It's Hard Work Gardening...

[~elizabeth~]

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[paddysmum]

well theyve certainly grown some good ears! :lol: :b

 

[Trish]

it as been warm today,and theres nothing better than chilling in the warmth at this time of year :thumbsup: plus we have to get use to the heat again :wacko: :sweating:

 

[~elizabeth~]

it as been warm today,and theres nothing better than chilling in the warmth at this time of year

No chilling here, it's our busiest weekend - all the beds have to be dug while the toads are spawning in the pond for these few weeks otherwise it's amphibian carnage, plants moved, seeds sown, fruit trees grafted, poultry houses cleaned and the hens treated for scaley leg and other parasites before they go broody, it goes on. And what do I do, I slice the top off my finger grafting apples yesterday so that I'm useless. To be fair OH did help out a lot to day, even did some digging for me. (w00t)

 

[TC]

it as been warm today,and theres nothing better than chilling in the warmth at this time of year

No chilling here, it's our busiest weekend - all the beds have to be dug while the toads are spawning in the pond for these few weeks otherwise it's amphibian carnage, plants moved, seeds sown, fruit trees grafted, poultry houses cleaned and the hens treated for scaley leg and other parasites before they go broody, it goes on. And what do I do, I slice the top off my finger grafting apples yesterday so that I'm useless. To be fair OH did help out a lot to day, even did some digging for me. (w00t)

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No relaxing Easter Break for you then by the sounds of things

Still at least it was dry for all those jobs, and the boys look like they're having a whale of a time (w00t)

Sorry about your finger, ouch :huggles:

 

[Trish]

you could do with a lot more help by the sounds of it,plus with your finger ouch indeed.

thought we would have had spwn this year but so far nothing

 

[~elizabeth~]

Toads have only just started spawning. I thought we had no frog spawn as I didn't see any at all, but then I saw some quite large tadpoles scooting around last week, so they must have just done it very early, before I was even looking out for it.

Was hoping for some good pics of the heron, which had taken to lurking by the pond all day recently, but our local family of crows have been mobbing it so mercilessly it's given up and the attached was the best I managed as it flew off back over the lake :b . They are helping themselves to the toads too, they have a technique of flipping them over then disembowelling them so that they don't get a mouthful of poisonous toad slime. :x

you could do with a lot more help by the sounds of it, plus with your finger ouch indeed.thought we would have had spwn this year but so far nothing

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[~elizabeth~]

On a more postive note the early butterflies are nice and enjoying the plum blossom

 

[jayp]

Hiya, Ive been working all weekend to at garden centre so know how u feel, It was good though coz sun was shining and the million customers were all in a good mood (w00t)

You are just the person to help me as you know all about hens etc,

I have 2 hens which ive had a long time and am now to become the proud owner of 2 or 3 geese after easter. question

do they have to be on grass all day or will a few hours in evening be ok when dogs are in with me? The rest of the day they can free range under trees with hens but no grass,

How long do i need to shut them in hen house for when i first get them?

How big a pool do they need as i dont fancy them trashig pond and can give sort of shallow plastic pool in run outside,

Do i feed them by chucking food in pool or do they eat out of dish?

What do i worm them with and how often?

Gosh im exhausted before i get them :sweating: :sweating:

Cheers elizabeth

Jan x

 

[Millie]

Lovely photos :thumbsup: That butterfly is a real beauty.

Hope you finger gets better soon !

 

[Trish]

the butterflies are in abundunce here too and we have seen quite a few large ladybirds,think both are a good sign of a lovely summer to come.

wonder why our frogs didnt spawn this year,hope the cat hasnt killed them all

 

[~elizabeth~]

questiondo they have to be on grass all day or will a few hours in evening be ok when dogs are in with me? The rest of the day they can free range under trees with hens but no grass,

How long do i need to shut them in hen house for when i first get them?

How big a pool do they need as i dont fancy them trashig pond and can give sort of shallow plastic pool in run outside,

Do i feed them by chucking food in pool or do they eat out of dish?

What do i worm them with and how often?

I'm not a goose person, I don't have the room for them, sadly, but I'll have a go.

Geese do need a reasonable amount of space, and access to grass as they like to graze. They don't have to be on grass all day though, if you have a large run for the hens then they will be ok in there for a few hours a day.

