Choosing Housing For Small Poultry Flocks

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1 Washington County Cooperative Extension Service March 2016 Volume 12, Issue 3 Inside this issue: Time To Plant Cool Season Plants A Note From Dennis 3 Beekeepers News 3 Master Gardener News 3 Farmers Market Flyer 4 Wheelbarrow Series 5 To Do s 6 Plant Of The Month 6 Springfield Green Festival 7 Recipe Of The Month Plant of the Month Hellebores Follow Us at Recipe Washington Of The Month County 10 Horticulture 2 9 HORTICULTURE Choosing Housing For Small Poultry Flocks Source: Jacquie Jacob, UK poultry extension associate Raising small poultry flocks on the farm or in the backyard has become very popular. The most important things to remember when choosing the type of housing are provisions for adequate shelter from weather, adequate ventilation and also protection from predators. You should choose housing that is easy to build from readily available materials. Housing should also have a low maintenance cost and support the changing needs of your flock. Over the years, a variety of designs for backyard flocks have hit the market, each with their own pros and cons. The best design for you depends on the number and types of birds you have and on how much you want to spend. It s a good idea to make the coop tall enough for you to stand inside; you ll clean it more often if you can get inside. If you need a lower coop for some reason, make sure you have easy access to make cleaning easier. One popular option for backyard flocks is a bottomless, moveable coop. The owner can move it at regular intervals, so the birds always have access to fresh grass. These housing units also protect birds from predators. This type of structure is also helpful for small production flocks. You can use the basic hoop design and amend it for the size of your flock. You can even make an easy and relatively inexpensive portable housing system with cattle panels. The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment compiled a series of videos from Kentucky State University showing step-by-step instructions for poultry housing construction on its website at www2.ca.uky.edu/smallflocks/ Housing.html. The site also provides links to other housing plans. For more information about backyard and small poultry flocks, contact the Washington County Cooperative Extension Service at

2 It s that time of year, can you feel it? Spring has started and it seems to have started all at once, the birds are chirping and the sting of cold has been replaced by mild fresh air. I don t know why but spring just smells better, sounds better, and feels better this year! It must be because winter felt like it lasted ten years. We are still going to have some cold weather, frosts, and freezes but there are a lot of plants that can and should be planted now in the vegetable and flower garden. In the vegetable garden there are numerous crops that should be planted now to give you a great spring crop of fresh, delicious, and nutritious veggies. Crops such as peas, radish, potatoes, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, onions, spinach, kale, collards, mustard, beets, and lettuces should be planted now through April. These crops are cold hardy and actually prefer or require cool weather to thrive. There is no need to run out and cover them when frost is forecast nor is there any need to keep sprinklers running over them to keep them from freezing. These crops are at their peak when the weather is Time For Cool Season Planting cool and it actually improves their taste and nutrition. In the flower garden there are a lot of plants that can be planted now or should be up and growing actively. Most people see the flowers such as crocus and daffodils blooming now with hyacinth and tulips coming on as well. Again, these are cold hardy as anyone that has daffodils and crocus in their garden can tell you, since they have been growing since early February! There may be the odd year where it can get freakishly cold in April like it did a few years ago when daffodils got their blooms burned off but according to meteorologist that was a once in 100 year freeze! So, spring bulbs are only guaranteed to bloom 99% of the time! You may have also noticed peonies coming up this past weekend, and again there is no need to worry. Peonies are hardy this time of year and will bloom again this spring just like they have in years passed, except that one odd year when they got nipped along with the daffodils. Others spring garden plants that you can plant now are pansies, ornamental cabbage and kale, stock, and snapdragon. I bet many of you hadn t thought to plant snapdragon now since we use it in May and June as an annual bedding plant. Pansies will grow just fine planted now but in Kentucky you can plant them in the fall and they generally survive the winter and bloom again now. However if you missed the fall planting they are just as beautiful planted now. The ornamental cabbage and kale should be purchased as larger plants which will give you a better display because the cool weather causes them develop a deeper color. If you plant small plants they won t develop the deep color because by the time the plants get large the weather will be heating up and the plants won t color up. The one thing the cool season crops require is full sun, no matter if they are vegetables or flowers. It seems odd that plants that like cool weather would also require full sun but they do.

3 A Note From Dennis FINALLY!!! Winter ends and Spring begins this month! I can t say that winter has bothered me as much this year as the last few but its nice to have the bulk of it over. Poor Tori has had a bad few weeks with a pain in her shoulder and the doctors can t find out what is causing it even after x-rays and a MRI, we are hoping that a specialist at Kosair can find out what it is. Gabby has just been doing her thing.she relaxes and chills better than anyone! She will come home go straight to her room and put on her flannel PJ s and then curls on the couch with a blanket and plays mine craft. The Wheelbarrow Series is underway and so far with registrations it is going to be as well attended as any year yet! If you want to get in on the classes with seeds and plants you definitely want to register NOW! Happy Gardening! Lincoln Trail Beekeeper s Association News and Events Monday March 7th, 6:15 PM meet at the Springfield Branch of the Elizabethtown Community and Technical College on Corporate Drive, John Benham will be the speaker. Remember as always it is a pot luck. Washington County Master Gardener Association News And Events March 17th, 6:00 PM at the Sutton House March 22nd, 5:00 PM at the Extension Office (Making Hypertufa Pots for the Green Festival)...more information to follow in a One Call. April 21st, 6:00 PM at the Extension Office to plant hypertufa pots. April 23rd, Green Festival Want To Become A Master Gardener? Contact The Washington County Extension Office For Details New Classes Start Fall 2016

