Poison Ivy remedy
Made from 3 plants that thrive in summer:
Fresh Plantain - several fresh leaves
Fresh Jewelweed (touch-me-nots) - several fresh leaves
Aloevera - cut open a leaf, then scrape the inside clear gel
Mix the above ingredients smashing in a mortar or in the blender
Apply directly to the poison ivy rash on your skin
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Guinea Fowl
June 2013 - Here we are acquiring some Guinea Fowl to enjoy their company and to reduce the amount of grasshoppers, ticks, possibly Japanese Beetles and other insects.
Sometime in March or April we asked Scott Atkins, Joe Bullard and Amy and Terry Sterling to let us know if anyone had guinea chicks available.
Sunday June 2 Terry and Amy called to say a friend of theirs had lots of chicks (born May 30); they were kind enough to bring to our house 3 baby chicks that afternoon. Cost $2 dollars each. Terry suggested feeding them corn grits and for the next few days Alden also gave them red wiggler worms from the compost which they didn't eat. We kept them upstairs in the massage room inside a large box with a 3 watt light bulb. Wednesday morning one chick was dead. I transferred them to a smaller box without shredded paper and changed to a 15 watt light bulb. When I asked if we could get turkey feed starter for protein Alden suggested I add crumbled cat food to the grits.
Following guidelines from the internet on Saturday 6/15 when the day temperature was above 80°F I put them outdoors inside a small cage that I borrowed from Ana; the tips of their wings were changing although the chicks were still round and very small. Since the temperatures went down to 65° or 68° I brought them in at night and kept them under the lamp. One afternoon I heard them chirping really loud, I went to see what was happening and one of the chicks was out under the forsythia bush. I called Alden and between the two of us we got her back. After this I surrounded the cage with a cardboard box leaving 2 inches of space around just in case they did it again.
Wednesday 6/19 right after yoga and before running off to Book Club another chick put its head down and died.
I called Amy and she was kind enough to sell me another chick, on 6/21 we met at the gas station located on 79 and 278 Friday afternoon. I was amazed, her chick was 3 times the size of ours with all its feathers instead of fuss. They fed them game feed starter with 21% protein. Immediately I entered the corner store and purchased that food, but I didn't realize it was for adult birds instead of baby chicks. When I got home and Alden saw the difference in sizes he agreed to get the right type of food at Tractor Supply the next day.
The two birds got along really well, although the new bird did chirp for a whole day, I guess she missed her flock. They spend the night outside (Terry's birds were put outdoors in a pen under an oak tree after their first week and were kept there 24/7).
The new guinea escaped through a crack into the chicken's pen and roamed around happily without being attacked. At night she came back into her pen and slept on top of the smaller chick to keep her warm. Guineas are very sweet. Sunday mid-morning the smaller chick died. I know for a fact that being undernourished makes the birds weak, underdeveloped and susceptible to dying.
I called Amy again and she did some calling around, at night she said Sharon Bullard had 15 guineas and was willing to sell some. Monday evening June 24 (after massage day in Guntersville) we went to their home on 79 and 26 to get the chicks. These are a bit larger then Amy's, they were born sometime between May 17 and 24, 10 days or so before Amy's.
Sharon kept all the guineas (since they were born until the day we came) in a large cage 8x4x4 feet with a large light bulb and inside a garage with doors open and good air flow. She fed them turkey starter with 21% protein. The guineas look healthy and are good tempered. We purchased 4 guineas at $2 each. Once at the pen in our house they haven't chirped constantly, there are 4 chicks plus the smaller one, they have food and water, a large space and are been taken care off.
Ringo the dog, likes to sit outside the cage and stare, occasionally he licks his chomps. When Bosco visits he does that too.
After 8 weeks on 8/12 we opened the door to their pen so they could come out. After 20-30 minutes they did. The first nights they go back in the pen to sleep, after that they fly to the top of the chicken coop and sleep outdoors - pooping on the chickens that are roosting at a lower level!
Early September we notice they pair and push the 5th one to the side, she is no longer allowed in the pen and has to stay at a distance from the other guineas.
