Look at those helpers! I love that after my ladies are all tucked in bed I can come here for some more chicken antics. I just can't get enough of these incredible beings. 💖
I have a children't plastic shell, used for kids sandpits. Children toy stores sell it. I have this as a permanent ficture to water my bonsay. I can put many pots in it and get the watering done in no ti e. A bucket is too narrow try a shell. Don't forget to put a stick into it, so baby birds do not drown!
Nanking cherry is great for a chicken yard. They snack on the leaves and roost in the branches once the shrub is big enough. Lots of shade for them all summer.
Sean, the Calicarpa/beauty berry leaves are mosquito repellant. Just shmoosh on your skin, carry a sprig around. I made an alcohol tincture and testing spraying that. Works ok. Fresh leaf is better.
@@rhondaborders3452 birds in my area ignore them, alas. My calicarpa is the Asian variety, already here before i got to my spot. The Asian calicarpa is slightly smallest and more cold tolerant than the native N American calicarpa. One way to distinguish the 2 is to compare the form the berries take on the stem. Compare photos online. I’ve tasted the berries and they’re good.
It makes sense, right? Other forests have lots of small critters wandering around doing their thing, so should a human-designed food forest. Which came first, the forest or the chicken haha.
I have been pondering what my next move was going to be for our chicken yard. They have now destroyed every green thing that grew freely inside their courtyard in a matter of 3 years. I love your ideas and so, that is exactly where I am heading with the bare dirt space out there. I did plant an elderberry and fenced it in last fall. And a few evergreens surrounded by welded wire fence guards. The elderberry is now greening up with the spring temps rising. Considering some sunflowers also. We are in the high mountains of Pennsylvania, therefore we have no shortage of rocks. Thanks for the ideas. It all looks like a fantastic playground for your chicks❤️
Rocks will be a super powerful ally in planting the space out and having it have a chance to stay green... Glad there were some ideas of use to you in the video and I'm sure you'll come up with a ton more!
Love the idea of incorporating perennials into chicken operations. Do you have any particular suggestions for pasture based systems where the hens are moved through every 3 or 4 days? We're incorporating many tree lanes with fruiting trees, shrubs, vines and ground cover. Would be interested in any suggestions for what diversity we could plant in the pasture itself suitable for chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, and sheep
We don't have any direct experience with this approach so I can't say anything in a deep way, but pretty much every element we've explored (listed in description) would be open to planting in rows and in a more orchard-like context so I think the basics presented here would scale in reasonable ways.
Thank you for sharing this that is a wonderful idea I would have never thought of that. That is chickens are like little children right in way. So cute
I just watched this video this morning and then promptly went out and planted lavender, rosemary, comfrey, sunflower seeds, and a raspberry bush along the side of my coop. Also mixed up some millet, lentil and buckwheat seed and planted a small patch nearby. I threw some stones and rotting wood around the entire thing and will follow up with some wire when the rain stops. Thank you for the inspiration!
It's so lovely to see how you respect and care for your chickens aka your garden helpers, while gardening. We're just coming into Spring here in Australia and it's inspiring for the beginning of our planting season.
I have 6 elderberry sticks coming next spring. Now I know where one of them is going! My 12 wyandottes will appreciate some diversity in their run. Thank you so much for these great ideas.
Love your feathered co-hosts today, they seem to have a lot of opinions 😂 This was a great video, love all the tips you share, but this was especially full of good information- thank you both! 🌱
Recognizing that a lot of this is repetition, it's valuable to us to see the same material again from different angles. I've been writing a little blog about my permaculture findings and research, and my own mother has commented on how hard it is to keep even that small amount of info in your head if that's not all you're doing with your life. Thanks for the remedial courses for us slow learners!
You have very well behaved chickens! My girls woukd just push through those sticks and push the rocks straight out of the way. 😄 Welded wire is always our first option. Your chook yard is fabulous!
I love the chicken videos! Great idea with the stakes. I did the same with shrub cherries and put old bricks around the base but didn't do any other protection. Of course I didn't get any cherries. Will have to harvest some protective stakes.