Geese and ducks don't have the same 'automatic' roosting instinct that hens do; they actually prefer to be outside at night, preferably on water, so it can take them a while to learn to go in their house at night. Ideally you would have a secure area around the house where they could remain until they get used to you for the first few days. It should be possible to start bribing them with food to lure them in once they are used to you though (unlike runner ducks who stay flighty, mad and terrified of you whatever you do :wacko: )

Although I have a reasonably large garden pond, I don't let the ducks on it very often as they trash it very quickly. I have one of those proprietry fibreglass duck baths in my big run, 8'x4'x 8" deep; they are horrendously expensive new but mine was second hand from a neighbour, luckily. One of these should be okay for a pair or trio of geese too. Untill you find something like this, a child's plastic sandpit is a good temporary measure. I keep a long hosepipe on continuous drip to refresh the water in my bath, and empty it completely every few weeks, more often in summer.

If you can, place any water containers on some paving slabs as the ground around it will get wet, and then completely 'dabbled' away and undermined very quickly. Freecycle is great for getting hold of these ( or even a water container if you are very lucky).

They should eat out of a larger feeder (a greylag gander with the dropped wing that came to live with us temporarily managed the hen feeder fine); I've got one I can close at night to keep the rats out; I tend to put the lid down an hour or two before dusk so that any spillage is pecked up before nightfall. Wheat is a complete food for waterfowl (in addition to greens and what they forage themselves), but my ducks are on layers pellets/waterfowl breeders ration as they lay so prolifically and I hatch the eggs (and the ducks much prefer pellets for some reason). Some people put wheat in a bucket of water for them, I've never found my ducks liked it much that way though. I wouldn't let wet food of any sort hang around for too long though, it can start to ferment/go mouldy very quickly in hot weather which isn't good for them.

Good luck with them. What sort are they? I've always longed for some Chinese geese, one day perhaps.

 

[Nicola]

Great photos. Love the butterfly. :thumbsup:

I know Gelert's ears have a tendency to stick up (so do Fred's) but they're certainly flying today....never noticed they were so black and batlike (excuse the expression) :b . BTW I like sticky up ears on a whippet, so it's not a criticism!

I planted all my seeds yesterday, did a bit of weeding and pruning...and everything was done in the garden. Our garden is rediculously small, and far too easy to maintain. Just the way OH prefers it :angry: ...but I was distinctly bored today! :- " Can I come down and give you a hand?

 

[~elizabeth~]

I know Gelert's ears have a tendency to stick up (so do Fred's) but they're certainly flying today....never noticed they were so black and batlike (excuse the expression) :b . BTW I like sticky up ears on a whippet, so it's not a criticism!

Gelert's very upset, he's very sensitive about his ears :b ! They do go down sometimes, he cand fold them away when there's nothing interesting to earwig. He's getting to look very much like his father these days (including the ears!), particularly in that second photo.

I'd be careful what you offer Nicola, I might take you up on it! (w00t) :lol: I think my OH would prefer your garden too :- " :b :lol:

JayP, have you found this book yet? Chris and Mike know virtually everything there is to know about waterfowl, they are very helpful if you ever meet them in person at any of the shows.

Chris Ashton - Geese

BWA waterfowl events

 

[Nicola]

Now there's a handsome profile of Gelert......but I like that first picture of him too. I think his ears become him :wub: I hope I haven't hurt his pride too much.....

The only bit of work to do in my garden is weeding a few borders and planting these ruddy pots each year with some seasonal theme of some description....daffodils in spring etc :wacko: I'd love a garden with more work involved.....would be happy to lend a hand !

(btw Fred has his ears down in this photo for a change..not like him at all.... )

 

[paddysmum]

sorry for joking about the ears :b they are lovely and someone said that my new whippet could get us free satttelite tv so youre not the only one!

no offence meant mr. gelert

 

[~elizabeth~]

no offence meant mr. gelert

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I wouldn't worry, the rest of us offend his pride all day long :b :lol:

 

[REMI]

Just LOVE those bat-wing ears on the dog on the left in the first image. Looks like they were pinched from BatMouse!

Hard life for some, ain't it?

 

[jayp]

Hiya guys soz elizabeth, daughter nicked pc so havnt seen posts till now!!!!

Geese are white, thats all i know as friend of friend needs to home some.

Have loads of room and will get big pond thingy from work.

Thanks for feeding info and by the sounds of it i will be running round the garden a lot chasing geese!!!!!!! Still will get some poundage off me.

Will post pics when i get them. :cheers: Jan

 

[~elizabeth~]

Will post pics when i get them. :cheers: Jan

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I look forward to seeing them. Forgot to say, I wouldn't worry too much about worming unless you actually have a problem, which you're unlikely to have on nice clean ground. It's only really if you have youngsters that it's a problem (something called gapeworm can be quite serious in growing geese and ducks but I've never had a problem, even with wild mallard dropping in all the time).

Very, very envious of your job with Stapeley :thumbsup: I'm an occasional mail order customer (I've given up ordering nice plants as the birds just trash them :b )