Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[SillyChicken]

actually there are rules on signage and I think he may need a permit (unless he puts in side his window or something)......... but I like the fact that the state with it's approved signage, is stating that Randy's place is indeed a FARM

.... excuse my language!

 

[RaZ]

Milkweed pests and some links to other sites that may help.
http://www.evansonart.com/milkweed.html

 

[BTinks]

Is anyone interested in this Black Copper Marans roo? We ended up with too many and need to find a new home for this guy. http://holland.craigslist.org/grd/3862947313.html

 

[Amy PT]

Mom2, I'm so sorry.

Raz, congrats!!

I am trying to blend our two mini flocks and haven't had much luck. They free range our yard together under supervision, with only minimal issues. Mostly they keep away from each other. But when there is a scuffle, my 7 year old tries to put the 2 big ones in "time out."

Can a Chickenstock veteran give me some insight? If I bring a silkie cockerel, is it likely he'll find a home? I'm not asking for a guarantee or any crystal ball, but I'm wondering if a bunch of folks bring their spare roos, and end up bringing them back home? Would he have a better chance if we brought his pal, a silkie pullet to go as a pair? I'm holding out a little hope on one of the porcelain d'uccles. Luckily, the cross-beak is a female, but the other one has a very small red comb. It didn't start until she was 5 weeks old (which sounds a little late for that breed), but it is bigger than our mille de fleur's comb, and she's 2 months older.

 

[1muttsfan]

Unspoken for cockerels and roosters tend to be picked up by the Asian folks that come around Chickenstock. If this bothers you, best not to bring them unless they are spoken for. It is, though, one way of getting them out of your coop, and they are very likely put to good use in the stew pot.

 

[yorkchick]

Anybody nostalgic for an old-fashioned long-winded yorkchick ramble/rant? ("yorkchick who?" you may well ask, because you've been here and I've been...not).

Sooo... After four years of owning chickens on the edge of a swamp with only widely scattered losses to predators (three chickens in four years, one to stray dogs, two to unknown animals), and no losses since I got the geese from Mom2 in October 2011, I guess I got stupidly overconfident. It started a few weeks ago when I began to find egg shells in the coop during the day that something had nibbled into and then eaten the inside. Not every day, not every egg, but pretty frequently. At first of course I wondered if I had an egg-eating chicken. But then I found one of the shells on the shelf perch outside the coop's pop door, and I knew a chicken didn't carry it there... Also, I noticed that some of the wooden eggs in the nest boxes had teeth marks in them. And I thought, "Geez, I should probably do something about that, eh? Probably not good, a predator coming right into the coop during the day.". But... I didn't do anything. Then I actually saw a raccoon eating the cat food I put out for the barn cats (and pick up every evening). It wasn't afraid of me at all, although it backed away from a hoe when I shook it at it. I'm sure it was also the same raccoon or raccoons that were dumping over the food I had out for the geese and turkeys (that I also pick up at night) and getting into the trash can in the barn, along with randomly dumping over other stuff in the barn. This all just started within a few weeks. But I persuaded myself that the cat food eating/grumble eating/egg eating/trash tipping wasn't urgent, although I should really consider doing something about that pesty raccoon (or raccoons).

Well, if anyone is still with me I'm sure you've guessed this is not going to be a happy story. (Also graphic descriptions to follow, so please don't read further if that might upset you, sorry!) Friday night I went out to the coop just after dusk, there was still a little light left in the sky, but I went later than I should have, and I found Elnora, one of my original hens (four year old Buff Orpington) dead on the coop floor, bitten through the neck and her abdomen opened, looked like the predator had actually been going for the eggs inside her, (Sorry again!) She was still warm so if I had only gone out a little sooner, I could have prevented it... There were only three other chickens left in the coop, which of course scared me (should have been 12). I went out looking and found all but one hen. Never did find Marigold, an EE I hatched last spring. Not sure if the same raccoon (going on the assumption this is a raccoon or raccoons) got her, or she scattered further than the rest and something else got her that night.

Two of the hens had roosted next to Percy, my Jersey Buff turkey. The rest were on top of a small coop/run combo; the two roosters that stay in the main coop were with this group, one on each end with the ladies in between them. Good boys. I hauled everyone back into the coop for the night and promised them it was safe now. I did a beak count and realized Marigold was missing, so I went looking. Round back of the coop and the barn, where the compost bins are and where the swamp begins, I saw an enormous raccoon up a tree. Like the size of a Springer Spaniel big. Okay, maybe I was freaked out by the ripped up chicken and the dark and the spooky swamp. It was a big raccoon. There was also a smaller one around. No Marigold, no feathers, but the brush/overgrowth is pretty thick and the swamp is big. Like I said, I haven't seen her so I'm sure something got her.

Then we come to the turkeys. My sweet Percy. He was raised by a 4H family who raised 3 Jersey Buff turkey poults. All 3 turned out to be toms. I met the kids' mom, Cathy, at Spring Poultry Palooza 2012 and we had exchanged emails, I of course told her about ChickenStock. Well it turned out that two of their toms weren't getting along and she offered me the fabulous opportunity to own my very own Jersey Buff turkey. We met up at ChickenStock last year and Percy came home with me, along with a Royal Palm poult from Silly Chicken who was supposed to be a girl named Dorothy and who stubbornly developed into a very handsome male named Gilbert. (Silly had generously offered to swap for a hen turkey.after CS if it became necessary, but of course I am a sop, so two boys it would be).