Thank you ,great tips! I had to stop the video about halfway thru - I needed to go outside and “commune” with my own chickens! 🐓🐓🐓 I will concentrate a bit more on my berries this coming year. My blackberries and blueberries have too much shade …..sigh. Chickens knew where ALL the berry shrubs were planted and made good use of the fruits. I tried to keep the figs to myself…..but the girls knew how to beg for their share. Those birds are pretty good jumpers too!
This was such a helpful video! Thank you for all the well presented information! I was searching specifically if chickens could coexist with elderberry as Google searches were all turning up as its toxic. I trust your judgment and experience.
Glad you found the video of value... I am not going to say that I promise no issues with chickens being under elderberry but I can say it has been our situation for at least 7 years in there with no problems I can detect at all, only benefit to my eyes... Use your observation and intuition and I bet you'll work out a beautiful design!
I found your videos a few weeks back and have been learning a lot. Thanks for showing us all your hard work as well as sharing ideas amd solutions. Even in the Balkans, many of these techniques and plants are viable.
Omg, Sasha sounds a bit like me when you guys uncover the worms. I’m always like, “ Eeeee!” Of course, I feel the same way when the chickens uncover a bunch of pinkies (mice), too. I’m conflicted!
loved this thanks for sharing! I'll definitely get some blueberry roots this year like I've been wanting to now that I know how to keep them protected from my hungry girls
I agree with Sasha about the placement of the golden raspberry by a walking path - the cage is too tall and uncomfortable to walk by. Will be easy enough to move in the future though, so no worries 🙂
This gives me such motivation to enrich my chicken areas! IDK where you are but I’m in SC where it’s starting to get hot. Wondering if you have any suggestions about the best time to transplant plants and bushes where summers are hot and winters are fairly mild.
my friend, could you please provide a link to where you found those fabulous shorts. they complement your sandles marvelously. haha love ya work brother
We have an Amazon affiliate link down in the description. It's part of their 'Salvation Army pants worn to threads, cut high into shipwreck style shorts and worn until they dissolve' collection. Pretty high end.
I'd love to do this but I don't clip my birds' (ducks and chickens) flight feathers so I put deer netting over the top of the run. Do you clip their flight feathers? Or how do you keep them in?
what is your reason for not clipping? just so you can say you dont? I clip because chickens are invasive in my city. they have a relatively large area to forage with high fences and deep compost their lives are good enough.
How about a purple and white mullberry trees. I have two on my property and they produce thousands of delicious berries. They fall to the ground, or shake the tree and many will fall for your chickens to eat. The trees especially the white mullberry is a very aggressive grower, give great shade and protection for your birds and very low maintenance.
I was wondering about an autumn olive and more weedy things that are hard to eradicate. I like the idea of using red amaranth. That stuff is a weed in my area. I wonder if planting wild crown vetch is a good idea as well because I have a lot of that growing in the shady spots by my house. I often let it go because it competes with the thorny stuff that grows there and it's always easy to mow even if it gets a bit tall, and scything it is also easy.
I really love your setup and am restarting my whole chicken system based on yours. Seeing it this spring in person (remember our Jeep died in your driveway 🙃) was very inspiring. We have 9 chicks and I am just wondering how you feel about the avian flu reported in our area? I have a friend who no longer lets her hens roam, and am wondering how much of a threat there actually is? Not a fan of keeping the girls in all the time.
My thoughts...LIES How many "coincidences" can people keep going along with? It's crazy. That said, I built a large run, under roof, so if they come knocking the girls and I will have a better chance, But...I'm gonna free range the rest of the time !!
I have some red white barrier ribbon stringing between the fence and our bordering fence to keep birds away from the coup. Minimal effort with great effect. Small birds (not susceptible to the flu) still like to visit, but I can notice bigger birds flying away from the coup because of the moving ribbons. Main thing is not to get any (susceptible) birds in your coup and reduce droppings to a minimum. And remember that the avian flu started in large scale intensive bird houses and spread to the wild population in 2019. This is a human made problem.
