Frequently Asked Questions
Can You Litter Box Train A Rabbit...?
Can I Litterbox Train My Baby Rabbit If It Lives In An Outdoor Hutch? It Seems So Much More Easy To Keep Clean That Way.. If I Can- How Do I Go About Doing It?
I have heard of people litterbox training their rabbits. Rabbits usually pick one corner where they urinate. Place the box there. Whenever the rabbit goes to the bathroom, you could place its fecal pellets in the litter box.
Rabbits do not bury their excrement the way cats do but instead leave their fecal pellets lying on top of the litter while the urine soaks to the bottom of the box. In addition, rabbits may spend a lot of time in their litter boxes, just lying or sitting in them— this is normal.
Rabbits may eat their litter, so the type of litter you provide is important. It is best to avoid clumping litter, pine or cedar shavings, and clay litters with deodorant crystals since consumption of these litters could harm your rabbit. Instead use hay, straw, pelleted food, nonclumping unscented cat litter, peat moss, aspen bark, or other nontoxic, nonclumping litters.
I Need Some Help With Gardening... I Live In Alabama?
I Want To Start Several Gardens... I Am Looking For Low Cost Options But If The Veggie/Fruit Garden Will Cost More That'S Fine. And The Hummingbird Garden Below Is Kinda Optional If Too Expensive... 1. I Would Like To Start A Veggie/Fruit Garden... In This Garden I Would Want To Include Watermelons, Cantaloupes, Honeydews, Strawberries, And Cucumbers. Can Anyone Give Me Advice On How To Grow Any Of These? 2. And I Also Would Like To Begin A Hummingbird Garden. I Do Not Have A Clue What Kind Of Plants To Start With... I May Have Limited Space For The Hummingbird Garden, So Are There Any Smaller Plants Or Plants That Grow On A Trellis... Thank You So Much!
Hey there. Well as for the edible garden all the items listed are fairly easy to grow but they do require room. You can if you have availability make several very large piles of soil. Then plant several seeds of water melon, cantaloupe, so on in each large mound (Only one kind per mound). Melons can cross breed/pollinate so you must have space between them. Cucumbers are easy and produce alot very quickly. You will also plant a few seeds in a mound and give them something to grow up on. The problem with all the items you listed is called powdery mildew. Once it starts it's difficult to stop it and it does spread fast. It seems to affect plants that grow in mounds such as squash and the listed plants you mentioned. It is not necessarily devastating to the plants but if it comes on too early it will stunt production and size. Best thing to do to help avoid it is avoid wetting the leaves when watering. Try lifting the vines and leaves when possible and putting the water only on the mounds itself and not the plant. Strawberries are also easy and if you have plenty of space you should make rows with mounded dirt and put in the plant per spacing directions on the plant pick/container. Cover them with pine straw. You may also find that covering the strawberry with a light weight screen or net is the only way you will reap the fruit because the birds will be on them before you ever know they are ripe.
As for humming birds.Its great you mention trellis because the easiest to grow and most enticing to hummers are climbers.Start with the simplest and quickest growers. Morning glories, Black eyed susan vine, trumpet vine, and in baskets plant petunias. I would suggest that each year you buy a clematis any variety and put them in for years of enjoyment. Takes them awhile to come on but once they do, Look out, gorgeous flowers nearly all summer long. Good Luck, God Bless you.
Could My Mare Be Eating Shavings I Put In The Barn?
I Was Putting Down Shavings And Then Straw But I Suddenly For Some Reason My Mare Began To Eat The Straw. She Has Over An Acre To Roam With Her 2 Little Goats And I Because She Lives At My Home And I Am Home Alot I Usually Break Her Feed Into 3 Or 4 Feedings A Day With The Middle Feedings Fed In A Slow Feed Hay Net. I Had Been Using The Straw For Bedding For Quite Some Time When I Noticed It Start To Disappear. I Wasn'T Sure What Was Happening At First Until Almost All The Straw Was Gone So I Bought 2 Bags Of Shavings Instead Of Straw And Within 2 Weeks The Barn Stall Was Almost Bare. She Can Go In And Out Of The Barn As She Pleases And Though The Grass Is Dry Now There Is Still Some To Nibble On And It Isn'T Peed On The Way She Likes To Pee In The Barn. I Am Not Feeding Her Any Differently Than I Have Been Feeding Her For Ages. In Fact, According To My Vet She Is Way Over Fed. My Vet Only Wants Her To Have 10 Lbs Of Grass Hay A Day But I Usually Throw In An Extra 5 Pounds So Giving Her More Food Is Not An Option. Have You Ever Heard Of A Horse Eating Shavings? Can This Hurt Her? Is There A Way To Prevent Her From Doing This? I Bought Another Bale Of Straw And Have Put This Down And Am Watching To See How Fast It Disappears. My Vet Is Out Of Town For A Week But I Am Thinking Of Calling Another Vet And Asking About This Tomorrow. I Was Just Curious If Any Of You Have Ever Heard Of A Horse Doing This. Why Would She Suddenly Start Doing This When I'Ve Been Putting Shavings In Her Barn For Years And She Has Never Done It Before? Thanks So Much For Any Help You Can Give Me.
