"'cheap portable or hand held mister'....i think ineed to get that. where did you get yours Chris?"

"did the bees eventually go away? I know when we had this problem a few years ago, the bees seemed to go away on a day when we had high winds."

"Oh my gosh. I hadn't thought about the river, but yes, that could easily be a coyote highway!!!! So now I know...thank you!"

"thanks for all the input. My dogs are quite agressive towards cats, and if they were fast enough, the cat would be history. Only one of my dogs is still young and agile enough to catch a cat in the yard, though. I'm thinking that the dogs are also a…"

"I own 4 cats which roam all over this acre. They never bother the free roaming hens, BUT chicks are another story. I hatch approximately 100 chicks every month and raise them for one week before selling them. The first three days they live in a…"

"Our neighbor across the street has about 5 cats that think my front yard is for their playground/toilet-- the neighbors don't let them in the house. Our hens are in a coop in a semi-enclosed area in the back yard and for the first month or so the…"

"My cat hunts full sized gophers, sparrows, dove and mice.  He's curious about my 4 hens and made a run at them once.  Now he just lays around nearby like he's watching cat TV.  When I get chicks I will definately segregate them until 8 weeks or…"

"Full grown, standard size hens...no.  Bantams or young chickens...yes.  You know it's a cat attack when there are feathers all over the kill site."

"When we get a new cat in the neighborhood it comes around thinking it is going to get a free meal. Then after the chickens chase it around their run they decide just watching the chickens is easier and more fun.

Now I would be worried if you just…"

"I would think it would depend on the cat.  One of mine is scared to death of them.  The other is curious.  But they are both house cats.  Personally, I've seen a cat stalk a peacock.  Then it turned around and looked at the cat, and the cat suddenly…"

" 
I found this page about compost tea.
 
http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/wm/recycle/tea/tea...
what do you think?
 "

"I'm so glad to learn about paper and citrus rinds in the compost pile; I didn't think that could go in there. I also have only moved here in July, and I've yet to keep my compost pile wet enough.No matter how often I water, it never seems…"

"that's so awful, i'm so sorry to hear it. i agree...if you have big dogs let them stay outside with the chickens."

"Another idea to keep the chickens cool in summer, which I learned from people here, is to put frozen water bottles in the shady areas for the chickens. Scratch is a certain type of feed that you buy.
Chris what do you recommend for feed in the hot…"

"Hi Katie,
I'm no expert, but I like the idea of letting them have the planter as a run. And make sure it's got a top so they can't jump over into the neighbors yard. And then your hens could be free in the yard when you are home. I have a…"