Nice to hear from you, hope the Jeep is running smoothly :) Avian flu... I am sure I can't speak with any full knowledge of the situation, but I can share the feeling... It seems there is a consistent theme of being told to be restrictive and scared of a very wide range of potential health issues. It seems almost always some large amount of money is to be made from people behaving that way. Trying to make sure your flock has access to good quality clean water, exercise, ample healthy food, sun, air, etc. etc seems like it would take care of a wide range of health concerns. That is how we are living and hopefully that pans out to be reasonable. So far it does....
Most bare root nurseries only sell plants while they're dormant, so before they wake up in the spring or after they drop their leaves in the fall. They also pot up some of their plants to sell locally, so if you live near them, you might want to reach out to see if they have any left. But most likely you'll have to wait until this fall.
We update our inventory on September 1st and March 1st most years. We encourage people to hop on nice and early since plants tend to move super fast. Sorry it isn't more open and easy that way, but we're a tiny scale nursery!
What do you guys do with the Shiso? We have it growing in several spots wild on the farm. Also, Sean is a real dime! Total Silver Fox! Good get, Sasha. 👍🏻
For sure they would.... The swale we have in the chicken yard is planted to woody perennials. . THis helps hold things together, and we put stones and logs on it as well to help protect. Also, if they spread it back out, you can always reform and it will be just more freshly turned compost to plant into
Dyou have any experience grafting mulberries? We built our chicken yard around a young mulberry but it turned out to be a male tree, I would love to graft a female onto it.....any tips for grafting mulberry??
There's a Russian/Romanian/ Serbian ( I think) guy here on yt who shows various ways of grafting mulberrys, among many other plants/techniques. I think he has English subtitles and he does answer questions. Good Luck !
I was wondering, are there any problems with your composting system as far as the chickens having access to any types of foods that might be poison to them in particular? I really love the idea and was trying to think through how to incorporate it in my yard but we often put avacado peels in our compost which I understand are poisonous to chickens. I would think that they would leave them alone but I’m not sure.
We have never had issues in that way.. That said, why not be careful and if you are making compost to bring them, separate coffee grounds, avocado, onion, etc. to avoid issues. That said, the chickens seem to know what to avoid.
Hello! I wasn’t able to make as much activated charcoal as I’d hoped this winter. We are really needing some for our chicken run. Is there a source that you trust to buy some when needed?
I don't know of a vendor to send you to. Most places I found are quite expensive. You could certainly make biochar in cone pits outside in the summer and generate a good amount pretty quickly that way!
Hi Sean and Sasha-I have a question: Have you come across invasive jumping worms on your property? Do you have any permaculture solutions for keeping populations in check? I recently discovered them at our home in Western Mass, probably brought in with a batch of wood chips from down the road. I had no idea how pervasive a problem they were. Part of me feels worried for the surrounding forests, and the other part of me wonders whether the hype around these worms is tinged with anti-Asian racial undertones (the worms’ native habitat is SE Asia), when maybe they aren’t as monstrous as they’re described to be? Thank you so so much for your incredible channel!
We have seen them here or there... Some years they can be strong and a challenge, some years we can't seem to find them if we try, so there is a boom/bust to it as far as I can tell. For tiny seedlings and establishment they are tough for sure, for most contexts and perennial systems they don't pose too much of a threat as far as we've observed. Something to keep an eye on, learn from, and hope to have a natural balance find itself over time... Thats my take on it. "Invasive" as a term just doesn't do too much for me when it has been coined by folks who are non-native to a landscape themselves. Just lands as odd to even think through that lens :)
Mulberry, burdock-it self sows and they eat the leaves, my whole yard is a chicken yard so i put scrap burlap around the plant ( scrap fabric could work too, old bed sheets etc.)) when I plant it, some bricks or roof tile on top of the burlap, since that is what I have laying around, or pieces of heavy wood, this seems to work and I like the look of it too, blend in to the landscape. I've had many plants decimated completely over the years before I worked out this system of planting...
