sorry to bump a long dead thread... but... i picked up about a pound of worms from a friend who is an environmental scientist... an experiment had run it's course and he gave me the "control" group... i started them out in a plastic tote, and eventually ordered a Worm Factory and 2lbs of worms (more the merrier right? :) ) i had read on one of the worm farm websites that peanut shells were great bedding and the worms would love 'em... not sure which website it was.... so i added a few handfulls of salt free roasted peanut shells... they haven't been in there long.... they have softened and discolored.... but haven't broken down yet... neither have crushed eggshells placed in at the same time... so this thread is disturbing me a bit.... anyone else have experience with peanut shells in bins? roasted, raw, salted, not salted.... when you by roasted peanuts... are the shells coated with some sort of wax or soaked in a preservative? maybe boiling the shells for 10 minutes or so would ease the breakdown process?

Honey, Salt and Milk are listed in the top 10 bad foods to feed to birds. I know it's a hard decision for you to make between giving the bird feeds to your pet since it was a present or throw it away to avoid anything bad to your birds. If I were you, I would not give the feeds to your pet since it's so dangerous. Anyway, it's still up to you what you are going to do. It's just my advice.

Paul, I put out a "woodpecker" mix from Wild Birds Unlimited in my tray feeder which works well at attracted all sorts of birds. I don't know what area you are in but, Nuthatches, Downy Woodpeckers, Hairy Woodpeckers, Cardinals, Red Bellied Woodpeckers, Blue Jays, Doves, Sparrows, Titmouse, Chickadees (all I can remember right now) all enjoy the woodpecker mix tray. If you haven't yet, I would give something like that a try.

Beautiful Pyr! I also have livestock guardians, so I'll share a few of my experiences. She's a little thin, but not much - it's really SO much better for these dogs to be on the thin side to avoid problems like HD. LGD's really can't be compared to dogs from the sporting or herding groups. They're serious working dogs who were bread to work independently of man, not particularly with man. They rely on a big bark to deter predators. They are willing to back this up with speed and power IF they need to. In other words, LGD's are slow, unless they need to be fast *g* They walk slowly, they obey slowly .... right up until they spot something they perceive to be threatening. Then they move very very (did I mention very?) quickly. My girl is a 120 lb, 31" spayed Akbash (Anatolian Shepherd). She is a very tall, massive female - as large as most males - and well outside the breed standard. I also have a male neutered ASD who is 31" and 145 lb. They eat remarkably little food for their size. The male eats 1.5 c of Wellness 2x/day with NO scraps or other food. The female was maintaining perfectly with 3/4 c of Wellness 2x per day. Both sometimes skip a meal and resume the next day without playing catch-up. The female was diagnosed with osteosarcoma 2 months ago and now needs to eat when I need her to eat in order to take her meds, so I am now supplementing her food with canned Wellness. Even so, a can of food lasts a week. I will take exception with the above poster who questioned their "brightness" LGD's are NOT eager beavers. They are not a golden, a border collie or a GSD..... their whole life is not based on working WITH you. They don't fetch (more than once or twice - the third time you'll get a look that very clearly says "I suggest you hold onto that this time" Obedience is something they have to do, not something they want to do in order to please you, so they aren't like other dogs in the working group like rotti's, boxers or berners either. Their whole approach to training is much more akin to dogs in the hound group. It can be done - I'm an obedience instructor - but it requires dedication and persistence to get to a high level of reliability. They're very very smart and are very quick learners but there's always a little glint in the eye that says "Why should I?" Your biggest challenge will be teaching them "becasue i said so" I love the livestock guardian dogs and hope you enjoy your new addition!!