noobie

TheGoodLife · Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 10:53 pm Post subject: noobie

hello all,
hope the rains have been embraced these last couple of days by all !! Rain barrels are full up once again. Thanks for allowing me on board, no doubt I'll have more questions than answers. Currently have a polytunnel, outside veg patch, goats, hens, ducks & dogs, and a 7 month old(Fíachra - patron saint of gardeners) who is growing quicker than anything in the garden !! Allthe best for the coming seasons & a bumper harvest wished for all,
Is mise le meas
Máirtin

Sive · Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 7:49 am Post subject:

Welcome Mairtin, sounds like you have a garden bursting with life. I'd love your opinion on hens and ducks.....how destructive are they if they have the run of a garden ?

cooler · Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 1:28 pm Post subject:

Welcome TheGoodLife. Great member name. I'm with Sive as I'm a bit scared to combine ducks and a garden. I'm sure it can be done though.

TheGoodLife · Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 11:40 pm Post subject:

hi all, ok the hens are more destructive than the ducks and quicker to pull a place apart but I hope to outwit them as time passes !! I try not to get too annoyed if they get the upper hand and banish all thoughts of a roasting dish and fan assisted oven. They got our winter crops last year, some earlies this year but its all part and parcel. On the plus side their manure quickly reduces a compost heap and by this october we will be self sufficient for fertiliser. They make great little tractors too, turn a sod and they make it into fine tilt in no time saves me the work ! We have a little stream so the ducks reside there and rarely venture to the veg they are more inclined to nibble 5-6" grass and weeds in the stream. The duck egg has a better taste also IMO and makes a wicked omlette. By end of summer dollars from egg sales will pay for a proper fowl proof fence around outside veg patch so they pay their own way most of the tme. I am forgetting the hours of laughter watching them mooching around all with their own character. Besides all the serious stuff around gardening its important to have some fun - chickens and hens bring plenty to the party

Sive · Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 6:24 am Post subject:

Thanks for all that information, Mairtin, I would love to have the fun of ducks and hens in the garden, but my better half is against the idea, saying they will get into his vegetables and destroy all his hard work, and I certainly don't think that would be fair to him.
I suppose a run of some sort would be the solution, so that hens and/or ducks would only be free to roam when we're around to keep an eye on them.

heno55 · Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2010 7:36 am Post subject:

Hi all this is my first post,the way i got around the duck and hen problem is with site safety panels they are about 12ft by 7ft and as light as a feather i got a metal fabricator to make a gate in one of them for ease of access six of them makes a fairly large run