2014
There have been some very cold nights in December and January 2014, several nights down to 8, 10 and 15 F yet the guineas continue to sleep outdoors. Last night it got down to 24 before dark and they chose to sleep in their coop, allowing the 5th one to join.
After 27 days below freezing in January and 10 of those days in the single digits, all the guineas survived!
Sometime in March the leader guinea ate a couple of frogs, she would run around with a frog dangling on her beak until she was able to "chop" and eat it. Well a few days later she got sick and 3-4 days later died. THe loner got a partner!
In April the guineas started laying eggs, they made a nest near the pond under a tree root, but soon decided to change location and left 11 eggs there. I gave those eggs to Sanjay and his family with Sara's incubator and 6 hatched in approximately 28 days.
By April 28th they had laid 26+ eggs on the south-east side under some bushes and the loner and her mate sat on them. I left for Ciudad Juarez with Ana and when I came back they continued to sit diligently. By May 28 I thought something was wrong because no keets were hatching, so I took some of the eggs and the incubator to Javier and on Friday May 30 one guinea hatched, her name is Finley. The rest of the eggs did not hatch.
On Friday June 13 I went to get another 5 guineas from Chris Tyson. Finley is 2 weeks old, 2 are 2 1/2 weeks old and 3 are 3 weeks old. They are in a cage outdoors all day, but continue to sleep indoors because at night it cools down to 65F. Actually by June 16th the nights are getting warmer - around 70 F. They are all so cute!
The saga continues, some forest critter ate two adult guineas. And finally the last couple of the original 5 guineas sat on their nest underneath the A/C protected by the house and 6 baby guineas hatched on August 13, 2014. On the first night a critter came by and took 3. Alden found the other 3 and put them and the mom in the coop. Mom did not like being caged up, but she managed for 5 weeks. If we let her out she would shriek and run around the coop. At four weeks we did let them out and one got taken, so back in for another week.
By the end of August we had 9 guineas, then Finley died she was getting too heavy for her legs to hold her.
Sometime in November when the nights got cold and Ringo slept in the basement we lost 5 more - we think it was a raccoon. Now they sleep inside the coop.
December 2014 we have 4 cute, funny, diligent guineas; 1 rooster and 6 hens. They are all free range during the day and sleep in the coop at night.
I must say the garden had no bugs, no grasshoppers, the guineas did a great job!
Sometime in March or April we asked Scott Atkins, Joe Bullard and Amy and Terry Sterling to let us know if anyone had guinea chicks available.
Sunday June 2 Terry and Amy called to say a friend of theirs had lots of chicks (born May 30); they were kind enough to bring to our house 3 baby chicks that afternoon. Cost $2 dollars each. Terry suggested feeding them corn grits and for the next few days Alden also gave them red wiggler worms from the compost which they didn't eat. We kept them upstairs in the massage room inside a large box with a 3 watt light bulb. Wednesday morning one chick was dead. I transferred them to a smaller box without shredded paper and changed to a 15 watt light bulb. When I asked if we could get turkey feed starter for protein Alden suggested I add crumbled cat food to the grits.
Following guidelines from the internet on Saturday 6/15 when the day temperature was above 80°F I put them outdoors inside a small cage that I borrowed from Ana; the tips of their wings were changing although the chicks were still round and very small. Since the temperatures went down to 65° or 68° I brought them in at night and kept them under the lamp. One afternoon I heard them chirping really loud, I went to see what was happening and one of the chicks was out under the forsythia bush. I called Alden and between the two of us we got her back. After this I surrounded the cage with a cardboard box leaving 2 inches of space around just in case they did it again.
Wednesday 6/19 right after yoga and before running off to Book Club another chick put its head down and died.
I called Amy and she was kind enough to sell me another chick, on 6/21 we met at the gas station located on 79 and 278 Friday afternoon. I was amazed, her chick was 3 times the size of ours with all its feathers instead of fuss. They fed them game feed starter with 21% protein. Immediately I entered the corner store and purchased that food, but I didn't realize it was for adult birds instead of baby chicks. When I got home and Alden saw the difference in sizes he agreed to get the right type of food at Tractor Supply the next day.
