Lazy Gardener's Little Town Farm

[Lazy Gardener]

The verdict is in. Chickens vs. ducks: I have to say that I absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt prefer ducks to chickens. They don't tear up a lawn. They are Hoover vac. machines, marching back and forth in a row, across the yard all day long. They didn't start laying as early this spring, but since the start, they very rarely miss a day. I prefer duck eggs. Ducks are much more food thrifty, part of the reason being that I am able to let them out to range. It was a warm winter, so not much of an issue to keep them watered. The downside: their yard stinks! (If they had adequate room in there, it would not be an issue.) They will turn any water container into a mud slurry faster than I can fill it!

Chickens: I can't let them range b/c of their habit of tearing up hubby's lawn. Chickens also want to perch/poop on the deck and deck steps.

Chickens seem to be more prone to predation. Odd, b/c ducks are much more clumsy. I know the time will come when a fox or hawk will swoop in on my ducks. But, for now, I'm taking a calculated risk by letting them out to clean up the yard. They will often present themselves with 6" ropes of yellow slug slime dangling from either side of their beaks. I make sure to keep buckets of water handy for the clean ups! And, those ducks!!! When I step out the door to find out where they are, they hear my call, and come on the run. They go across the road to visit Bob. It's a hoot to see them racing just as fast as their little ducky legs will carry them. I suppose I should put up a "duck crossing" sign!

But... I'll not get rid of chickens, just decrease flock size!

 

[Lazy Gardener]

I have space for 2 more raised beds. Will scrounge around to see what I come up with for materials that are already on site. May have enough cedar slab wood for 1 more bed. Also have some plastic T&G fence panels that I've used for 4 beds. The white plastic looks nice, but, it needs a lot of stabilization because it flexes too much. It'll be a balancing act to try to finish those last 2 beds in time to get all the planting done. Last night, I was so crippled, after finishing up the first 2 beds that I could hardly walk. However, after a night's rest, I am ready to go at it again! Head ache still plagueing.

 

[henless]

We are scrounging around here too. We're using every last piece of lumber we have to keep from having to buy any. It has gone up so much in price, over 230%!! That's just outrageous.

 

[baymule]

LG to prevent your ducks from making such a mess in their pen, get a bucket with a top. Cut 3-4 duck head sized holes in the side of the bucket, put water up to holes and put the top on. Then they can get a drink, slurry their feed, and not splatter water all over the pen.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

We are scrounging around here too. We're using every last piece of lumber we have to keep from having to buy any. It has gone up so much in price, over 230%!! That's just outrageous.

In order to make the job easier, we bought some pre-cut 1/2" rebar today. That was a costly undertaking. But, hubby's schedule is such that he does not need yet one more task added to his list, and I'm not comfortable cutting metal. So... I have all the materials on hand to complete the RB with either the existing plastic fencing, or can make 1 bed and will have to go back to local sawyer to get a few more pieces of slab wood. At less than $1 each, I think the budget will stretch that far! I just love the way those cedar slab beds look with the rounded, blackened surface.

This time of the year, I can usually find lots of lumber fresh for the picking at the town dump burn pile. Now... not so much. Hardly more than a few broken pallets and some scrub brush! Last year, I was bringing home brand new 8 - 12' pieces of brand new lumber from there!

Chickens have gone into overdrive with egg production. More than 100% today. I think they are realizing that their numbers have dwindled from 45 to 14. Wondering where all their friends have gone, they figure they'd better pick up the pace, or they will be next!

 

[Lazy Gardener]

We saw 2 x 4 studs today at Lowes: $7.90 ea. Last night, hubby saw a video that was stating/showing that Canada is shipping record amounts of lumber into US right now. So... based on that, why is the price so sky high??? Oh yeah... joe.

 

[henless]

We're eating store eggs. Mine are almost 10 weeks old, so it'll be a while before we get "good" eggs.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

We're eating store eggs. Mine are almost 10 weeks old, so it'll be a while before we get "good" eggs.

So sorry! Hang in there. Good things come to those who wait, AND WORK HARD!

 

[Lazy Gardener]

We went to our local sawyer today. Came home with one each rough cut pine 2 x 6 x 8' and 2 x 8 x 10', and 3 nice heavy cedar slabs to finish out my raised beds. Total cost: $20.00! I'm guessing that's less than 1/2 of Lowe's prices. Not to mention that the boards were nice and beefy, not a single knot in either of them! I am delighted to be giving my money to a local person, instead of supporting the big box stores.

Hubby and I went for a walk today. I'm glad we didn't go very far, b/c the ducks decided they needed to join us. Thankfully, we came back before they discovered that there is a "swamp" below our yard. If they got back in there, I very much doubt that they'd be comin' home for supper!

 

[baymule]

We're eating store eggs. Mine are almost 10 weeks old, so it'll be a while before we get "good" eggs.

Come visit me and I’ll load you up!