The Rat of the Land

...in and, unsurprisingly, it revealed the presence of rats in and around our chicken coop. I lock up the chicken food at night but the coop still seems to be a hot spot for rats. I’ve long had a suspicion that Los Angeles probably has more rats than Chicago and New York but there’s no hard evidence to prove this thoughtstyling of mine. Unfortunately, it turns out that scientists have a hard time researching urban rodents for a number of reasons. Mat...

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Help UC Davis with the California Backyard Poultry Census

If you’re a California backyard chicken enthusiast the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and Cooperative Extension has a short survey they’d like you to fill out. The purpose of the survey is to get an estimate of how many backyard flocks are out there and, “bridge the communication gap between poultry experts and backyard poultry enthusiasts.” The survey is confidential and contact info will only be used for educational purposes. Last year...

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Root Simple’s New CritterCam

...t time? (We’ve seen them two times in the backyard). Are rats visiting our chicken feeder? When does a broody hen get up to eat? What critters are hanging around the chicken coop at night? Use the camera’s time lapse function to look at shade patterns in the yard. I’ll share the results on the blog over the next year. The first night I used the camera I pointed it at the grape arbor where I know rats visit. The resulting images, that I strung toge...

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Saturday Linkages: Invaders, Sick Chickens and Adaptive Reuse

...n the horizon http://garynabhan.com/i/archives/2494 When To Isolate A Sick Chicken | HenCam http://hencam.com/henblog/2014/08/when-to-isolate-a-sick-chicken/ … via @terrygolson Can Edible Gardening Reduce Deforestation? – http://go.shr.lc/1lkI1wO via @TenthAcreFarm How to Kill Poison Ivy – http://tafarm.us/1kEpTgQ via @TenthAcreFarm “Does Beauty Still Matter?” A thoughtful article by @mharrisonhough http://goo.gl/WxIcmv Adaptive Reuse: Old Stuff,...

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