When I first had the turkeys, Gilbert would roost in the coop voluntarily with the chickens, and I would pick up Percy and haul him into the coop. Eventually I began to let Percy stay out at night. He roosted right near the geese and right near a motion-activated light, and also I really thought a raccoon would not go for an adult turkey. Yes, if anyone is still with me, sadly you do see where this is going (and warning of graphic descriptions to follow, sorry). The severe warning of losing two chickens--not enough of a lesson for me. Sunday morning I went out to feed the birds and saw a lot of Gilbert feathers all over the area the geese usually hang out. Gilbert was there, actually trying to strut but with only a few tail feathers left and with a bloody back, a big patch of skin ripped off his back. No Percy at all. At first of course again I hoped Percy was just spooked and hiding, maybe way up in a tree. Later I found a lot of his feathers in the brush on the far side if the barn, and even later his body even further away--bloody neck, breast eaten. I buried him where we've buried our dogs Walter, Abby, and Wendell. Percy was friendly, curious, and qiute the pet. He followed you around wherever you went out in the pasture and just wanted to be constantly admired. He deserved better protection from me, for sure.

Percy obviously fled to the far side of the barn. Gilbert's lucky break is that he stayed in the goose's night-time area. There's no other reason I can think of that the raccoon would have given up the attack, given how severe Gilbert's wound is. So, yay, goosers! They were doing their job, even if it was more, "I don't want you on Goose territory" than "I must protect my friend the turkey.". Gilbert is currently in isolation ( in what was a paint booth in what I call our barn, but was a workshop for the previous owners). He is getting injectible penicillin and the wound is getting sprayed with Vetericyn. So far, so good. He's eating, he 's drinking, he's gobbling, he makes little sounds of satisfaction when he snarfs the dry cat food, no obvious infection yet. But it's a big wound. We'll see.

Then yesterday when I was out to check on Gilbert at about noon, what do I see but a raccoon skulking around behind the coop? Okay, it was not the Springer Spaniel-sized raccoon (which I concede I probably inflated in my mind) but it gave me quite a bad feeling. So I bribed all the girls back into the coop. (Only one of the roosters came in, the other refused, then the first one popped back out when I was trying to persuade the second to come in so I said "Boys, you're on your own," and shut up the girls). What I could picture was the raccoon coming in for eggs, finding one of the girls in the nest box, and killing her. Nope. I'm pretty slow at this protection thing obviously, but even my self-delusion has its limits. I did not let the chickens out at all today.

"Well, yorkchick," says the one imaginary reader still hanging in there through all this verbiage, "Is that your final solution then? Just keep the chickens cooped up 24/7, never free range them again?". Well, I certainly hope not. On Sunday I ordered 2 Duke DP traps. The DH is going to teach me how to shoot his gun. I went back to the old Michigan thread and read a lot of the discussion from last year about the Duke traps because I remembered there were several people having a lot of raccoon issues this time last year. Can I shoot a raccoon? I certainly hope to find out. The DH and I are a bit of Jack Sprat and his wife in this regard. He has guns, likes guns, and knows how to shoot. I have fired a gun a couple of times at a firing range but don't really know how to do it, or how to clean a gun or any of that... but the DH has never killed anything. In fact, he's shall we say, a bit squeamish. Never even took biology, even in high school (calls it the "gooey science"). Whereas I have a couple decades as a vet assistant, plus almost four years at the Humane Society where I euthanized more animals than I want to remember. I am very aware that shooting an animal will be very different than euthanizing it with a needle and syringe. Still, it's my birds that need to be protected, and I think I can do it.

OK, I will now return you to your regularly scheduled thread. (oh, if you only knew how much I left out!)

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

Yorkchick, I am so sorry for what you have gone thru. Hopefully you will be able to get those buggers.

 

[ladyrsanti]

Yikes! Sorry to hear about it but it's a lesson too so thanks for sharing. I will be going out to shut the coop a little earlier tonight, a little more vigilant every day.

Hope you catch them.

 

[ldelahanty]

Even chicken criminals can be environmentally friendly.

so happy for you! Maybe we will stop by on Thursday....depends on doctors appointments.

 

[NovaAman]

I hear ya here Yorkchick. I think maybe you should have Tap on down to give you proper shooting lessons and the proper clothes to wear for those lessons. LOL. All kidding aside, I am sorry about your losses. Those buggers are just a real... naughty word.

On a completely unchicken related note, I am having a dickens of a time with my jeep. Replaced thermostat, water pump, hoses, head gasket and the tappit (SP?) gasket. I am still having an seriously annoying cooling issue. Water is BOILING in the overflow, and out of the overflow. I have burped the engine too. All seemed to be fine the last 2 days I worked, then today, boiling over again and this time steam was coming out of the engine where the tappet cover gasket has been replaced. I use the vehicle for work... What in the blazes am I missing? I would gladly take any adivice/ideas/fixes into consideration.