For chickens: who knows what this is?
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Leigh Blackall
Apr 5, 2008, 4:34:18 PM4/5/08
to permaculture-...@googlegroups.com
It is a plant that repels mites from chicken roosts... I have a photo of it here, and comments asking what it is...
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Leigh Blackall
+64(0)21736539
skype - leigh_blackall
SL - Leroy Goalpost
http://learnonline.wordpress.com
--
--
Leigh Blackall
+64(0)21736539
skype - leigh_blackall
SL - Leroy Goalpost
http://learnonline.wordpress.com
Peta
Apr 5, 2008, 6:07:03 PM4/5/08
to Permaculture Design Course
Hi Leigh, it's wormwood. If you want some I've got heaps & it grows
well from cuttings. It needs a well drained sunny site. It also
inhibits a lot of other plants from growing around it by putting out
unfriendly chemicals into the soil.
On Apr 6, 8:34 am, "Leigh Blackall" <leighblack...@gmail.com> wrote:
> It is a plant that repels mites from chicken roosts... I have a photo
> of it<http://www.flickr.com/photos/leighblackall/2381861333/>here, and
well from cuttings. It needs a well drained sunny site. It also
inhibits a lot of other plants from growing around it by putting out
unfriendly chemicals into the soil.
On Apr 6, 8:34 am, "Leigh Blackall" <leighblack...@gmail.com> wrote:
> It is a plant that repels mites from chicken roosts... I have a photo
Leigh Blackall
Apr 6, 2008, 2:27:35 AM4/6/08
to permaculture-...@googlegroups.com
Thanks Peta, I dunno but I imagine that it would be good to grow in or around a chicken coup yes? Sounds to me as though its needs are complimentary to chooks..?
Peta Hudson
Apr 7, 2008, 3:12:18 PM4/7/08
to permaculture-...@googlegroups.com
Yep, you could grow it as a low, 1-1.5m, windbreak alongside the run.Though I wouldn't plant it where it could get the runoff from the run as it wouldn't appreciate the excess nitrogen! It grows well in pure sand! It copes very well with strong wind. You could then prune it & strew it around the hen house & Make a spray from it to soak the perches. I also use wood ashes for this but my chooks are free range & only have they suffered from mites once.
Leigh Blackall
Apr 7, 2008, 5:04:42 PM4/7/08
to permaculture-...@googlegroups.com
ah! Free range = less - no mites! Thank you.. how do they manage with predators Peta.. is there a way we can provide shelter for free rangers so that they have proction for themselves and their eggs?
Peta Hudson
Apr 8, 2008, 4:54:17 AM4/8/08
to permaculture-...@googlegroups.com
Mmm good question Leigh.
I until tonight I would've said I've never had a problem with predators. But a large grey cat was seen this arvo just about to pounce on one of the bantams. Weird, as it has been sleeping in the garden for at least a year. There's naught I can do about it apart from putting the banties in a pen & I refuse to do that. I guess apart keeping my eyes peeled & not being nice to the grey cat anymore & throwing the small potatoes I reject at him (it stopped another cat I had in his tracks) I will leave it up to nature.
The hens have lived with at least 6 cats roaming through here for 6yrs now & have never been attacked so this is, to me, a strange occurrence.
Very rarely a nest has been invaded by a hedgehog & usually if I've been unaware of it. The hens will lay at times outside in amongst the bushes (good fun hunting for eggs) & at other times in the hen house in an old grass catcher with straw in it.
So once again it's really not been a problem but who knows maybe life is about to change!
I until tonight I would've said I've never had a problem with predators. But a large grey cat was seen this arvo just about to pounce on one of the bantams. Weird, as it has been sleeping in the garden for at least a year. There's naught I can do about it apart from putting the banties in a pen & I refuse to do that. I guess apart keeping my eyes peeled & not being nice to the grey cat anymore & throwing the small potatoes I reject at him (it stopped another cat I had in his tracks) I will leave it up to nature.
The hens have lived with at least 6 cats roaming through here for 6yrs now & have never been attacked so this is, to me, a strange occurrence.
Very rarely a nest has been invaded by a hedgehog & usually if I've been unaware of it. The hens will lay at times outside in amongst the bushes (good fun hunting for eggs) & at other times in the hen house in an old grass catcher with straw in it.
So once again it's really not been a problem but who knows maybe life is about to change!
