde Udders. They are excellent milkers. It's interesting that hers can tolerate our heat well as most of her stock originated in this area, but last fall when she got three new ones from New Jersey for outcross...

Yes I've pickled them. I like them better as a spicy pickle! No one else in the family cares for them pickled except me so I don't make them very often.

Bobby I think the foodies like any meat thats novel and easy to get. I love lamb, any way it's prepared, but then I like venison, elk, quail etc. I make an herbed lamb stew that's great for cool weather eating. People don't even know it's lamb until I tell them. They assume it's beef. Maybe...

:frow It's been a long time since I've come here to post and wanted to say hi to everyone I already know and those I've not met yet.

You're welcome! I had others give me eggs when mine weren't laying. I'm just glad I'm still getting eggs at this time of year. No duck eggs but the pullets are starting to lay and some of the older girls are laying.

If you live in the city and have neighbors that are close space-wise consider brown leghorns. They make all the regular chicken sounds but at half or less volume than other chickens! Very nice to have quiet birds!

After much anticipation and seeing big-girl behaviors from my pullets (going in the nest boxes and squatting for me) I saw one of my brown leghorn pullets singing the egg song. I checked the nest boxes and sure enough, there was a pretty white pullet egg! Weird seeing a white egg, I've...

Still enjoying the olive eggers I got as chicks from you. Nice big green eggs! I can see some NNs are in my future. Nice to have that heat tolerance. Tempe is as bad as an HOA. Just keep your chickens out of the line of sight when someone looks over the fence.

I have fiberglass panels that let in some light, but they let in heat too. Metal would have been better. That's the thing with EEs, they can lay any color egg. I have one that lays true blue, another sage green. They do get paler as the season progresses so they can look almost white. He's...

You can try something novel to distract the male. Put in some new dust bathing areas, bunches of edible greenery, dishes of meal worms etc. Good luck with your hatches!

If they smell bad and the yolk disintegrates when the contents are put into a bowl I toss them. If they don't stink and the yolk seems intact I cook them and feed them to the dogs.

Sorry for your loss. It's a hard decision to make, but now she's not suffering.

He sure got a good home with you! I'm hoping his beak bump doesn't affect his health. Congrats on the new chicks!

You are better off taking one of the males out or splitting the hens between the two in separate cages. Two males will bicker and cause stress, and it doesn't take much to stress them enough that they don't lay. A larger enclosure would help. Do they have an enticing place to lay their...