Time to do Something About the Kudzu

At the end of our fig season last month, I got a good view of how badly the kudzu had been taking over the area behind our carport.

View from the top of the ladder. The little building in the upper
right corner (almost covered with kudzu) is a small storage shed.

From the ground it looked like this.

Storage shed is center, white building on right is the car port.
The path from the barn to the garden is completely covered!

How do things get this out of control? Firstly because kudzu grows at an almost alarming rate. Secondly, because I've been so busy with picking and preserving, that there hasn't been time for much else. Also Dan had a pile of barn building materials blocking the path to the garden so it's been "out of sight, out of mind." The thing to set up the electric netting and let the goats have at it!

I pulled out the vines along the path and laid them out to dry on a tarp. These were added to the hay pile for a winter treat.

Kudzu vines drying on a tarp for hay.
Current goat barn in the background.

Then Dan mowed a path and helped me set up the fence so we could let in the goats.

They will gradually work their way through the kudzu and other goodies growing in this area.

Eventually we plan to do something about this area on a more permanent basis, but since we have the goats for control, it isn't very high on the priority list. For now we look on the positive side and consider it more free food for the goats.

Violet and Ellie

Kudzu contains protein, calcium, iron, B vitamins, potassium, and magnesium.

Cinnamon

That means it's not only free, but also is quite nutritious. And I notice that when the goats get their fill on kudzu, milk production goes up! A very good goat food indeed.

Time to do Something About the Kudzu © 

September 2017 by 

Leigh  at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

Ship's Ladder for the Hayloft

Dan's been taking advantage of some time off.

That last shot was just a trial fitting. The ladder still needs to be secured and hand rails added. It will also need some sort of gate to keep the goats off! LOL

Next > "A Start on the Hay Loft"

Ship's Ladder for the Hayloft © September 2017 

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

A Duck Tail of Woe

This is both a tail of woe and a tale of woe.

M.O.M. (Mother of Muscovies) and Big Duck

We keep one breeding pair of Muscovy ducks (because Muscovies are very prolific and one pair produces more than enough ducks!) In April Mama Duck hatched out a dozen eggs. Once the ducklings were grown she decided to set again. I don't know if that's typical for Muscovies, but she hid her nest so well there was no way to discourage her. For her nesting spot, she chose a place in the thick hedge of Beauty Bushes on the side of our front yard. Once or twice a day she would show up for water, something to eat, and a bath.

One day she didn't appear at her one of her usual times. She didn't show up the next day either, nor the day after that. We began to fear something had happened to her. Then the neighbor two doors down came by to say they had found a duck which apparently a dog had gotten. It appeared to be injured, but was alive. Could it possibly be M.O.M.?

We went to go see and sure enough, it was M.O.M.! She seemed to be okay but was missing most of her tail and couldn't fly very well. But would she let us catch her? No way! After chasing her all over their yard we finally went home in hopes she'd return on her own. Two days later she did.

Half of her tail feathers had been pulled out.

We can only assume that she walked! Big Duck was ecstatic!

After she got food, water, and a bath she waddled up the driveway to check on her nest, but she wasn't gone long. It had been too many days and assuming the eggs were still there, they were cold with the ducklings lost.

About a week later another neighbor came over to warn us that he thought he'd heard coyotes the night before. He said it sounded like someone was getting killed, although he didn't see anything. We have coyotes on occasion, but so far they've never been a problem. Could that have been what tried to get M.O.M?

The next day we heard a ruckus somewhere beyond the back of our woods. It sounded like - coyotes! The sound sent all of our cats scrambling for hiding spots. All four of them had been choosing to sleep indoors lately, which we thought odd, but obviously they knew something we didn't?

Able to fly again and pretty much back to normal.

That night Dan made rounds several times to keep an eye on things. When he shined the flashlight up the driveway he saw what he thought at first was a dog, but realized it was indeed a coyote!

Coyotes normally don't bother us, but their diet does include small animals. A few folks around here keep chickens, but we have the most animals in the area.  Folks with goats, like me, worry about them, of course, especially when the kids are small. Mostly coyotes don't attack adult deer or goats, but apparently it depends on the pack. Some packs are more aggressive, so a wise stewards will take measures to protect their herds and flocks.

All of this "comes with the territory," as Dan likes to say. We do our best to protect our critters from predators, but the reality is that predators do get some of our poultry on occasion. Hopefully the coyotes will pass on through like the others we've seen before them.

A Duck Tail of Woe © September 2017 by 

Leigh  at http://www.5acresandadream.com/