Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[SillyChicken]

awwwww what a cutie pie!! All white!
I have a little furry guest today. We had a small dog show up. I couldn't leave her cause I didn't want to risk her life with my dogs and my livestock either so. So, once I convinced her to come to me and got a leash on her, she spent the day in the garage. She rolled in something nasty so she reeked. I posted on FB and craigslist and hope someone claims her. If I still have her Monday, I'll run her up to the vet for a scan. She is very sweet. Good about getting a bath and nail trim, I wanted to do a full bug inspection before she could come inside, though, she still smells a bit, and might get another bath tomorrow! PeeeuuuuuuuuU

. I took her for a walk along the road to see if she wanted to go to any of the houses.... and she showed no interest.. just wanted to go back to my place!! LOL! She is laying on the floor next to me and being a good girl. If I can't find anyone to claim her I'll see if my Sis wants her.



I am Pea free today... glad they are going to a good home!

 

[gladahmae]

Silly: make sure to check craigslist, for the love of Louie on Facebook, and consider calling snap control to see if someone reported a missing dog. The rescue we foster for has had a very high number of "lost dog" reports lately that were resolved through those channels.

I may have a broody. Really hoping!!! My silkie has been on her "nest" since 10 this morning. This would solve my incubator problems, so think broody thoughts for Fluffy!

 

[gladahmae]

That should say animal control. Not snap control. Lol

 

[gladahmae]

That should say animal control. Not snap control. Lol

 

[kimmie6067]

I have a major problem tonight guys, my dog just ran past me before I could grab her and nailed one of our 7 wk old chicks ;(isa brown), the chick died, I had a screaming fit and now husband is mad. To make matters worse the grandchildren are coming tomorrow and will be playing and counting their chicks. I looked on Craigs tonight and there is some one selling 12 week old isa browns near me. Do you think I could put a 12 week in with the 7 weekers and not have a problem ? Or just let it go and explain to the kids and pray they arent as mad as my husband. Dang dog was just to fast and my hands were full with the feeder.

Darn dogs, I love them but they can be a pain. I would just explain what happened.


Raz sorry the city is being such bullies. My Isa's are bullies to. One was really bad so I though well I will just toss you in with the JG's she gets along fine in there.

 

[kimmie6067]

fans on dimmer switches... notorious for killing the fan or the switch... Better to just have it on a regular switch...

RaZ... What a crock of.. that long swear word previously posted.

WHEW! What a day!

I started the coop yesterday with all the free wood I picked up. Old deck planks... Just got the framing done, and realised that flying by the seat of my pants wasn't the bestest of ideas. BUT we are talking about me. Anyway, I took the whole thing apart. I remade it 4x3.5. I am making a nest box off the side so that it's not part of the floor space. Since there will only be the two girls in there, I think just the one will be fine. I was saying that my $23 coop was going to be more, but NOPE. Neighbor (Carl) gave me hinges, screws and here is the best part, METAL ROOF! with the nails for it. SO, now I can take the roof I was going to have and use it for a door and a part of it for a nest box door! SO! We are like.. YES! $23 coop!

Here is what it's looking like at the moment... ONLY more is done on it. the side over the nest box is also on. Still need to cut the wood to shape for the top triangles, but I am thinking, I might make shutters that I can put on and off depending on the weather, and then put hardware clothe in those triangles, to keep it cooler in the summer...

Anyway, the metal roof will over hang all the way around. HEY, Don't go thinking those are really for sale signs, this is not for sale... Unless you wanna give me a couple hundred bucks. LOL. Just kidding. Like I said... The back and the side facing are wooded up. The back has a 2 inch gap the will get covered with hardware clothe also then covered over in the winter. But for the summer, it will allow the west wind through.

I also got the run cleaned up as much as I could today. There is still a lot of mud in there, and wow, a lot of dirt from outside ended up inside. Not complaining on that.. Anyway, was able to get the summer area opened up also so air can get through there. I am hoping that by the end of the weekend it'll be dry enough to get all the rest of that wet straw out. Smell has already improved.

