What did you do in the garden today?

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

Sorry for your loss. Even if it's necessary, it still sucks.

I seem to lose a lot of birds around age 3. Not sure why they go downhill and die. I've got one now in quarantine. A 3 yr old Cream Legbar hen. I noticed she was all puffed up. Clearly cold and trying to stay warm. Barely moving around. Wouldn't eat. I picked her up and realized she is SUPER thin. No meat on her at all. I honestly didn't think she would make it through the night. That was 5 days ago. I did worm her and been giving her antibiotics every day. She seems to be eating now because her food dish is empty unless it's just getting dumped or rats/mice. Anyway, I had an 8 yr old Buff Orpington hen that I had to put down less than 2 weeks ago. She had water belly... End stage and couldn't breathe.

Anyway, just sucks. I'm sorry...

My girls are getting old and I worry what I will do when that time comes. what method do you use to cull a hen like the Buff for example? Thank you. Tough topic but i need a plan.

 

[MotherofOrpies]

I also have an old hen who is struggling, but I can’t cull I went to the vet to put some sick hens to sleep, but that isn’t a good option either, the stress of getting transported in a car and also the needles, I fear it isn’t pain free either, the young rooster is staring to crow, loud and long, in the morning

 

[Molpet]

I also have an old hen who is struggling, but I can’t cull I went to the vet to put some sick hens to sleep, but that isn’t a good option either, the stress of getting transported in a car and also the needles, I fear it isn’t pain free either, the young rooster is staring to crow, loud and long, in the morning

I don't think any method is painless and none are stress free to the hooman.

I use a PVC pipe cutter to chop the head off . But I harvest cockerels for food and try not to make friends with any of them .

 

[TJAnonymous]

My girls are getting old and I worry what I will do when that time comes. what method do you use to cull a hen like the Buff for example? Thank you. Tough topic but i need a plan.

Well because she was from my original 6 hens, I opted to put her down humanely by taking her to the vet. They put her to sleep before euthanizing her. Cost me $80. Naturally I wouldn't do that for every bird. Depending on the bird, we have 2 ways to dispatch: put them in the killing cone and cut off their heads or we simply shoot them. I know some people do the broomstick method but I couldn't get that to work and it ended up just being cruel & painful so I don't even try that anymore.

 

[igorsMistress]

G’morning all. I got one of the wire compost bins covered with some of the used weed barrier from the shade garden and started a pile in it. I have some cardboard soaking right now to start another couple layers in it. Planted corn and put in a row cover to keep wild birds out, and the bulk trash is out. I had an old table out in the yard and used it for cover for a while but it was a pain in the you know what. Still plenty to get done but it’s coming along. I didn’t have good luck with the sweet potatoes so I’m headed to Lowes I think to get a couple zucchini plants and I’m going to go ahead and put in some Roselle seed to see if it’ll sprout. If not I can try again later.

 

[TJAnonymous]

I looked it up... We "officially" received 5.67" of rain and 9.5" of snow in January. So far in February, we've received 3.89" of rain. That's not counting the 2-3" we are getting right now or the snow we are supposed to get on Tues and Weds next week.

 

[Smokerbill]

I moved my sage plant and the onion and shallot seedlings to a south facing window sill. I think they'll get enough natural light there, and the slightly cooler temperatures shouldn't bother them much.

I need to start making room on the grow shelves for the cabbage, kale, collards and bok choy seeds I'll be planting soon, sometime next week probably.



My 12 pepper plants are still hanging out under a grow light. Six are Jalapenos from purchased seed, the other six from seeds I saved from store bought peppers, Habanero and Hatch chilis, which might produce interesting results.

 

[jerryse]

Push shoveled the drive. Now my shoulder hurts. It has been bothering me. Ortho visit Thursday. Need a shot.

 

[TJAnonymous]

My dad passed away in 2017. My work bought me a peace lily. I finally decided I could put it off no longer and decided to repot and split it. I am so worried that I'll inadvertently kill it. It's so crowded though that it rarely blooms anymore.

Anyway, 2 hrs later and the deed is done. I split it into NINE different pots. I really scrambled to find appropriate pots that weren't too big or too shallow. After about 5 transplants, I started to try to pair several smaller bundles into one pot. I think I did that for at least 3 of them.

I used a quality container mix. Added a little compost and a healthy amount of Perlite. I cleaned up all the dead litter and leaves around the base. I watered them well and then let them sit out in the light rain (it's 45 degrees) for about 10 minutes to drain off any excess before bringing them all back into the house.

I'll keep a close eye on them over the next few weeks. Praying none of them die... I'll feel terrible if they do.

 

[Jenbirdee]

Added compost