fuzzi's "Gardens and Chickens...and Goats? Oh My!" Journal and More Thread

[fuzzi]

Sorry I didn't respond earlier, life got really busy, but it's all good.

I gave Cleo her penicillin shot, she yiped and I forgot to push the plunger, so I did it again and got the medicine in. But she kept bleeding from her surgery site, which concerned me. Tuesday morning my son called me at work, said Cleo was just standing, panting and whining. He took her to the vet, "walk in" on the last day before the long weekend. It was so busy that the vet came out in the waiting room to examine Cleo. She'd managed to pull a stitch but it didn't need repair. He said she was in pain, and gave her a shot, and Rx (pain meds & antibiotic) to take home. She's been so much better since, apparently the Galliprant wasn't helping much.

Work's been crazy, nuff on that.

Our first frost is expected tomorrow evening/Saturday morning, and then the first hard freeze (20°) 24 hours later, Sunday morning. The chickens should be fine, I already have the rubber tub set up for water, and they have two roosts out of the wind and rain. My peas are still blooming, so I am going to try to rig some sort of cover to keep them from dying, not just yet, please!

I also covered the outside faucets, they freeze so easily. I got some styrofoam caps, will see how they do.

 

[fuzzi]

We'll see how these floating row covers do. Last year I was harvesting lettuce all winter.

Winter chicken waterer:

The tire is stuffed with straw, for insulation.

Joanna, 6 months old this week, and loves to check out my phone camera...might get a treat!

 

[Baymule]

In 2011, I built a craptastic PVC framed greenhouse in our front yard. DH was horrified at the eyesore. But, good sport that he was, he pitched in and helped me drive rebar stakes, lift up the frame and drop it over the rebar. Then we wrapped it in plastic, held down with duct tape. I ran an extension cord from the garage to a small electric heater in the greenhouse. He complained how ugly it was but soon shut up and bragged on how brilliant I was, because he had garden fresh tomatoes all winter. I had 3 bell pepper plants that survived 4 years until a 16F degree cold spell wiped them out, plus the tomatoes. My little greenhouse did a great job, but couldn’t make it past 16 degrees.

Your row cover reminded me of my redneck greenhouse in the front yard, when we lived in town. I had to go looking for the picture. Thanks for the memories.

 

[fuzzi]

In 2011, I built a craptastic PVC framed greenhouse in our front yard. DH was horrified at the eyesore. But, good sport that he was, he pitched in and helped me drive rebar stakes, lift up the frame and drop it over the rebar. Then we wrapped it in plastic, held down with duct tape. I ran an extension cord from the garage to a small electric heater in the greenhouse. He complained how ugly it was but soon shut up and bragged on how brilliant I was, because he had garden fresh tomatoes all winter. I had 3 bell pepper plants that survived 4 years until a 16F degree cold spell wiped them out, plus the tomatoes. My little greenhouse did a great job, but couldn’t make it past 16 degrees.

Your row cover reminded me of my redneck greenhouse in the front yard, when we lived in town. I had to go looking for the picture. Thanks for the memories.

View attachment 113263

No HOA, hmm?

You're welcome. Glad I brought back happy memories for you.

What ml/weight plastic did you use, can you recall?

I'm definitely Redneck in using what I have on hand to create what I need. My gardens and critters are all in the backyard, but visible to people if they walk up the driveway. Oh, with the exception of the hoop coop, which I placed behind the big shed.

Here it is during construction, out of sight to the road:

Yes, the land slopes downwards to the right, which is south.

 

[Baymule]

I don’t remember the weight of the plastic, I just bought a roll at Lowe’s.

 

[fuzzi]

Tomorrow (Friday) I'm taking Cleo to the vet for an assessment. I posted elsewhere that she probably had a stroke on Saturday morning, but has been doing better. She still "lists to starboard", and her head is slightly tilted. It's probably permanent, but she's eating and getting up and down the stairs with just a little support. No hard decision yet, not as long as she's happy and can use the stairs.

DH has shingles but doesn't have any pain or itching, THAT'S a tremendous blessing!

The pullets are laying, and I am thrilled!

The flock got some leftover turkey yesterday, some leftover sausage stuffing this evening...I wanted them to have full crops, as it's supposed to get down to the mid 20s overnight, COLD for us.

And I caught Debbie practicing her "cute" pose...

 

[Mini Horses]

Got yer hands full. Debbie's a beautiful girl. Hope Cleo continues to do well. DH certainly is fortunate to have no issues with his shingles! I've known some who said extremely painful.

And you, well just keep hanging in there.

 

[fuzzi]

Got yer hands full. Debbie's a beautiful girl. Hope Cleo continues to do well. DH certainly is fortunate to have no issues with his shingles! I've known some who said extremely painful.

And you, well just keep hanging in there.

You hang in there as well!

I was just thanking God for all His blessings, even those that don't feel like blessings!

 

[Baymule]

Shingles can be horrible. Never had them, but my sister, mom, and grandmother did. Hope your DH is over it real soon.

Cleo. I think you are using the right approach. As long as she is happy and can function, let her be Cleo. Big hugs to Cleo.

Debbie is a pretty kitty. I had to give up my cat years ago. My son in law is highly allergic to cats. Scratch Debbie’s chin for me.

 

[SageHill]

Sounds like a mixed bag of good and bad - evening out to hopefully ok. And what fuzzi said - little blessings too.