I hope also by the end of this weekend to have the Marans moved to this coop. Right now they are in pen in the run, and they are ok with it, but they need an actual COOP. I will work on building them a run over the summer. When they have the 5 foot high fencing on sale, they'll get it. Yes, I am still going to use the old swing set as a run. Talk about repurposing!

Anyway, my neck hurts, my head aches, my feet feel like someone fat has been walking all over creation on them... oh wait... my feet hurt from walking so much today... BUT Got a lot accomplished. OH, AND I moved that frame from my drive way to the back using a winter sled. Man.. who would have ever thought a sled would come in so handy. We put it up on the sled, my neice and nephew kept it steady and I pulled till we got it in place! SO, that's why my arms hurt. Gracious I am so filthy.

Nova that coop is awesome I love to reuse stuff. Boy I wish I could do stuff like that and not have to depend on the men around here. I was wondering what you think of a chicken yard? I worry bout my chickens free ranging. Do you think they can fly over a 4 foot fence or even want to? I have one neighbor really close to me and he don't like chickens.

 

[Trefoil]

I went to the swap today. I wanted a bourbon red hen. They had slates (very pretty) , broad breasted, and a couple of other kinds but no bourbon reds. So I got a white peahen (FIFI) , 2 hopefully female Americauna chicks, and 2 goslings. The goslings were supposed to be toulouse, but they have black feet and bills, so a mix, I'm thinking with african.
You must have an acrobatic hen Raz.

It was such a nice day yesterday that we decided to take a walk along our trails in the back. While walking we always look down to see what animal tracks we have. I saw one and didnt know what it was so looked it up.. OMG..We have weasels I know they are bad for chickens! They won't grab them during the day will they? Knowing this, how would you build to protect your chickens?

Tina

The first time I went to our local hardware to buy fence wire the owner told me that we also had weasels, that they can get through a hole the size of a 50¢ piece and to use 1/2" hardware cloth. I've never seen a weasel but took his advice, also burying 1/2" hardware cloth around the perimeter of my coop and run. I've never lost a bird that was in the coop or run, so it works.for me anyway. I don't know if weasels are out during the day, but it seems like if they were we would have seen them. I live in a lightly wooded area and have predators galore. I haven't had any problems with my birds free ranging during the day and I keep them safely penned in the coop & run at night. Its a lot easier than trying to kill every predator.

 

[SillyChicken]

Silly: make sure to check craigslist, for the love of Louie on Facebook, and consider calling snap control to see if someone reported a missing dog. The rescue we foster for has had a very high number of "lost dog" reports lately that were resolved through those channels.

I may have a broody. Really hoping!!! My silkie has been on her "nest" since 10 this morning. This would solve my incubator problems, so think broody thoughts for Fluffy!

yep, I looked for lost adds and already posted 2 (city) founds in the lost n founds on Craigslist and contacted that FB page. Even went through all the photos on there to see if she showed up on there. And stopped at the little store in the village to see if anyone mentioned a missing dog..............and I'll post a few signs around town.

 

[Opa]

430. What an inane hour of the morning for ones body to decide to come awake, but it does allow me time to drink some coffee, check BYC and work the crossword puzzle before heading for my turkey blind.
My home made incubator has been holding the correct temperature for several days so after I gather eggs today I will fill it with Welsummer eggs. Anyone building their own incubator might want to consider making it large enough to include a heat sink. Mine is large enough to have room for two quart jars of water which should help hold the temperature during a short power outage.

 

[NovaAman]

Thanks for the compliments on my reuse coop. I had a lot of fun building this one after the first oops and tear down and restart.

Kimmie... My birds have no problem flying over a 4 foot fence. I'd go higher if you need to keep them in a designated area. I am not keeping them in, just on my property, which is a LOT of room for them to roam.

Opa, I hear stones work very well too.