Super great ideas here! Mulberry is one we absolutely have to get going for them for next year. Burdock is a nice reminder. Such a wonderfully easy plant to 'grow' too!
Enjoyed watching you trying to work around the chickens 😂
Look at those helpers! I love that after my ladies are all tucked in bed I can come here for some more chicken antics. I just can't get enough of these incredible beings. 💖
Your TH-cam channel has been a blessing to me I've learned so much from you thank you for all you do.
Same!
✌🏻same here!
Same!👍👍👍
Lovely looking day there. More chicken TV required. 👍😆
I have a Marans hen that will actually climb onto the shovel as I’m trying to dig! I like the idea of rehydrating the plants in the compost water.💕🐓🌿
LOVE IT :)
When watering after planting, you are never quite sure if you’re adding enough or too much. Rehydration in compost water is brilliant.
Lol, mine do that too. 🤣
I have a children't plastic shell, used for kids sandpits. Children toy stores sell it.
I have this as a permanent ficture to water my bonsay. I can put many pots in it and get the watering done in no ti e.
A bucket is too narrow try a shell.
Don't forget to put a stick into it, so baby birds do not drown!
Nanking cherry is great for a chicken yard. They snack on the leaves and roost in the branches once the shrub is big enough. Lots of shade for them all summer.
Sean, the Calicarpa/beauty berry leaves are mosquito repellant. Just shmoosh on your skin, carry a sprig around. I made an alcohol tincture and testing spraying that. Works ok. Fresh leaf is better.
I didn't know they were a mosquito repellent. I know my birds love the berries in late fall & winter.
@@rhondaborders3452 birds in my area ignore them, alas. My calicarpa is the Asian variety, already here before i got to my spot. The Asian calicarpa is slightly smallest and more cold tolerant than the native N American calicarpa. One way to distinguish the 2 is to compare the form the berries take on the stem. Compare photos online. I’ve tasted the berries and they’re good.
A little food forest for the chickens!🤗
It makes sense, right? Other forests have lots of small critters wandering around doing their thing, so should a human-designed food forest.
Which came first, the forest or the chicken haha.
Find myself binge watching your videos. Being so entertained by your hardworking helpers.😆 ❤️
Yay, we're glad to have you with us Violet
Love seeing your little feathered assistants working hard with you.
I have been pondering what my next move was going to be for our chicken yard. They have now destroyed every green thing that grew freely inside their courtyard in a matter of 3 years. I love your ideas and so, that is exactly where I am heading with the bare dirt space out there. I did plant an elderberry and fenced it in last fall. And a few evergreens surrounded by welded wire fence guards. The elderberry is now greening up with the spring temps rising. Considering some sunflowers also. We are in the high mountains of Pennsylvania, therefore we have no shortage of rocks. Thanks for the ideas. It all looks like a fantastic playground for your chicks❤️
Rocks will be a super powerful ally in planting the space out and having it have a chance to stay green... Glad there were some ideas of use to you in the video and I'm sure you'll come up with a ton more!
I love how the chickens follow you and when you’re about to dig, they stand there and wait, because they know you’re about to give them a snack. 😂
They really do
It's such a joy watching you and the chickens. Keep'em coming!
It’s amazing what you have done with 1/2 an acre.
Very informative and entertaining as usual! Thank you Sean and Sasha, and thank you to the brood always stealing the show - and the worms!
Love the idea of incorporating perennials into chicken operations. Do you have any particular suggestions for pasture based systems where the hens are moved through every 3 or 4 days?
We're incorporating many tree lanes with fruiting trees, shrubs, vines and ground cover. Would be interested in any suggestions for what diversity we could plant in the pasture itself suitable for chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, and sheep
I'd love to know more about your question too. Following 🤗
I have this same future project! Only on small scale,bout an acre and would love some input/ideas also!😁
We don't have any direct experience with this approach so I can't say anything in a deep way, but pretty much every element we've explored (listed in description) would be open to planting in rows and in a more orchard-like context so I think the basics presented here would scale in reasonable ways.
