Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[Opa]

The coffee is being made and your welcome to join me. The coffee just might be a little on the strong side since I can't get that fool to stop adding more grounds.

Yesterday I culled 5 birds from my layer flock and took the carcasses to the nature center for them to use to feed their raptors. I still have a few more I want to remove before winter. Deciding which birds to remove can often be a difficult decision. I have a 16x16' covered run that opens into a 2700 square foot area fenced with portable electric poultry fencing. Yesterday when I approached the open run area the birds all came running in anticipation of treats. Two speckled sussex hens that were 5 years old and were probably the friendliest birds in my flock were first to reach me. They were always the first to come running and they never got more than a few feet from each other. I reached over picked up the first sussex and immediately dispatched her. When I reached for the second she was no where in sight. I later found her back in the covered run. I swear it looked like she was trying to hide.

 

[SillyChicken]

with wild rabbits you prepare for the worst, and hope for the best. If you want to help it along I'd spray blue kote or antibiotic on the wound and provide dry grass hay and pellets, and some small apple tree sticks to chew on.. Keep an eye on it. Rabbits will eat a certain poop they produce, This is what Raz was referring to that baby rabbits get from their mother.... Poop!

 

[SillyChicken]

Check out the color on this phoenix pullet. Her wing tips and her tail are the blue. Prettiest girl chicken I have.

very pretty! We'll have to swap some eggs!

 

[Amastacia]

that bunny looks old enough to not need its mom. it is probably at least 4 or 5 weeks old. if you need to bribe it to eat, rolled oats work well. that is what i use with baby bunnies when first getting them to eat. i have a litter of 5 week olds right now and they have been eating for a week or so, though they are still with mom for another week. in this wild and domestic rabbits aren't too different. the injury is more likely to be a problem. rabbits are very sensitive to chemicals and i'm not sure what is actually safe, especially on a rabbit that small. i do know they have have penicillin, though i know nothing of dosage sizes.

oh, and rabbits (at least domestic, and from my understanding wild too) open their eyes by 10 days. that is still far younger than they can eat solid food. they generally aren't very mobile yet for a few days after that.

 

[Maah]

Getting ready for my daughter to bring her chickens to the fair. This is her first year doing 4H, & her momma isn't much help since I never did 4H when I was young. Today the birds get baths. I'm not looking forward to that. Tomorrow we drop them off at the fairgrounds... judging/showing is over the weekend. And I get to haul the rest of the meat birds to the processor! Finally! They eat way too much of my money. LOL.

We have processed 2 of the meat birds ourselves. One boy we culled about 2 weeks ago because he was just getting so big we didn't think he'd live until they all went to the butcher. He was 12 pounds, & dressed out at 9 1/2 lbs. We had my parents over for dinner, and the 7 of us were able to polish off just 1/2 the bird. We had another meat boy hurt his leg last week, so we processed him as well. I didn't weigh him... but he's about the same. All the boys look around the 12 pound mark now, & the hens at least 9... HUGE. They look like turkeys. Anyways, we let this guy set in a brine overnight Friday, and then put him in a smoker on Saturday while camping. It was delicious, but way too much leftover. I made bbq chicken pizza out of some last night & still have a whole breast & wing left. I'll make something out of that tonight. 1 chicken, feeding a family of 5 (with teenagers) for 3 meals. It's crazy.

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School has started along with soccer season, choir, bowling, etc!! And along with that... mental stress as my calendar just got double booked with all the schedules. We were already stressed busy with all the other stuff going on. :/ So why did I go and agree to host a Pampered Chef party later this month? What was I thinking? Oh yea... I wanted a new colander & baking pan. More often than not, a little foresight is called for, and I neglected it. Ugh.

 

[1muttsfan]

I have a friend who has done wildlife rehab for many years. She says that wild rabbits are notoriously difficult to raise to release age, they often make it through their early weeks only to inexpicably die with no signs of illness. Cat bite wounds are the kiss of death for many small animals, as they are contaminated with serious bacteria and often are so small as to be hard to spot. There is nothing wrong with trying to save the bunny, but best be prepared for a poor outcome.

 

[Stacykins]

A couple of weeks ago I sent off a boer goat to be butchered. He had been a companion to the buck, but started turning aggressive (heatbutt to the knee does NOT make for a happy me!). I just tossed into the crockpot a bone in roast, with a medley of carrots, squash, rutabaga, and onion. The stock from the roast when it is all said and done will probably make some awesome soup, too.

I can't wait to see how it turns out. My mother gave some goat chops to a coworker of hers who loves goat meat, and he said they were fabulous! I've just been so busy these past few weeks, I haven't thought of making it for supper 'til today.

 

[Amastacia]

A couple of weeks ago I sent off a boer goat to be butchered. He had been a companion to the buck, but started turning aggressive (heatbutt to the knee does NOT make for a happy me!). I just tossed into the crockpot a bone in roast, with a medley of carrots, squash, rutabaga, and onion. The stock from the roast when it is all said and done will probably make some awesome soup, too.

I can't wait to see how it turns out. My mother gave some goat chops to a coworker of hers who loves goat meat, and he said they were fabulous! I've just been so busy these past few weeks, I haven't thought of making it for supper 'til today.

sounds tasty. i have a bunch of beef soup bones that i keep meaning to make some stock from, along with a lot of stew meat. when my DH's uncle died this spring, we got a bunch of the beef out of his freezer. we're pretty sure he and Gramma bought at least a side of beef, if not an entire animal, every year, not bothering to see how much they had in their three large, full freezers.

 

[mg15]

Yuip, have to agree with RaZ on this one.

The thing is, in the wild, a mother rabbit does not stay with her babies at all. She'll come once or twice a day, weaving a twisted path, then making a huge leap to the burrow/nest so the scent is just... cut off. So, when we well meaning people take rabbits, thinking they were abandoned, we've actually doomed the poor creatures to death. However, looking at your little cotton tail, I am going to say it's probably old enough to be away from mom already, I could be wrong, so don't quote me.

Rabies, I don't think so. I'd head on over to the feed store and get some rabbit feed, small bag and what ever else it may need for a few days, vitamins-electrolytes-whatever. I think the best person to ask would be either RIRJen, or Uchytle...tal... something... John...There we go. LOL. They are the rabbit people

I have a question for you rabbit folks. My son found a small rabbit that has been injured and wants to help. If you know anything here's my questions?
Can you get rabies from a wild rabbit, I'm not looking to do the shot series.
How old does a rabbit need to be to survive without its mother.
What to feed.
How to treat its injuries.
You can pm me, thanks if you can help.

I really wish we could have just left it but even when I told him it would most likely die he said we need to do what we can, so.....

Hi, I am a wild life rehabber for buns for sixteen years. Pinkies can live. Eyes closed can live. Eyes open can live. Just don't let them die in the dirt with maggots eating them from the inside out. Or dehydration, a terrible death. It is cruel not to help them. Believe me I have seen it all.

 

[snowflake]

Opa, I wish we had a place around here to donate old chickens to, I know what you mean about the sussex I have 2 also, always the first in line for a treat or the first ones at the shovel. if they here me digging, But they are 5+ and need to go along with the rest of the older group, Kind of waiting for the weather to cool abit then they will be soup