Yes, MANY horses like to eat shavings and straw. Some acquire a real taste for it.
Shavings are pine, and horses like the taste of dried pine. If you've ever seen a pine fence or a pine stall, you've probably also seen how fast it disappears. They love to chew on it, and can chew through a pine fence board in a day or two quite easily. I don't know why some acquire a taste for it, but once they do it's hard to stop them.
Straw is just another kind of hay to some. I've even known horses that prefer the taste of straw over even the best hay; others who like to nibble both. I think it's just a different flavor for them, so they snack on it.
If the grass in your field is dry, no doubt the shavings and straw taste better to her, so now she's eating them instead. Dried grass is not like hay; all the nutrients and flavor has been leached out of it as the plant tries to survive by reabsorbing them into the root.
Horses are grazers and like to eat all the time, some more so than others. It's there, it's palatable, she's going to eat it. The goats are going to eat it too.
The dangers of eating straw and shavings are primarily impaction and loss of nutrients.
Some horses who eat shavings in particular can get impaction colics. For most horses, this would mean a LOT of shavings and not enough water. If she's just nibbling the shavings and still eating her hay well, this probably isn't going to be an issue, just keep an eye on her.
Horses who are too thin or who don't also eat their hay may not get enough nutrition if they eat their straw instead of their hay. As your horse gets plenty and isn't thin, I wouldn't worry about it. I like to eat all the time too, and when I run out of my favorite foods I'll eat stuff I don't actually like. Like AllBran - all fiber, little flavor, but still food. That's what straw's like for a horse.
If your horse has bad teeth, then eating these may worsen them, so have her teeth checked.
Is you mare turned out 24/7? If so, you might consider not providing bedding for a while. I know my horses prefer to lay outside in the grass, and only come in to poop on the bedding, so in the summer I rarely use it unless a horse must be stalled. Saves money, they don't care, and cleaning is easier. If your mare is stalled that's different of course.
Also, goats are likely to be eating both as well. As goats have a reputation for eating anything, I don't think I'd worry much... but I don't know anything about goats so you might want to check that out.
eta: Horses will also eat sawdust - seen it many times.
Impaction colics rarely require surgery. Vets usually treat them by passing a tube down the throat into the stomach, and putting mineral oil and water directly into the digestive tract. This helps soften the impacted material and lets it slide through the gut without much problem. IV fluids also help a lot, plumping up the gut wall and softening the impaction so it can pass. It may take a few days to resolve, but it almost always does.
I Want A Pet Duck... Help?
I Want To Get A Pet Pekin Duck... What Are The Basics? I Just Really Need The Low-Down On What To Expect And Everything. And Im Pretty Sure I Want It To Live Inside... So What Does That Require??? I Want 2, So How Big Of A Space Will They Need, And Can They Live Together?? And One More Question, Can I Build Like A Pen/Coop Thing And Keep It In The Basement?
Basic Needs:
Protection from predators-Every night they should be penned up in a building or a securely fenced area to avoid being a tasty meal for a would be predator.
Balanced diet-2nd leading cause to flock problems is improper nutrition. Avoid medicated feed. Get duck chow from your feed store.
A constant supply of drinking water- Ducks will not thrive if frequently left without water.
Clean and dry living area- Stagnant water holes and wet dirty bedding lead to illness.
HOUSING
Ducks don't need an elaborate house. Unlike chickens they rather stay outside day and night in most weather. A simple 3 sided staw/hay bale structure, stacked 2 high, will provide protection to keep ducks happy in areas where temperatures dip to 0*F.
Waterfowl sleep on the ground or on water. Best to bring them in at night if they free range. A fence with the bottom buried 6-12 inches in the ground and at least 4 foot high, enclosing the yard, is enough to stop many predators. However, for some of the craftier predators, a small building where ducks can be locked in after dark is a must.
The building need not be more than a couple feet high at the lowest point. In mild climates three solid walls and a 1/4 inch wire front for ventilation. In areas with severe winters, below zero, it's better to have a solid front with wire covered ventilation holes/slots at top and bottom of building. Straw bales maybe placed around the outside walls for insulation in the northern bitter winters.
