Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[SillyChicken]

Ya'll both need to cut that out!

 

[iamfivewire]

Had a couple of our pullets with major bare spots on their backs - i was figuring id blame the rooster for that, but then i saw our RSLs pecking at the bare area & pulling / eating their feathers, so had to seperate them from the rest. So my DW & i made a trip to our TSC for a few sipplies & some blu-kote to put on the girls backs. While there, i saw they getting all the supplies set for chick days - DW said to them to ban me from entering the store for next 2 months so i dont get tempted to buy any chicks - she knows me well that the temptation for the the cute little fuzzies trumps practicality 99.9% of the time

 

[uchytil]

Had a couple of our pullets with major bare spots on their backs - i was figuring id blame the rooster for that, but then i saw our RSLs pecking at the bare area & pulling / eating their feathers, so had to seperate them from the rest. So my DW & i made a trip to our TSC for a few sipplies & some blu-kote to put on the girls backs. While there, i saw they getting all the supplies set for chick days - DW said to them to ban me from entering the store for next 2 months so i dont get tempted to buy any chicks - she knows me well that the temptation for the the cute little fuzzies trumps practicality 99.9% of the time

Winter time blues - Our do the same thing. The RIRs seem to be the meanies and do that to the Marans and EEs. Once the 10 feet of snow melts they'll be able to escape into a springtime field of sunny and warm bliss.

 

[Peep-Chicken]

I'd like to start with "I'm Sorry".  Though I will not take all the blame, I feel partially responsible that our 3-6 inches ended up being more like 8-10 over here on the West side.  It's because I spent all Sunday shoveling a path through the 4 feet packed drifts out to the coop!  Which is all drifted over & filled in with snow again.  **sigh**  Like I said, I won't take all the blame... I'm sure there are others that did a bit of shoveling too. LOL.  I've learned my lesson though... I'll never shovel again.  HE HE.  


So we ended up putting down our brahma rooster on Sunday.  He just wasn't getting better.  After a week inside from the frostbite to his feet we were pretty sure the one whole foot was dead.  Plus, the infection in his foot wasn't helping things.  No need to prolong his pain so we did what needed to be done.  We're not looking to replace him yet though.  I think the hens might actually like a summer with lush beautiful back feathers.  All though that means no incubating our own eggs... 


OH!  Guess what?  I think my silkies heard me complaining the other day about them being freeloaders & not getting any eggs from them.  We got our first silkie egg from my 10 mth old pullets on Sunday!  Finally.  

Last but not least... I will remember to check my calendar better in the future.  Yesterday, I threw on my 4 wheel drive and slowly made my way through this Michigan standard issue.  Only to make it all the way into town & find out the post office was closed.  Stinking Presidents Day... Hmph!

Oops. I'm sorry. I might have used the skid steer to plow our long drive way, and the neighbors. And around the coop. Earning a dent in the shed. I also might have plowed a pathway up to the house. And shoveled both decks. Oops lol.

 

[uchytil]

I have an Excel chart of the BTUs for different wood types. I can send it to anyone who wants it.

It's geared for home heating so I'm not sure how it relates in an outdoor burn situation but I know some woods are better for high heat than others.

Hey RaZ, sometimes it's not about heat but about the aroma! That's why I like Cherry. I have some huge cherries and a few large trunks broke off. I offered a bunch up to a neighbor that heat with wood. For no particular reason I kept some and used it for smoking meat. Then I was low on syrup wood one year so I tried it - love at first smell. I love the aroma, and it burns hot enough to keep the sap boiling hard. My main go-to is oak but I love having cherry to stick in every now and then.

 

[Maah]

Had a couple of our pullets with major bare spots on their backs - i was figuring id blame the rooster for that, but then i saw our RSLs pecking at the bare area & pulling / eating their feathers, so had to seperate them from the rest. So my DW & i made a trip to our TSC for a few sipplies & some blu-kote to put on the girls backs. While there, i saw they getting all the supplies set for chick days - DW said to them to ban me from entering the store for next 2 months so i dont get tempted to buy any chicks - she knows me well that the temptation for the the cute little fuzzies trumps practicality 99.9% of the time

We had a fair amount of trouble a couple of summers ago with feather eating. It was mostly from our NHR that was eating feathers off the other hens, but we did notice the other hens doing it as well. I researched it to find a solution & found a theory that it was low protein intake. So we tried that. We increased their protein with whatever scraps we could find (leftover string cheese, scrap cuts of meat, cooked egg, etc...) and the feather eating stopped all together & not long after either. Coincidence? I don't know, but they stopped doing it. We have continued to give extra protein here & there from our kitchen scraps & haven't had any trouble since.

 

[snowflake]

IF there ever was an early roo indicator.....here is a day and a half old charging our German Shorthair.

he's a sweat heart, hope my dog will be that good some day.

I got 12, 1 day old chicks at TSC late last Mar




I will say. I NEVER want to raise chicks in the house again, the dust in the spare bedroom was indescribable!! Took DAYS to clean

X2 on the dust, love your Amaracauna and sleepy,

For generations the robin has been considered a harbinger of spring and for most of my life it has been our official state bird. Given the weather we have been experiencing, and the fact the continuing cold is being forecasted for the immediate future, perhaps we should consider petitioning our state legislature to change the state bird to one who stoically abides our arctic weather.

Just posting because you all will appreciate this...my laundry room turned tack room turned brooder room. Can't squeeze too much more in..

..

better cover everything up it will be COVERED in dust,


thanks for taking the blame on the snow, I was thinking it was all the prayers said last summer to raise lake levels

 

[Peep-Chicken]

Is chick days going on at TSC? I'm hearing it is but I'm not sure.

 

[mattsinger]

Is chick days going on at TSC? I'm hearing it is but I'm not sure.

In Davison, they said it starts the 24th

 

[iamfivewire]

TSC in Williamston said chick days prob not for another week or two yet