The two birds got along really well, although the new bird did chirp for a whole day, I guess she missed her flock. They spend the night outside (Terry's birds were put outdoors in a pen under an oak tree after their first week and were kept there 24/7).
The new guinea escaped through a crack into the chicken's pen and roamed around happily without being attacked. At night she came back into her pen and slept on top of the smaller chick to keep her warm. Guineas are very sweet. Sunday mid-morning the smaller chick died. I know for a fact that being undernourished makes the birds weak, underdeveloped and susceptible to dying.
I called Amy again and she did some calling around, at night she said Sharon Bullard had 15 guineas and was willing to sell some. Monday evening June 24 (after massage day in Guntersville) we went to their home on 79 and 26 to get the chicks. These are a bit larger then Amy's, they were born sometime between May 17 and 24, 10 days or so before Amy's.
Sharon kept all the guineas (since they were born until the day we came) in a large cage 8x4x4 feet with a large light bulb and inside a garage with doors open and good air flow. She fed them turkey starter with 21% protein. The guineas look healthy and are good tempered. We purchased 4 guineas at $2 each. Once at the pen in our house they haven't chirped constantly, there are 4 chicks plus the smaller one, they have food and water, a large space and are been taken care off.
Ringo the dog, likes to sit outside the cage and stare, occasionally he licks his chomps. When Bosco visits he does that too.
After 8 weeks on 8/12 we opened the door to their pen so they could come out. After 20-30 minutes they did. The first nights they go back in the pen to sleep, after that they fly to the top of the chicken coop and sleep outdoors - pooping on the chickens that are roosting at a lower level!
Early September we notice they pair and push the 5th one to the side, she is no longer allowed in the pen and has to stay at a distance from the other guineas.
2014
There have been some very cold nights in December and January 2014, several nights down to 8, 10 and 15 F yet the guineas continue to sleep outdoors. Last night it got down to 24 before dark and they chose to sleep in their coop, allowing the 5th one to join.
After 27 days below freezing in January and 10 of those days in the single digits, all the guineas survived!
Sometime in March the leader guinea ate a couple of frogs, she would run around with a frog dangling on her beak until she was able to "chop" and eat it. Well a few days later she got sick and 3-4 days later died. THe loner got a partner!
In April the guineas started laying eggs, they made a nest near the pond under a tree root, but soon decided to change location and left 11 eggs there. I gave those eggs to Sanjay and his family with Sara's incubator and 6 hatched in approximately 28 days.
By April 28th they had laid 26+ eggs on the south-east side under some bushes and the loner and her mate sat on them. I left for Ciudad Juarez with Ana and when I came back they continued to sit diligently. By May 28 I thought something was wrong because no keets were hatching, so I took some of the eggs and the incubator to Javier and on Friday May 30 one guinea hatched, her name is Finley. The rest of the eggs did not hatch.
On Friday June 13 I went to get another 5 guineas from Chris Tyson. Finley is 2 weeks old, 2 are 2 1/2 weeks old and 3 are 3 weeks old. They are in a cage outdoors all day, but continue to sleep indoors because at night it cools down to 65F. Actually by June 16th the nights are getting warmer - around 70 F. They are all so cute!
The saga continues, some forest critter ate two adult guineas. And finally the last couple of the original 5 guineas sat on their nest underneath the A/C protected by the house and 6 baby guineas hatched on August 13, 2014. On the first night a critter came by and took 3. Alden found the other 3 and put them and the mom in the coop. Mom did not like being caged up, but she managed for 5 weeks. If we let her out she would shriek and run around the coop. At four weeks we did let them out and one got taken, so back in for another week.
By the end of August we had 9 guineas, then Finley died she was getting too heavy for her legs to hold her.
Sometime in November when the nights got cold and Ringo slept in the basement we lost 5 more - we think it was a raccoon. Now they sleep inside the coop.
December 2014 we have 4 cute, funny, diligent guineas; 1 rooster and 6 hens. They are all free range during the day and sleep in the coop at night.
I must say the garden had no bugs, no grasshoppers, the guineas did a great job!
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