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5 2016 Gardener s Wheelbarrow Series Schedule You Still Have Time To Sign Up!!! January 26th Morning Great Annuals For Cutting, From Seed $5.00 Evening Great Annuals For Cutting, From Seed $5.00 February 9th Morning Straw Bale Gardening Free!!! Evening Straw Bale Gardening Free!!! February 23rd Morning Growing Honeyberry In Kentucky $20.00 Evening Growing Honeyberry In Kentucky $20.00 March 8th Morning Dennis Favorite Summer Vegetable Varieties $10.00 Evening Dennis Favorite Summer Vegetable Varieties $10.00 March 22nd Morning Dennis Perennial Picks $20.00 Evening Dennis Perennial Picks $20.00 April 5th Morning Fabulous Phlox $20.00 Evening Fabulous Phlox $20.00 April 12th Morning The Summer Garden Headliner, Hardy Hibiscus $20.00 Evening The Summer Garden Headliner, Hardy Hibiscus $20.00 April 26th Morning Growing Magnificent Melons In Kentucky Free!!! Evening Growing Magnificent Melons In Kentucky Free!!! May 10th Morning Culinary Herbs For The Epicurean $10.00 Evening Culinary Herbs For The Epicurean $10.00 May 24th Morning Fabulous Ferns For Indoors And Out Free!!! Evening Fabulous Ferns For Indoors And Out Free!!! June 7th Morning Hens And Chicks Free!!! Evening Hens And Chicks Free!!! June 21st Morning Cold Hardy Bamboo Free!!! Evening Cold Hardy Bamboo Free!!! August 16th Morning Fall Vegetable Production Free!!! Evening Fall Vegetable Production Free!!! August 30th Morning Pollinator Friendly Gardening Free!!! Evening Pollinator Friendly Gardening Free!!! September 13th Morning Delightful Daylilies $15.00 Evening Delightful Daylilies $15.00 September 27th Morning Peonies The Queens Of Spring $25.00 Evening Peonies The Queens Of Spring $25.00 October 11th Morning Alternative Alliums $10.00 Evening Alternative Alliums $10.00 October 25th Morning Garden Tool Maintenance And Storage Free!!! Evening Garden Tool Maintenance And Storage Free!!! Basic Registration For Any and All Classes $5.00 $5.00 Total From Above Total

6 March To Do s Now is a good time to plan your flower and vegetable garden layout. Look through garden catalogs and landscaping books. Plan on using plants that you have experience with and new varieties, and always try to buy plants that are disease resistant. Check local nurseries for cultivar availability. Generally locally grown plants are better and you get to look at the plants before you buy them. March and April are good months for planting fruit crops. When planting apples choose more than one variety for pollination and fruit set. There are several apples that are good and disease resistant in Kentucky, such as Liberty, Redfree, Enterprise, Jonafree, and my personal favorite Pristine. For a more complete list call me at the office. It is also a good time to plant thornless blackberries (Apache, Arapaho, Triple Crown), raspberries (Heritage, Autumn Bliss, Fallgold, Brandywine, Royalty) March and April are also good months for planting trees and shrubs. Early March is a good time to prune summer-flowering trees and shrubs such as clethra, beautyberry, butterfly bush, golden raintree, mimosa, and only the following hydrangeas (Annabelle, Hills of Snow, Peegee). Do not prune other hydrangeas or they will not bloom this year. It s a good idea to start spraying fruit trees for diseases as well. Apply liquid lime-sulfur spray on peach and plum trees anytime before the buds start to swell. This single spray will almost completely control peach leaf curl and plum pocket. Two diseases that cause premature defoliation each year and can weaken trees over time. You can also spray raspberry and blackberry with a liquid limesulphur spray to help control anthracnose. This will not control it completely, however it will help and additional sprays during the growing season will be needed. A dormant spray of copper sulfate should be applied to apple and pear trees by the first of April to improve control of fireblight. Be sure to spray the entire tree. A streptomycin sulfate spray (if available) during the growing season will also help. Cornus Mas, also called Cornelian Cherry are fantastic small edible, ornamental trees. They are beautiful in all seasons, covered with yellow flowers in the spring before the leaves appear, flavorful summer fruit and red and yellow fall foliage. Trees appreciate soil with high organic content and full sun where summers are cooler. They also thrive in partly shady areas under large trees. The trees grow to only 15 tall. Foliage: green fall. Stems: mottled bark Height: 15ft Width: 15ft..easily pruned anytime Growth Rate: medium fast Flowers: May-beautiful white Plant Needs Zone: 4-8 Light: sun to partial shade Soil Type: all types Comments: Mottled bark, star stopping yellow flowers in spring, feeds birds in summer. Plant Of The Month Cornelian Cherry

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8 Washington County Cooperative Extension Service 211 Progress Road Springfield KY, Office Fax We Are On The Web!!! washington.ca.uky.edu Facebook at: County-Horticulture/ March Recipe of The Month Spinach Slaw Ingredients Ingredients: 2 cups chopped iceberg lettuce 2 cups chopped red cabbage 2 cups chopped green cabbage 1½ cups fresh spinach ¼ cup canola mayonnaise Directions ¼ cup hummus, original flavor 2 tablespoon local honey ½ teaspoon garlic powder 1/-8 teaspoon salt 1/-8 teaspoon pepper Directions: 1. Wash, quarter, and core lettuce, red cabbage and green cabbage. 2. Thinly slice lettuce and cabbage quarters; chop slices into small pieces. 3. Wash and tear spinach leaves into small pieces. 4. Whisk together mayonnaise, hummus, honey, garlic powder, salt and pepper until ingredients are mixed well. Toss dressing with vegetables until coated thoroughly. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. Makes 8, 1 cup servings