Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[SillyChicken]

Raz

Sam, I like the way you think!


Winter water: We've tried several methods and each had it's issues:
heated dog buckets (small one)- birds would get wet faces or smaller ones could fall in
flexible bucket - too much work only to have it freeze in a few hours on the coldest days, not enough access through out the day to water, not healthy for the birds.
cookie tin (pan heater). Good option, but, if you don't seal the opening where the wire goes through you could get a short and blow the bulb. adding additional small vent holes would be good but use a grommet or caulk to seal the cord hole. It worked well enough when we tried it, but we did not seal the cord hole and blew too many bulbs.. thus not cost effective.
pan heater - we decided to spend the money and got two of these heaters. They worked great last year and I hope we have the same success this year. If you have the cash, I would recommend these. You do have to use the metal waterers with this and the cookie tin heaters.

Deep layer
only works good if exposed to the ground, not if you have a solid floor. Compost happens when you have moisture and microfauna and bugs to break things down. Too much moisture in a coop is bad for the birds. You also have to be aware of ammonia build up. So there is a delicate balance with deep layer methods. Not saying it's bad at all... I use it for my turkey run. Can't for my small coops.

 

[bluebirdnanny]

glad rooster is crowing and hens are well,
coop is just awesome,

Thanks snowflake! Yeah he is back to crowing and there is a "heritage RIR" from Fred and two white barred in the coop now. So he is back to crowing a lot in the morning!.

got 5 mosre rosters in the freezer Fri, and the winter run up, fineshed it yesterday,

That is cool! Wonderful to stock a freezer with what we have grown and not whatever I get from food bank distribution. Some of that is near or at expiration anyway so has to be used quick. Garden and home raised meat is definately better! lol I do appreciate what I get as it gets me through, but I believe wholeheartedly in the "Teach them to fish" theory instead of the handout of "give them a fish"! Besides it brings pride in whatever self sufficiency level one achieves. Plus keeps me moving and improves health from the exercise that comes of it.

Sure ignoring it will work!!!   and I'm going to be 29 on my next birthday.

Hahaha ignore winter? Winter kills off some germs and pests in the animal world. Hardiest survive and the meat we kill or harvest is better for our consumption.

Well I won't have to worry about the elbow surgery interfering with fishing this week.  I had thought that it would be performed today in the office, but today was only a consult and for the surgery it needs to be performed in a hospital operating room.  Probably so they can charge a lot more money.  I don't know why it can't be done with just a local.  I don't like be put under.  

So now I have to go on the 24th for a pre-op interview and the surgery on the 30th.  Sure doing my part to help the medical profession stay in business.  I'm waiting to hear from both the ortho surgeon and the vein specialist to find out the prognosis for the old knees and hips.  I have my first appointment with the arthritis specialist on the 31st and who knows where that will lead. 

Ah better to recoup from surgery when we are all done with summer and fall harvest. I hope it works well for you. But my dear funny friend 2 days won't cut it for recovery!!!!! No sense doing surgery if you aren't going to give it time to heal right (you will negate the surgery and might make it worse). Take it from one who knows!!! Yes therapy to recover quicker than babying the joint but not to overdo. Besides winter recovery will give you time to be on here guiding us newbies to chickens. We need your expertise.

Good Morning Again. Checking back in quickly before I must do what needs to be done. Opa, I'm sorry to hear your elbow is still giving you problems. The waiting is hard, but I hope that at the least you'll be able to slow down just a bit so that afterward you'll be able to enjoy. I think Tap's got the perfect perspective. So going back to when y'all were talking apples. Boy oh boy, do I have the apples this year. Meaning that last year's zero provided the tree a good rest. Let's play what kind of apples are on Holly's tree? And what's wrong with them? Some background: this is a wildly neglected, huge tree, perhaps 20' tall with a canopy spread of at least 25'. We do not spray, but we are on I think the 4th consecutive year of hard pruning, still have more to do come Feb. Lots of dead below. These apples are the smaller ones. These apples are delicious and sweet. I've never seen nor tasted an apple like these. In my area, there a was once a famous orchard that is now lost to history. Any guesses?

Hmmm not sure on variety.. you don't show the bottom which sometimes helps. But I would guess there are pine trees near as I see a few black sooty type blotches. And looks like some scab as well. There is a disease the pine trees are host to which affect the apples. Won't last as long in fresh storage. Also would depend on how ripe they are. Some will look different characteristic before ripening or being hit by a hard frost.

No snow here yet in northeast mi.. thank god.. i dont want to see any..

Good luck deer hunters, hope this cold get the deer moving for yas..

Where are you naglady? We had snow and hail all over yesterday and icey snow on porch when I got up. Raining since has melted snow but things are still an icey crunchy slush out there. But chickens are dry so far.

I know many of us in Michigan are facing much resistance from our townships for owning chickens. I wanted to put a little note in here that there it a lot of good information and support for those facing this issue on the Michigan Right To Farm thread.

Guess I am lucky to live where I do. No problems whatsoever from ordinances or neighbors. In fact a friend closer to "in town" was told, "If neighbors don't complain, you can have them."

Still pretty rural here and we are at the edge of bordering State Swamp land that draws up many hunters yearly. Enough State land the trucks go up and down cutting new swaths through the woodlands.

 

[RaZ]

I don't want to start a debate or argument on deep litter or how it is supposed to provide extra heat. The science behind composting just doesn't support that idea. For good composting action, you need a good mix of brown and green material along with moisture. "Optimum moisture content for compost is 40-60%, damp enough so that a handful feels moist to the touch, but dry enough that a hard squeeze produces no more than a drop or two of liquid." [source: Cornell University] That is too much moisture in a coop, especially in winter.

