living off the grid..ish

[benedmonds]

1 hour ago, Paul in the woods said:

I was going to warn that although hens can be lovely to look at and have scratching around the place they are also mini-dinosaurs and will happily rip apart all sorts of garden wildlife, snakes, lizards, whole nests of voles etc.

They also crap everywhere and are quite social so like to come in the house..  We used to let ours roam free but regularly stepping in chicken shit is no fun. I have posted pics of my chicken run/trampoline enclosure on here before and thoroughly recommend it. 

[Dan Maynard]

2 hours ago, benedmonds said:

They also crap everywhere and are quite social so like to come in the house..  We used to let ours roam free but regularly stepping in chicken shit is no fun. I have posted pics of my chicken run/trampoline enclosure on here before and thoroughly recommend it. 

Before we had a dog we used to have a bowl of cat food down in the kitchen, the chickens found it once and from that point on they were always trying to sneak in the house any time the door was ajar. Got quite long memories too.

 

They're now fenced in away from the dog so no longer a problem.

[peds]

10 hours ago, trigger_andy said:

 

Ive got a Raspberry Patch and soon will have a a Strawberry patch just as soon as Ive rotavated the plot Ive picked out for that.

 

Protect your soil, No Dig it. Cover the ground with cardboard, compost, and seaweed mulch, then just plant directly into slits in the ground. Your soil doesn't need to be tossed like you did with that gentleman's salad in a petrol station lav the other day, just feed it and your soil will do the rest.

[peds]

I've got 5 little chicks that survived, from 6 hatched, of 8 eggs sat on. Hoping for mostly girls, but at least we can eat the boys.

 

 

They are around 7 weeks old now. Their mother, Mother Clucker, suddenly lost interest in them at around 5 and a half weeks, after doing a great job of raising them, so they fend for themselves now, and mum has gone back to hanging with the other six girls. 

 

The father, Harry, is a mean and spiteful bird, and he's doing a great job. It'll be sad to replace him later in the summer, but at least we'll have a spare bird available to honour the arrival of any cherished guests.

[trigger_andy]

 
Protect your soil, No Dig it. Cover the ground with cardboard, compost, and seaweed mulch, then just plant directly into slits in the ground. Your soil doesn't need to be tossed like you did with that gentleman's salad in a petrol station lav the other day, just feed it and your soil will do the rest.

It was a part of woodland floor that I’ve since removed the trees from. It’s quite compact since it was then used as my Log Deck Loading area that’s seen some Avant action. No weeds at all.

So I’ll dig it over.

[peds]

This isn't the 13th century, you don't have to prepare a tithe for the local Bishop, you don't have to yoke your oxen for an exciting afternoon of furrow and ploughshare.

Your soil, and especially the perennials in this instance you intend to drop into it, would thank you if you stop tearing it apart. There's a case to be made for breaking the ground open for something like carrots or parsnips (although that's a fairly weak case and all) but strawberries or raspberries won't thank you for the extra labour, and soil is healthier and more productive the less you dick about with its structure. Leave it alone, and it will uncompact itself.

 

No weeds, you say? I wonder how long that will continue once you've dredged a few decades of the seedbank up to the surface for germination. Enjoy your new pets!

 

If you are just after some pointless busy work to keep idle hands from becoming the Devil's plaything, go ahead, play with your wee rotobater, but that is time you could spend doing a thousand other more useful things.

[Guest Gimlet]

Farming News - 20 per cent of world’s CO2 from ploughing – soil scientist

FARMING.CO.UK

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Farming online news 20 per cent of world’s CO2 from ploughing – soil scientist

 

[RickandMorty]

So people are decided on keeping chickens.... maybe I shall just get a puppy 🐶...

[Retired Climber]

1 hour ago, RickandMorty said:

So people are decided on keeping chickens.... maybe I shall just get a puppy 🐶...

Don't forget, you can't eat dog eggs. 🤣

[Retired Climber]

13 hours ago, peds said:

I've got 5 little chicks that survived, from 6 hatched, of 8 eggs sat on. Hoping for mostly girls, but at least we can eat the boys.

 

 

They are around 7 weeks old now. Their mother, Mother Clucker, suddenly lost interest in them at around 5 and a half weeks, after doing a great job of raising them, so they fend for themselves now, and mum has gone back to hanging with the other six girls. 

 

The father, Harry, is a mean and spiteful bird, and he's doing a great job. It'll be sad to replace him later in the summer, but at least we'll have a spare bird available to honour the arrival of any cherished guests.

Nice space. How much land do you have there?