Jadeapple
Apr 8, 2008, 10:47:38 AM4/8/08
to Permaculture Design Course
We don't have our chickens yet, but predators will be an issue we
have to deal with. Coyotes are an issue where we are. We have a pack
that we saw quite frequently last year. Ideally I would like to be
able to have them just roam free all of the time. I expect that I
will end up doing a bit of a combination of free range and pen. I
have talked to a couple of people who have chickens that are largely
free range as they are out most of the day. The daytime isn't a
problem. At night they go back into the pens for safety. There are
also systems that people use that involved movable fencing. The fence
is placed in a area with a moveable hutch in the middle. The chickens
retreat into the hutch at night. The whole thing can easily be moved
around as the patch gets used up. It seems to be a good alternative if
safety is an issue, to get some of the benefits of ranging as well as
not having to be on the eyeout all the time for predators. Cars may
also be an issue if the chickens decide to roam to the front side of
the house. The road can get quite busy at times and currently we don't
have good enough fencing to ensure that they stay away.
Winter where we are is also an issue. The one person I talked to has
a fixed coop and pen for wintering with a heat source available if
needed. The rest of the year the chickens largely roam free around
the farmyard and fend for themselves.
Our plan is to start with a fixed coup, since we have it already and
figure out what options work for us from there in terms of allowing
them to range out more.
On Apr 8, 4:54 am, Peta Hudson <p...@gaiamoana.org.nz> wrote:
> Mmm good question Leigh.
> I until tonight I would've said I've never had a problem with predators.
> But a large grey cat was seen this arvo just about to pounce on one of
> the bantams. Weird, as it has been sleeping in the garden for at least a
> year. There's naught I can do about it apart from putting the banties in
> a pen & I refuse to do that. I guess apart keeping my eyes peeled & not
> being nice to the grey cat anymore & throwing the small potatoes I
> reject at him (it stopped another cat I had in his tracks) I will leave
> it up to nature.
> The hens have lived with at least 6 cats roaming through here for 6yrs
> now & have never been attacked so this is, to me, a strange occurrence.
> Very rarely a nest has been invaded by a hedgehog & usually if I've been
> unaware of it. The hens will lay at times outside in amongst the bushes
> (good fun hunting for eggs) & at other times in the hen house in an old
> grass catcher with straw in it.
> So once again it's really not been a problem but who knows maybe life is
> about to change!
>
> Leigh Blackall wrote:
> > ah! Free range = less - no mites! Thank you.. how do they manage with
> > predators Peta.. is there a way we can provide shelter for free
> > rangers so that they have proction for themselves and their eggs?
>
have to deal with. Coyotes are an issue where we are. We have a pack
that we saw quite frequently last year. Ideally I would like to be
able to have them just roam free all of the time. I expect that I
will end up doing a bit of a combination of free range and pen. I
have talked to a couple of people who have chickens that are largely
free range as they are out most of the day. The daytime isn't a
problem. At night they go back into the pens for safety. There are
also systems that people use that involved movable fencing. The fence
is placed in a area with a moveable hutch in the middle. The chickens
retreat into the hutch at night. The whole thing can easily be moved
around as the patch gets used up. It seems to be a good alternative if
safety is an issue, to get some of the benefits of ranging as well as
not having to be on the eyeout all the time for predators. Cars may
also be an issue if the chickens decide to roam to the front side of
the house. The road can get quite busy at times and currently we don't
have good enough fencing to ensure that they stay away.
Winter where we are is also an issue. The one person I talked to has
a fixed coop and pen for wintering with a heat source available if
needed. The rest of the year the chickens largely roam free around
the farmyard and fend for themselves.
Our plan is to start with a fixed coup, since we have it already and
figure out what options work for us from there in terms of allowing
them to range out more.
On Apr 8, 4:54 am, Peta Hudson <p...@gaiamoana.org.nz> wrote:
> Mmm good question Leigh.
> I until tonight I would've said I've never had a problem with predators.
> But a large grey cat was seen this arvo just about to pounce on one of
> the bantams. Weird, as it has been sleeping in the garden for at least a
> year. There's naught I can do about it apart from putting the banties in
> a pen & I refuse to do that. I guess apart keeping my eyes peeled & not
> being nice to the grey cat anymore & throwing the small potatoes I
> reject at him (it stopped another cat I had in his tracks) I will leave
> it up to nature.