Dirt or sand floors are best to ensure good drainage. Place the building on a slope or build up the floor 4-8 inches above level. Cover the floor with bedding. Most popular bedding materials are pine shavings or straw 4-6 inches deep. I like using straw and"deep litter" method.
Allow 3-4 square feet of floor space per bird for housing only at night and 6-8 minimum if they will be in the house continuously.
FEED
The most expensive item in duck raising. Commercial rations are the simplest way to provide a balanced diet. Pellet type feed vice crumbles will save on waste, as less is dropped on the way to the water. Feed formulated for ducks is not available in all areas, non-medicated turkey and chicken feeds can be used in place of duck mixtures. If chicken ration is used and niacin is not 25%-35% (mg) per lb of feed, a niacin supplement maybe added to feed or water. Protein requirements for laying birds is 16%. Holding ration while not laying is 12%-14%. Feed free choice or twice daily. Slowly go from one feed to another by mixing feeds as a sudden change in diet may throw a hen into a premature molt. Use of 18%-20% ration can be used during a molt to promote good feather growth. If a gamebird or turkey ration is feed the protein will be too high. One may mix the feed with grain to lower the protein % to the proper amount Click here to see How
Insects are a good source of protein. Ducks of all ages are superlative bug hunters. Hang a low wat bulb a couple feet above the ground in the duck yard at night and your birds will have an evening of dining pleasure.
Eggs. Can't eat all those eggs..? Feed them back to the ducks. Eggs are an excellent source of nutrition and considered a "complete food". When egg is added to the diet, they grow better, have shinier feathers, and lay more. Unprepared for those ducklings and didn't buy feed....use eggs. NEVER feed raw eggs. Boil them until the yolk is cooked throughly but not "grey". Chop them up shell and all for full grown ducks, remove the shell for ducklings.
Greens are a great supplement to the ducks diet. Toss some fresh greens in the water bowl or pool and they'll go nuts. A few greens high in vit A include: chard, spinach, romaine lettuce and alfalfa. Rabbit pellets are good source of alfalfa and easy for ducks to eat.
Grit and Calcium. Continuous free choice of granite grit, course sand or small gravel helps digest feed. During the laying season supplement diet with free choice calcium in the form of oyster shell, egg shell or ground lime stone.
Water
Drinking water is required, a pool is not. Ducks however, enjoy a dip in the pool and are fun to watch splash around. A kiddie pool is inexpensive and easy to keep clean.
A constant supply of clean drinking water is a must. Ducks need to clean their nostrils and eyes often containers need to be deep enough to allow this. Buckets, dishpans, hot water tanks or 50 gal drums cut vertically in half are good water containers.
Hope i helped!!
Will My Blueberry Plant Still Grow In Alkaline Soil?
My Son Bought Me A Blueberry Plant Today Just Because. I Usually Don'T Like To Plant Things Without Researching Them First But Here Is This Poor Blueberry Plant Waiting To Be Planted. I Now Realize That Blueberries Need Special Soil Requirements. The Soil That It Came With Is 7.0 Which Is Too Alkaline. I Refuse To Use Aluminum Sulfate And Have Turned To More Earth Friendly Sources Such As Organic Soil Acidifier Which Will Take Months In Order To Drop The Soil'S Ph Level Down. Can A Blueberry Plant Still Grow In Alkaline Soil Until The Acidifier Kicks In?
It may grow but it will not thrive. Blueberries need an acidic soil to be really happy. Fortunately, you can acidify your soil using such things as pine bark, pine straw (faster acting than bark), used coffee grounds, sphagnum peat moss (also helps with water retention) and other common organic materials. Of these the pine straw is probably the easiest to obtain at reasonable rates for large quantities; a bale of pine straw is less than $5.00 at most locations but, if there are pine trees in your area, you can probably get some for free if you are willing to rake and load it yourself; just ask the owner of the property before you start. If the blueberry bush has not become established you can dig it up, add as much pine straw as possible to the soil (chopping it up with a mulching mower will speed the breakdown process) and replant the bush. Afterward, mulch around the bush with more pine straw, replenishing the supply as necessary. The mulch will help keep down the weeds and help hold moisture, as well as acidifying the soil as it breaks down. You'll have a healthy, happy blueberry bush in no time.
Some blueberries require a second, compatible, variety for best yields. Look up the variety you have and, if another variety is required, pick one compatible with yours. It will increase yields from both bushes. You can also prepare a bed for the second bush at the same time if you need to plant another.
Good luck and enjoy!
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