Your practices with chickens are super insightfull! Thank you!
Thank you for sharing this that is a wonderful idea I would have never thought of that. That is chickens are like little children right in way. So cute
I just watched this video this morning and then promptly went out and planted lavender, rosemary, comfrey, sunflower seeds, and a raspberry bush along the side of my coop. Also mixed up some millet, lentil and buckwheat seed and planted a small patch nearby. I threw some stones and rotting wood around the entire thing and will follow up with some wire when the rain stops. Thank you for the inspiration!
I completely love your relationship with these beautiful girls……❤️💫❤️
It's so lovely to see how you respect and care for your chickens aka your garden helpers, while gardening. We're just coming into Spring here in Australia and it's inspiring for the beginning of our planting season.
Cheers, Melbourne here. 🤗
Outstanding. I can relate with trying to dig or cut with the chickens! Just need a lot of diversions!
I have 6 elderberry sticks coming next spring. Now I know where one of them is going! My 12 wyandottes will appreciate some diversity in their run. Thank you so much for these great ideas.
I LOVE your channel!!! You give so much info and are so calming to boot!! Thanks for everything!!!
Fantastic advice. Starting my new chicken yard with 50 chickens.
Thank you for the wonderful advice.
Elizabeth, Limpopo Province
South Africa.
Hope some of our ideas are useful to you!
Great information & happy little helpers! 🐔 ..
They look like little supervisors!
I love your chickens 😍, thanks for sharing . Super like
I am planning an chicken enclosure and hadn’t considered planting inside it, thanks for the info !!
I hope it works out well for you and for them
Great information! I hope to be enlarging my chicken yard this fall and I was not liking the idea of losing garden space.
SO much integration is possible.
Love your feathered co-hosts today, they seem to have a lot of opinions 😂 This was a great video, love all the tips you share, but this was especially full of good information- thank you both! 🌱
Lol jorts are my preferred summer garden fashion as well 😂
I haven't worn pants since late April.
Recognizing that a lot of this is repetition, it's valuable to us to see the same material again from different angles. I've been writing a little blog about my permaculture findings and research, and my own mother has commented on how hard it is to keep even that small amount of info in your head if that's not all you're doing with your life. Thanks for the remedial courses for us slow learners!
Always happy to share
Yo es ver la palabra chicken y ya le doy like al vídeo 🙈.Thanks for sharing.
You have very well behaved chickens! My girls woukd just push through those sticks and push the rocks straight out of the way. 😄 Welded wire is always our first option. Your chook yard is fabulous!
Different approaches for different animals :)
Your place is amazing. I love your beautiful rich soil. Susie
I love this!! Amazing info, beautiful happy chickens, and a pretty oasis! Thanks for sharing
So nice of you
Such a great idea, never would have thought this was possible (until now)!
It works great!
I love the chicken videos! Great idea with the stakes. I did the same with shrub cherries and put old bricks around the base but didn't do any other protection. Of course I didn't get any cherries. Will have to harvest some protective stakes.
Thank you ,great tips! I had to stop the video about halfway thru - I needed to go outside and “commune” with my own chickens! 🐓🐓🐓 I will concentrate a bit more on my berries this coming year. My blackberries and blueberries have too much shade …..sigh. Chickens knew where ALL the berry shrubs were planted and made good use of the fruits. I tried to keep the figs to myself…..but the girls knew how to beg for their share. Those birds are pretty good jumpers too!
Don't forget, protect them from the chickens, but also from the wildbirds, possums, etc hahz
Awww such pretty chickens!
I use pieces of rebar to hold up the welded wire. My ground is pretty hard so the rebar is strong enough to drive into the ground.
I love your videos and great ideas ! Thank you!
This was such a helpful video! Thank you for all the well presented information! I was searching specifically if chickens could coexist with elderberry as Google searches were all turning up as its toxic. I trust your judgment and experience.