> The hens have lived with at least 6 cats roaming through here for 6yrs
> now & have never been attacked so this is, to me, a strange occurrence.
> Very rarely a nest has been invaded by a hedgehog & usually if I've been
> unaware of it. The hens will lay at times outside in amongst the bushes
> (good fun hunting for eggs) & at other times in the hen house in an old
> grass catcher with straw in it.
> So once again it's really not been a problem but who knows maybe life is
> about to change!
>
> Leigh Blackall wrote:
> > ah! Free range = less - no mites! Thank you.. how do they manage with
> > predators Peta.. is there a way we can provide shelter for free
> > rangers so that they have proction for themselves and their eggs?
>
> > On Tue, Apr 8, 2008 at 7:12 AM, Peta Hudson <p...@gaiamoana.org.nz
> > <mailto:p...@gaiamoana.org.nz>> wrote:
>
> > Yep, you could grow it as a low, 1-1.5m, windbreak alongside the
> > run.Though I wouldn't plant it where it could get the runoff from
> > the run as it wouldn't appreciate the excess nitrogen! It grows
> > well in pure sand! It copes very well with strong wind. You could
> > then prune it & strew it around the hen house & Make a spray from
> > it to soak the perches. I also use wood ashes for this but my
> > chooks are free range & only have they suffered from mites once.
>
> > Leigh Blackall wrote:
> >> Thanks Peta, I dunno but I imagine that it would be good to grow
> >> in or around a chicken coup yes? Sounds to me as though its needs
> >> are complimentary to chooks..?
>
> > <mailto:p...@gaiamoana.org.nz>> wrote:
>
> > Yep, you could grow it as a low, 1-1.5m, windbreak alongside the
> > run.Though I wouldn't plant it where it could get the runoff from
> > the run as it wouldn't appreciate the excess nitrogen! It grows
> > well in pure sand! It copes very well with strong wind. You could
> > then prune it & strew it around the hen house & Make a spray from
> > it to soak the perches. I also use wood ashes for this but my
> > chooks are free range & only have they suffered from mites once.
>
> > Leigh Blackall wrote:
> >> Thanks Peta, I dunno but I imagine that it would be good to grow
> >> in or around a chicken coup yes? Sounds to me as though its needs
> >> are complimentary to chooks..?
>
> >> On Sun, Apr 6, 2008 at 10:07 AM, Peta <Peteypl...@gmail.com
> >> <mailto:Peteypl...@gmail.com>> wrote:
>
> >> Hi Leigh, it's wormwood. If you want some I've got heaps & it
> >> grows
> >> well from cuttings. It needs a well drained sunny site. It also
> >> inhibits a lot of other plants from growing around it by
> >> putting out
> >> unfriendly chemicals into the soil.
>
> >> On Apr 6, 8:34 am, "Leigh Blackall" <leighblack...@gmail.com
> >> <mailto:Peteypl...@gmail.com>> wrote:
>
> >> Hi Leigh, it's wormwood. If you want some I've got heaps & it
> >> grows
> >> well from cuttings. It needs a well drained sunny site. It also
> >> inhibits a lot of other plants from growing around it by
> >> putting out
> >> unfriendly chemicals into the soil.
>
> >> On Apr 6, 8:34 am, "Leigh Blackall" <leighblack...@gmail.com
> >> <mailto:leighblack...@gmail.com>> wrote:
> >> > It is a plant that repels mites from chicken roosts... I
> >> have a photo
> >> > of
> >> it<http://www.flickr.com/photos/leighblackall/2381861333/>here,
> >> and
> >> > comments asking what it is...
>
> >> > --
> >> > --
> >> > Leigh Blackall
> >> >+64(0)21736539
> >> > skype - leigh_blackall
> >> > SL - Leroy Goalposthttp://learnonline.wordpress.com
> >> > It is a plant that repels mites from chicken roosts... I
> >> have a photo
> >> > of
> >> it<http://www.flickr.com/photos/leighblackall/2381861333/>here,
> >> and
> >> > comments asking what it is...
>
> >> > --
> >> > --
> >> > Leigh Blackall
> >> >+64(0)21736539
> >> > skype - leigh_blackall
> >> > SL - Leroy Goalposthttp://learnonline.wordpress.com
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