The other issue is that mix of brown and green material. Coop litter is nearly 100% brown with the only green being the chicken poop. The ratio is too far off.

The benefit of DLM is that the coop requires far less cleaning. A light fluffing once a week is usually enough. And if it is deep enough (10-12"), the chickens have something to scratch in if they are cooped up a lot during the winter.

The drawback of DLM is that when you actually do the deep clean, there is a ton of material to move. I removed all my coop DLM in the spring and composted it after running it through a 10:1 shredder. I still had a pile that was 5 feet by 5 feet and 4 feet tall. Because it is mostly pine shavings (brown) it is slow to compost. I think I could have left it in the coop for another year and been good.

It's been said here before, we ask and answer questions as best we can. We also have different experience levels and can always learn something new. What works for one may not work for another. Same goes for keeping chickens in the UP versus keeping them down south...different techniques. Keep your chickens safe and healthy to the best of your ability and comfort level.

 

[lbrykowski2011]

Opa- I love the wisdom you so kindly share and your humorous perspective always gives me a giggle. Did you see my apples a few pages back?

About water, yep tis time again. I had great success last year with Wynette's pallet try for the 5 gal heated bucket, Altho I did modify slightly after the drowning- something to keep in mind. My solution, as given to me by Miss Lydia, over on The Duck Side, was a board to cover apx 60% of the open space, topped by a brick. Worked great except that dumping the unused waste water meant for an ice dam off to the side of the pallet. Securing the elec cord does severely limit the places you can move your bucket when dumping and cleaning.

I was thinking of running a small fence and dividing my chickens from the ducks for winter. They love to play together, the chickens walk by and the ducks nip their butt and chickens fly up, hilarious sometimes. I would like to try the 5 gal so the ducks could have plenty of water to get their head in and maybe their body when needed, but was worried about the chickens and if drownings could happen.

 

[lbrykowski2011]

Hi everyone I need your help IM forced to get rid of my girls I live in Shelby twp.if anyone would like to help me change there ordnance here please contact Shelby chick

I lived in Utica for 20 yrs and Utica/Shelby/St. Heights are not the easiest to work with. I moved up to Capac and love it now, I'm outside of town, but even in town you can have chickens(hens anyways, no roosters). Can you take ur girls and run a little more north? Are their other chicken owners within ur district? I wish you much luck and maybe you can find a few people on here in your general vicinity.

 

[shelby chick]

Walmart has heated bowls

 

[RTFchickens]

Shelbychick, how far are you from Allendale, MI? How many chickens to you need to temporarily rehome?

 

[SillyChicken]

I don't want to start a debate or argument on deep litter or how it is supposed to provide extra heat. The science behind composting just doesn't support that idea. For good composting action, you need a good mix of brown and green material along with moisture. "Optimum moisture content for compost is 40-60%, damp enough so that a handful feels moist to the touch, but dry enough that a hard squeeze produces no more than a drop or two of liquid." [source: Cornell University] That is too much moisture in a coop, especially in winter.

The other issue is that mix of brown and green material. Coop litter is nearly 100% brown with the only green being the chicken poop. The ratio is too far off.

The benefit of DLM is that the coop requires far less cleaning. A light fluffing once a week is usually enough. And if it is deep enough (10-12"), the chickens have something to scratch in if they are cooped up a lot during the winter.

The drawback of DLM is that when you actually do the deep clean, there is a ton of material to move. I removed all my coop DLM in the spring and composted it after running it through a 10:1 shredder. I still had a pile that was 5 feet by 5 feet and 4 feet tall. Because it is mostly pine shavings (brown) it is slow to compost. I think I could have left it in the coop for another year and been good.

It's been said here before, we ask and answer questions as best we can. We also have different experience levels and can always learn something new. What works for one may not work for another. Same goes for keeping chickens in the UP versus keeping them down south...different techniques. Keep your chickens safe and healthy to the best of your ability and comfort level.

agreed...

 

[snowflake]

Raz

Sam, I like the way you think!


Winter water: We've tried several methods and

just a hint, I haave used the plastic waterer ot the coocie tin for several yrs. with out any problem, I have a small cookie tin. just about the same size as the bottom of the waterer.

I also use the 5gal. heated waterer, and as Opa said, it can be a pain till you get the hang of flipping it. . some have used a pird bath heater in their nipple waterer with success

I keep food and water outside under my covered area in the run. keeps a lot of the poop outside as they tend to hang outside more were the food and water is

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

lbrykowski2011 - You've gotta find what works for you and yours. I do not keep chickens at all... I'm just not equipped for them. I can't imagine chickens being happy with my messy ducks. Feel free to PM me if you'd like, I can send you pics after I get set up. You might be able to find pics from last year using the search bar too.

Opa & PK. Ok this apple tree is a mystery!! An old old old guy a few miles North of here suggested Northern Spy. These apples are quite sweet, def more sweet than tart, so I'm not sure about MacIntosh. They have ranged from creamy yellow to slightly green, and that pink blush doesn't develop til they've been on awhile, and it does seem to deepen after a frost. The pines that are near have only been in place apx 10yrs (& they're relatively little and young), and the apple tree had the scabby stuff as far back as I remember, before the pines came along. The first year, I was convinced the tree had the systemic thing, where the core rots but the flesh is ok. Then I started picking up the fallen apples to feed the deer and pruning, and then that went away. So I guess it wasn't systemic after all. But PK, you're right, they do not keep long. Bring em in and cook them quickly! Here's the bottom, still taking guesses. No color enhancement on this photo today.