Glad you found the video of value... I am not going to say that I promise no issues with chickens being under elderberry but I can say it has been our situation for at least 7 years in there with no problems I can detect at all, only benefit to my eyes... Use your observation and intuition and I bet you'll work out a beautiful design!
Great video as always!
Sean & Sasha..huh...S&S ! Cute!! Thanks for the good info !
I found your videos a few weeks back and have been learning a lot. Thanks for showing us all your hard work as well as sharing ideas amd solutions. Even in the Balkans, many of these techniques and plants are viable.
So great to have you with us, welcome!
Omg, Sasha sounds a bit like me when you guys uncover the worms. I’m always like, “ Eeeee!” Of course, I feel the same way when the chickens uncover a bunch of pinkies (mice), too. I’m conflicted!
Yeah it can be a mixed feeling for sure
Always love your channel
You are amazing ! Thank you so much for all these information
Peace from Algeria 🇩🇿
You are so welcome!
I've transplanted a redbud into the chicken composting yard, it's seems very happy.
Thoughtful insight as always. Bless you.
I call this " Education in Beauty" Thx.
A joy watching your video
LOL I thought I was crazy doing pretty much everything you’ve just described 😊
Wonderful information...Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
My pleasure
A fine environment for jungle birds.
Some great ideas! Thank you 😊
Amazing, admirable
Love from Pakistan ❤️🇵🇰
Great video Thank You! Love the rocks and wood concept!
It is a very simple technique but pretty useful.
We are indeed all interesting and strange bodies of water. I generally find the strangest ones are the most interesting ;)
That "excuse me" for the chickens 😁
This was exactly the content i wanted!
So glad!
loved this thanks for sharing! I'll definitely get some blueberry roots this year like I've been wanting to now that I know how to keep them protected from my hungry girls
You may need a net aswell, as the wild birds love the blueberries too!
I agree with Sasha about the placement of the golden raspberry by a walking path - the cage is too tall and uncomfortable to walk by. Will be easy enough to move in the future though, so no worries 🙂
We'll see over time how it works out. It's always nice to know we can dig them up and move them at next dormancy :)
This gives me such motivation to enrich my chicken areas! IDK where you are but I’m in SC where it’s starting to get hot. Wondering if you have any suggestions about the best time to transplant plants and bushes where summers are hot and winters are fairly mild.
Autum, for us in Australia, Melbourne.
I had a huge mulberry over a chicken yard. Tons fell and squirrells and crows dropped a lot.
I imagine that being an incredible component in a system like this, we need to add them in for sure
my friend, could you please provide a link to where you found those fabulous shorts. they complement your sandles marvelously. haha love ya work brother
We have an Amazon affiliate link down in the description. It's part of their 'Salvation Army pants worn to threads, cut high into shipwreck style shorts and worn until they dissolve' collection. Pretty high end.
great tips! thank you so much~
You're so welcome!
I wish I had some berry plants to put in the yard... maybe my mom or sister will give me something :)
try Himalayan honeysuckle aka pheasant berry
What type of elderberry? We have red here, though I've seen blues at higher altitudes. The birds loooove the red elderberry.
These are Sambucus Canadensis
Love this idea!
❤ Kia Ora (Hello 👋) New to your Channel and Appreciate your Content!!
We're really happy you are with us on this journey, welcome to you!
I'd love to do this but I don't clip my birds' (ducks and chickens) flight feathers so I put deer netting over the top of the run. Do you clip their flight feathers? Or how do you keep them in?
Following. I’d like to know.
what is your reason for not clipping? just so you can say you dont? I clip because chickens are invasive in my city. they have a relatively large area to forage with high fences and deep compost their lives are good enough.
@@aylahughes9185 I don't clip wings either... our chickens enjoy flying across the yard, and I enjoy watching them live happy lives! ✌️
I wonder that too; and also as a barrier to predatory raptors that might want to grab a chicken
@@CornfedLady1 yea but is there an actual reason other then it just brings you joy? they can and do live happy lives flightless....
