The Blog Barn

Cystine is needed during molt

Greenleaf Farms   -   Apr 30, 2016 - By Suki

While a   non-essential amino acid for man, m olting birds need  high cystine content for renewal of feathers because cystine is necessary for the production of keratin, the prime ingredient that constitutes feathers.  Some medical...

Chicken Cages higher not deeper

Greenleaf Farms   -   Apr 30, 2016 - By Suki

An interesting study, done for battery caged layers, shows that when you buy one of your cages for transporting or showing or housing often injures the birds when you get them too deep. Instead the recommendation is to get them as shallow as possible....

Orchid Cuckoo Bee / Exaerete formalis

Greenleaf Farms   -   Apr 30, 2016 - By Suki

I turned to chooks when the town we live in wouldn't allow bees, but I still remain a member of the local bee club because I love bees so.  This one from the New Scientist Aperture page, really caught my eye.  It is a tropical bee,  and...

Gunga Galunga CSA Week 20

The Harvest Bee Blog   -   Apr 30, 2016 - By K.T.

Good Day, Friends: It's cliche', I know. Don't live in the past or the future. Enjoy and embrace the present. We hear it all the time, yet how often do we find ourselves immersed in another moment besides the present? It is only human to do so, of...

Lots of Seedlings

Debbie's Garden   -   Apr 29, 2016 - By Chickadee1

Hi, all, things are busy as they usually are in the spring.... just so thankful that I get to play in the dirt every day! I have loads of seedlings coming up.... arugula, kale, collard, chard..... all kinds of herbs... even a few new varieties I haven't...

Choosing grit for your chooks

Greenleaf Farms   -   Apr 29, 2016 - By Suki

 Limestone grit is often used as a substitute for or in addition to oyster shells for laying hens. It is not quite so palatable as oyster shells to chickens, & so does not give as satisfactory an egg production. But if you are going to insist on...

Photo by: Grand Lagoon Waterfront Farmers' Market Welcome back to the LocalHarvest newsletter. Unlike the calm blue water lapping at its Floridian shores, the latest series in the Tampa Bay Times is making some giant waves. The " Farm...

Apple Scab

Walkto Farms Weekly   -   Apr 28, 2016 - By Gil

This year was the first year in my 35 year history to have NO apple scab (Venturia inaequalis). This fungus affects apples as a skin blemish and reduces crop by as much as 50%. The scab has 2 parts to it's infection-one:the overwintering leaves on the...

Fish meal for chickens

Greenleaf Farms   -   Apr 27, 2016 - By Suki

Fish meal is the clean, dried, ground tissue of undercomposed whole fish or fish cuttings, sometimes both,  with or without the extraction of part of the oil, and containing not more than 3 per cent salt.  Some salt is beneficial to chooks, but after...

Bone meal as grit

Greenleaf Farms   -   Apr 27, 2016 - By Suki

Bone meal consists mainly of calcium phosphate (Ca3P04). It varies in composition, depending on method of manufacture. Poultry bone meal, sometimes called raw bone meal or steamed bone meal, consists of bones which have been thoroughly cooked, dried, and...