Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[bigmrg74]

I agree, I saw an opossum go through a 2x4 wire fence, my DH said impossible till he saw it happen himself.

I have found the hot wire a foot off the ground help keep climers and diggers out as that is about nose hight for most critters. hardware cloth around the first 2 or 3 feet is very important and chicken wire has smaller holes then chain link, you can tie it with zip ties to your chain link, most anything can chew through the netting but that is mostly to keep fliers out, hawks,owels, ect.

Very sweet, love baby chicks with a momma

is that a first cutting already?

Never underestimate a hungry critter, and believe in the power of hardwear cloth!!

Yep, nice looking stuff. only a few bales that felt on the heavy side, but most of them checked out ok. Just hope we don't get a whole lot of rain this weekend and we get a good stretch of dry weather so we can get it all done.

 

[JackieandChicks]

We need to call our hay supplier!!! It does seem early this year. Mary

I found someone with 250 bales of nice 2015 hay that I am getting. Here the ground is too wet to cut so it will be a few more weeks for 2016.

 

[chickflick]

CHICKENSTOCK CHICKENSTOCK CHICKENSTOCK

Sign up!!! Come and have a lot of fun!! Bring the kids! Park and restrooms! Awesome food! Critters to buy and trade!

Meet other crazy chicken people!!

 

[Candy442]

CHICKENSTOCK CHICKENSTOCK CHICKENSTOCK

Sign up!!! Come and have a lot of fun!! Bring the kids! Park and restrooms! Awesome food! Critters to buy and trade!

Meet other crazy chicken people!!

Only a couple of weeks away!!! Only half day, come on out!! let us know how many are visiting. I also posted this on the Lansing State Journal community events page
We will have lots of various ages of chicks, pullets, and maybe ducks too

 

[RaZ]

CHICKENSTOCK CHICKENSTOCK CHICKENSTOCK

Sign up!!! Come and have a lot of fun!! Bring the kids! Park and restrooms! Awesome food! Critters to buy and trade!

Meet other crazy chicken people!!

Bring the kids? Don't I get a say in this?

This is the last weekend that people can see me with my beard. Doc says it has to go. I'll bring the clippers and raffle off the opportunity to shave me. How is that for an incentive to attend?

 

[bigmrg74]

I found someone with 250 bales of nice 2015 hay that I am getting. Here the ground is too wet to cut so it will be a few more weeks for 2016.

Good time to grab it. Never hurts to pick some good last years stuff when you're waiting for the fields to get ready here.


I ain't saying it was hot today, but the weather could have warmed up a little slower to allow us to change over to summer oil.

was working on some stuff today out in the sun and had to stop to take a break.

 

[JackieandChicks]

Good time to grab it. Never hurts to pick some good last years stuff when you're waiting for the fields to get ready here.


I ain't saying it was hot today, but the weather could have warmed up a little slower to allow us to change over to summer oil.

was working on some stuff today out in the sun and had to stop to take a break.

You said it! I unloaded 100 plus bales of hay and started to stack them in my loft (I even tossed 50 by myself LOL!) and it sure felt like August!!!

 

[gladahmae]

I'm not sure if my one broody hen is going to hatch anything from the 4 eggs she's been on. Whenever she goes outside to poop or get food/water another hen who ISN'T really broody steals her nest box. I've been kicking her out of the nest box and putting the broody back in there but I'm not sure if there are long stretches (hours) where the thief is off the eggs and mama hasn't gone back into THAT box and instead is sitting on freshly laid eggs.

Should take a flashlight out and candle in case they are no good at this point. My other broody is glued to her nest and ready to take my hand off if i try to check for donated eggs.


All this talk of haying makes me somewhat glad that DH refuses to agree to goats/pigs/sheep/horses.



Garden planting is going to begin next week. I've been trying to harden off my greenhouse-started tomatoes and jalepeno plants but it's been REALLY sunny and REALLY windy so far this week. I have everything set out today with a light breeze and moderate cloud cover. Really over-did it on how many tomato plants I started. REALLY over-did it. The FIRST thing I have to do before planting is get the perimeter fence up to keep the chickens out! Last year they ate ALL of the peas i planted. I installed all but 2 of the tomato trellises earlier in the week, AND the trellis system I'm using for cucumbers and pole beans. Trying to go vertical this year! Also ran about 200ft of soaker hose (and discovered that 150ft of soaker hose is so sun rotted that it is ripping into pieces when i try to move it around at all.) Summer is nearly here!

 

[JackieandChicks]

I'm not sure if my one broody hen is going to hatch anything from the 4 eggs she's been on. Whenever she goes outside to poop or get food/water another hen who ISN'T really broody steals her nest box. I've been kicking her out of the nest box and putting the broody back in there but I'm not sure if there are long stretches (hours) where the thief is off the eggs and mama hasn't gone back into THAT box and instead is sitting on freshly laid eggs.

Should take a flashlight out and candle in case they are no good at this point. My other broody is glued to her nest and ready to take my hand off if i try to check for donated eggs.


All this talk of haying makes me somewhat glad that DH refuses to agree to goats/pigs/sheep/horses.



Garden planting is going to begin next week. I've been trying to harden off my greenhouse-started tomatoes and jalepeno plants but it's been REALLY sunny and REALLY windy so far this week. I have everything set out today with a light breeze and moderate cloud cover. Really over-did it on how many tomato plants I started. REALLY over-did it. The FIRST thing I have to do before planting is get the perimeter fence up to keep the chickens out! Last year they ate ALL of the peas i planted. I installed all but 2 of the tomato trellises earlier in the week, AND the trellis system I'm using for cucumbers and pole beans. Trying to go vertical this year! Also ran about 200ft of soaker hose (and discovered that 150ft of soaker hose is so sun rotted that it is ripping into pieces when i try to move it around at all.) Summer is nearly here!

Can you post a pic of your trellis system? I am growing heritage tomatoes (second year) and the first year they were so heavy it pulled down those wire planter things, so I have to change what I do. I have almost all of my garden in (sans some peppers) thanks to one lame horse and one horse who bent his shoe last weekend, so I had nothing else to do but work around the house!

 

[1muttsfan]

I use the heavy weight wire cages, and put rebar stakes in around them to tie them up to - much sturdier than the cages alone, rebar is inexpensive and the building center will cut it for me.