Lol, those girls! 🥰
What about mulberry as a larger element?
Very much a great idea. Mulberry would be perfect in this context.
How about a purple and white mullberry trees. I have two on my property and they produce thousands of delicious berries. They fall to the ground, or shake the tree and many will fall for your chickens to eat. The trees especially the white mullberry is a very aggressive grower, give great shade and protection for your birds and very low maintenance.
Wonderful addition to be sure, thanks for sharing
whats the chicken breed that started cawing/clucking at 15:13
Would a blackberry plant be ok in the chicken yard?
Never mind I see the list!
Sure would be!
Where is the list??
@@cecilitaH - in the description box😊
@@iamhis5580 awesome thanks so much
I was wondering about an autumn olive and more weedy things that are hard to eradicate. I like the idea of using red amaranth. That stuff is a weed in my area. I wonder if planting wild crown vetch is a good idea as well because I have a lot of that growing in the shady spots by my house. I often let it go because it competes with the thorny stuff that grows there and it's always easy to mow even if it gets a bit tall, and scything it is also easy.
Autumn Olive would be a great fit in this kind of space... Fast growing, early to yield, super nutrient dense food and medicine for the chickens!
I really love your setup and am restarting my whole chicken system based on yours. Seeing it this spring in person (remember our Jeep died in your driveway 🙃) was very inspiring. We have 9 chicks and I am just wondering how you feel about the avian flu reported in our area? I have a friend who no longer lets her hens roam, and am wondering how much of a threat there actually is? Not a fan of keeping the girls in all the time.
My thoughts...LIES
How many "coincidences" can people keep going along with? It's crazy. That said, I built a large run, under roof, so if they come knocking the girls and I will have a better chance, But...I'm gonna free range the rest of the time !!
I have some red white barrier ribbon stringing between the fence and our bordering fence to keep birds away from the coup. Minimal effort with great effect. Small birds (not susceptible to the flu) still like to visit, but I can notice bigger birds flying away from the coup because of the moving ribbons.
Main thing is not to get any (susceptible) birds in your coup and reduce droppings to a minimum.
And remember that the avian flu started in large scale intensive bird houses and spread to the wild population in 2019. This is a human made problem.
Nice to hear from you, hope the Jeep is running smoothly :)
Avian flu... I am sure I can't speak with any full knowledge of the situation, but I can share the feeling... It seems there is a consistent theme of being told to be restrictive and scared of a very wide range of potential health issues. It seems almost always some large amount of money is to be made from people behaving that way. Trying to make sure your flock has access to good quality clean water, exercise, ample healthy food, sun, air, etc. etc seems like it would take care of a wide range of health concerns. That is how we are living and hopefully that pans out to be reasonable. So far it does....
@@edibleacres Love that answer!
@@edibleacres perfectly said.
thanks ...do you still sell plants? everything is listed as SOLD OUT on your website...was interested in buying some things.
he does but its pretty first come first serve this dude has decent hype in his locale
Most bare root nurseries only sell plants while they're dormant, so before they wake up in the spring or after they drop their leaves in the fall. They also pot up some of their plants to sell locally, so if you live near them, you might want to reach out to see if they have any left. But most likely you'll have to wait until this fall.
He sells out fast, huge demand for his plants locally and online. He'll relist the next batch of bareroot options in the fall, but they go fast.
We update our inventory on September 1st and March 1st most years. We encourage people to hop on nice and early since plants tend to move super fast. Sorry it isn't more open and easy that way, but we're a tiny scale nursery!
What do you guys do with the Shiso? We have it growing in several spots wild on the farm. Also, Sean is a real dime! Total Silver Fox! Good get, Sasha. 👍🏻
Ha, thanks Ben!
We cook with the Shiso a little here or there but for the most part they seem to just become ever increasingly a wild element here...
any tips for keeping swales in a chicken yard? wouldn't the chickens flatten and fill them in over time?
