Don’t you hate it when the internet is broke? Sorry about yesterday. We are right on the very steep edges of a black hole of nefarious internet coverage. Evidently there was a man up the only tower that can reach us. I guess he was reading the book because it took him two days to come down and give us the thumbs up!
The gardens had a set back yesterday. While I had my head turned to the firewood pile…
The peahens (not Kupa of course) …
crept into this garden …
and ate all the little tasty green baby cabbages and broccoli and onion, well just about everything actually. John is so furious he has gone even silenter than usual so today I have to build a pen for peafowl. They are to be locked up while the plants are little. “Trouble in the Gardens”. The other day I put my potted sunflowers out to get some sun and Tui and Pania climbed the step and ate every single one of them. In all fairness I have to say that the silent one just laughed when they ate all my sunflowers, but now the tables have turned!! Rather miserably. I have been over-feeding all the free range birds grain, at the barn, trying to head this off.
Ah well, I try desperately to take this kind of thing seriously but I have a chromosome missing and just cannot find anger at birds for doing what birds do. Once something is done it is done. Now we work out a way to ensure it is not done again. There are more cabbages – all is not lost.
Good morning. I will enclose the sunny side of the barn loft with strong chicken mesh. Most of the framework is there, it is huge and this is where they roost and hang out for most of the day anyway. When they are not skulking about where they do not belong. There are two advantages to this plan. Firstly the peahens have their nests up there so if they have chicks they will be catcheable. And secondly we will be able to stack the hay and straw right to the sides of the loft when the birds are free range again. The downside is carrying daily feed and water up the ladder.
Kupa will only be in there until the eggs are laid, then he can come out. I cannot bear to lock him up for long. The Duke of Kupa is special. He would never eat the king’s cabbages and he is not as sneaky as the girls.
Have a lovely day.
celi
On this day a year ago The Duke of Kupa had only just arrived and was being checked out by the barn flock. This made me laugh rereading it! c
The Kitchen's Garden 
71 responses to “Trouble in The Gardens.”
Whew! Just an internet issue…
Too bad about John’s babies, but at least you have replacements. Can’t believe they ate the onions, though! Even the deer and turkeys leave the Smelly Plants alone…
Hope you have plenty more of that beautiful sunshine today – the photos look warm, for a change! 😉
yes just the interwebs, playing tricks with the signal again. No sun today, in fact we have cloud which might just precede a few raindrops which would be very welcome!
Birds will be birds, and nature rules us all, I reckon. By the way, I think it’s only sharks that won’t feed if their stomachs are full. Everything else, some people, too, will eat until they burst.
Happy weekend to you, c, and to the farmy!
I think my peahens are related to sharks! c
LOL! Nothing is safe from the birds here either. At the end of last season our big Buckeye chickens broke the gate to their yard, roosting on it and using it to escape. This year we are busy making the fence to their area 8 feet tall so they can no longer fly out to eat all the goodies!
Have a wonderful day!
Lisa
Oh dear, our hens are all inside so far and their fence is already 8 feet high, I don’t know if you pop back but don;t put a cross piece on top of the 8 foot, they will fly up and stand on that before they take off, mine is floppy netting and while the guineas will use it as a launching pad the chickens are too FAT to perch on it!! c
No, we’re just using loose chicken wire. That is exactly how our fat Buckeyes broke the gate! LOL!
you’re onto it! c
Oh dear, sorry John is so angry about it all.
Hope you have a happy day.
🙂 Mandy xo
Hmm, I remember now that last year the pea hens were eating the grapes and he was not upset then either! They will have a nice cool summer space now though.. all good!!
Celi, you enjoy getting us on the edge of our seats with your post headers! Naughty Girls (guffaw, splutter, splutter) – sorry about the veg. Laura
I know, they do look like fat middle aged skulkers, they would be wearing pearls and carrying handbags if they could!c
Oh dear. Bad Birds! I decided it was easier to cage the garden than to cage the peacocks. I haven’t found one single thing they won’t eat! It does make keeping a garden challenging. They do work wonders on the grasshoppers though. Where the peacocks wander, no grasshopper hops!
But last year they were fine, all we had were a few pecks in the ripe tomatoes.. but ah well! I did notice that we had no grasshoppers .. hmm.. c
I must admit that I can understand Our John’s sentiments! Those birds (chickens too when they make dust baths all over what used to be a pretty lawn, and eat up all your flowers and any seed planted that they can get to!) can make you crazy. This year we are fencing in their own free range area so that our free range area can remain pretty with some grass on it! 🙂 PS – I think that spring just might have arrived…..although my fingers are still crossed!!!
It is feeling a little springy! Now how are the piglets, do you want to send me a shot so I can show the Fellowship? we would all love to hear how they are doing! c
Oh Celi, the piglets are adorable!!!!! They are scampering and tumbling about and just about the cutest things you have ever seen. We have 3 girls and 3 boys. And yes, the boys need to be castrated, and soon! Jack watched several piglet castrating videos on YouTube yesterday and woke up dreaming of it last night! I will watch them today, and then, we will try it ourselves, like we did with the artificial insemination. A steep learning curve for both of us!!! And guess what! This morning Taylor, our goat with ketosis delivered two healthy kids. And everyone seems to be doing well. I had to reach up into her and pull the second one out. So now I know what you mean about not really thinking about it, but just doing it!
I’ll send you photos of both and you can post if you like! xo
I have a girl down the road who will do the boys for me. I had a guy tell me the other day that they always use a shopping cart. they pop all the piggies in the big bit, then one guy holds them in the little bit at the top while the other guy does the deed, then back in with mum! and it all goes fast and smoothly.. evidently! c
Oh a YAY TAYLOR! and good for you going in, you saved a life! c
Cohabitation is not as simple as it sounds, is it?
you are very right there ronnie! I have to keep an eye on them all the time! c
John is a saint if he only went silent instead of roaring! Sorry about your internet – I regret to say that I didn’t notice! Robin and Wei left today and my inbox is chocabloc with unread mails. Besides, I am trying to do Napowrimo (a poem a day at least) and am now exhausted.
I do think it’s a good idea to keep the marauders penned for a while to keep them away from your vital food supply nursery!
Have a good day.
Oh dear ViV, you do challenge yourself! Glad you had a good visit though! Kupa’s embroidery arrived today! What wonderful work. he will look so elegant on the new wall! c
Oh dear! I don’t know where the expression ‘Bird-Brained’ indicating stupidity came from, birds never miss a trick and are so smart at finding any new source of food – especially the carefully grown juicy green type!
Christine
morning christine, I bet your ducks get a bit naughty tooo!! c
Oh no! So sorry to read about the naughty birds (but it was a great read). Hopefully you can replant.
Sorry for your troubles.
I understand John’s frustration about the loss of food (perhaps he yearns to eat peahens!) and the not cheerful sight of seedlings mowed down. Think of it as part of his longing for spring. You, my dear, continue to have exemplary attitudes.
Can’t believe it’s been a year since Kupa arrived! How disappointing after all that cultivating and planting to suffer such a loss in the garden. As you said, birds will be birds, but I can understand John’s feelings in the matter….and perhaps Kupa’s and the peahens, too! 😉
When all else fails, there is always the great American saying: “Tastes just like chicken.”
Oh merciful heaven, don’t give John ideas! morning bill! c