For sure they would.... The swale we have in the chicken yard is planted to woody perennials. . THis helps hold things together, and we put stones and logs on it as well to help protect. Also, if they spread it back out, you can always reform and it will be just more freshly turned compost to plant into
Joyous!
:)
Are avocado plants good for chook yard?
No experience there, sorry...
The chickens are just like toddlers, always under foot!
Ha!
Not sure how to contact you - but I would love some seaberry bushes and some elderberry - and can make a day trip of it to pick up :)
Dyou have any experience grafting mulberries? We built our chicken yard around a young mulberry but it turned out to be a male tree, I would love to graft a female onto it.....any tips for grafting mulberry??
I wish I
could help you there! I know it certainly can be done.
There's a Russian/Romanian/ Serbian ( I think) guy here on yt who shows various ways of grafting mulberrys, among many other plants/techniques. I think he has English subtitles and he does answer questions. Good Luck !
I was wondering, are there any problems with your composting system as far as the chickens having access to any types of foods that might be poison to them in particular? I really love the idea and was trying to think through how to incorporate it in my yard but we often put avacado peels in our compost which I understand are poisonous to chickens. I would think that they would leave them alone but I’m not sure.
We have never had issues in that way.. That said, why not be careful and if you are making compost to bring them, separate coffee grounds, avocado, onion, etc. to avoid issues. That said, the chickens seem to know what to avoid.
@@edibleacres thanks for your input. I can surely separate it. Truly, why not ;)
Hello! I wasn’t able to make as much activated charcoal as I’d hoped this winter. We are really needing some for our chicken run. Is there a source that you trust to buy some when needed?
I don't know of a vendor to send you to. Most places I found are quite expensive. You could certainly make biochar in cone pits outside in the summer and generate a good amount pretty quickly that way!
@@edibleacres what is the use of the activated charcoal??
What zone are you in?
We are historically zone 5B but much closer to 6B or 7A in reality at this point.
@@edibleacres thank you! My zone also just recently changed from 6 to 7.
The good thing about the bull thistle will provide seeds that the chickens will love to eat
That is neat to know
Best video i think
do you know about any potential toxicity for livestock from elderberry plants? i have read cherry trees can be toxic for livestock with leaf fall.
I have read about that but I haven't seen it be an issue with our chickens at all.
Hi Sean and Sasha-I have a question: Have you come across invasive jumping worms on your property? Do you have any permaculture solutions for keeping populations in check?
I recently discovered them at our home in Western Mass, probably brought in with a batch of wood chips from down the road. I had no idea how pervasive a problem they were. Part of me feels worried for the surrounding forests, and the other part of me wonders whether the hype around these worms is tinged with anti-Asian racial undertones (the worms’ native habitat is SE Asia), when maybe they aren’t as monstrous as they’re described to be?
Thank you so so much for your incredible channel!
We have seen them here or there... Some years they can be strong and a challenge, some years we can't seem to find them if we try, so there is a boom/bust to it as far as I can tell. For tiny seedlings and establishment they are tough for sure, for most contexts and perennial systems they don't pose too much of a threat as far as we've observed. Something to keep an eye on, learn from, and hope to have a natural balance find itself over time... Thats my take on it.
"Invasive" as a term just doesn't do too much for me when it has been coined by folks who are non-native to a landscape themselves. Just lands as odd to even think through that lens :)
How big is your chicken yard?
Roughly .1 acres
Your chicken yard soil is literally Black Gold
Mulberry, burdock-it self sows and they eat the leaves, my whole yard is a chicken yard so i put scrap burlap around the plant ( scrap fabric could work too, old bed sheets etc.)) when I plant it, some bricks or roof tile on top of the burlap, since that is what I have laying around, or pieces of heavy wood, this seems to work and I like the look of it too, blend in to the landscape. I've had many plants decimated completely over the years before I worked out this system of planting...
Super great ideas here! Mulberry is one we absolutely have to get going for them for next year. Burdock is a nice reminder. Such a wonderfully easy plant to 'grow' too!