Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[taprock]

Chart Looks spot on for temperament for the breeds i've owned except i don't like the orloff description.

i have not had one pure but my orloff/ee mix was my best girl for intelligence and sheer personality. I came across a roo once at auction and i still regret not saving him, he was the calmest and easiest handled there. My current head roo is a wyendotte mix and so far i am beyond pleased with him

Orloffs are wonderful birds! Smart, nice, and able to wade through snow! One of my current girls is a curious one who always comes and roosts on the garbage can edge as I am getting the food out. I had two roos last year I called my puppies because they followed me everywhere. After the snow leaves I hope to move them to a pen so I will have eggs to hatch.

I wanted to add a note about Bumble foot. I always worry about getting all the corns out and that the foot has nothing left in it. Last summer I had a hen who had bubblefoot that we had done surgery on and taken out a few large corns that were both on bottom and top of her foot. She healed but still had a bump on the top of her foot. For one reason or another I just left it. About a month later she had a small piece of something sticking out of the bump on the top of her foot. I pulled on it and out came a last corn and she has been fine since.

Yesterday I was doing foot inspections. I have a small hen who came to me with double bumble foot last spring. One foot was easily fixed the other took several surgeries. Last fall I found she had a bump on the top of her foot and we cut again and took out more corns. So I checked her foot. She is a feather foot and it looked like a bump where a feather was pulled out on the top of her foot. There was something like a scab, skin tag that I pulled on and out came a corn. I squeezed it and cleaned it out.

So my deduction is bumblefoot on the bottom of the foot has to be treated, on the top of the foot seems to take care of itself if it is not huge. I think I would still treat it but maybe not worry about getting everything out. If it had only happened once I would think nothing of it, but it has happened with two hens now.

....and..... it's snowing,

 

[tori8780]

What wattage heat bulb are you using?  They come in the 125W & a 250W.  I use the 125W when brooding inside the house, but use the 250W when brooding in our front room (unheated like the garage).  I find the 250W bulb stabilizes the temps better during the night.   Might be worth just double checking your bulb.    

Thanks! I will check when I get home. Red lights are better than white, correct?

 

[JackieandChicks]

I am picking up 22 chicks from John Blehm on Saturday!

I'm gonna have a few extras so if anyone in the GR area would like a few (unsexed) chicks just let me know!

Last year we brooded in our basement but this year I wanted to try it in our garage since I've read a few people saying they've done it successfully even in this cold weather. Well, we set up the brooder last night and put the light in and it's only 47 degrees in there this morning. So I guess that means we'll have to bring it into the basement for a while. Ugh, did not want chickens in the basement again.

What kind of chicks?

 

[lbrykowski2011]

I'm trying river sand in the coop & run. It takes 2 min per day to run a big kitty scooper through it. So far, no moisture/smell. (Started Nov 2013)
Most of the poop falls below the roost. I started out with a removable/ flexible /waterproof board under the roost which was cleaned daily. Worked OK in summer when I had a hose. The entire coop (used shavings) was cleaned once a week. When added up, I spent more time & money with the shavings than I do now. The biggest downside of sand is the compost. (Have to gather more dry stuff to add.)

I use the river sand for them to dust bathe in, they love it. I put rocks in a big circle, like a bonfire pit and put the sand in the middle. I use Sweet PDZ in a tray under the roosts, just like ur sand, and it is so easy to clean out, just like kitty litter, just run kitty litter scoop through it each morning and no smell at all. For the winter I did do deep litter though, just for a lil added warmth cuz my coop is not insulated or heated, but all the birds did great for this being an awful winter. Def never need to heat the coop.

 

[lbrykowski2011]

If you are free ranging i'd be wary of feather feet in the winter. Frost bite potential. Mine are in for the winter!!!

I just got 2 Light Brahma chicks from FFH and they have feathers growing on their feet. I was thinking this would keep them warm in the winter, now I'm worried if it means more of a frostbite potential. They free range in the summer, in the winter they stay right around the run and coop, won't go in the snow (chickens, lol). Is there anything I can do to lower their frostbite potential other than the coop ventilation and normal stuff?

 

[Maah]

Thanks! I will check when I get home. Red lights are better than white, correct?

I think it's personal preference. Some say that using the red light reduces stress in the chicks and causes less pecking. It just so happens that the farm store I shop at... all the 125W bulbs are white, and all the 250W bulbs are red, so the decision is made for me. That is just how this particular store orders them though. Color & wattage can vary from store to store.

 

[lbrykowski2011]

Metal garbage can for feed, with good lid. I can store it on my back porch, where it won't get rained on. Or in the garage, where animal access is limited. Garage isn't mouse-proof, but it is raccoon/opossum/squirrel proof.

Not sure how to keep water from freezing without adding heaters or electricity to the coop somehow. Fish tank and pond heaters are pretty standard use for this application, yes?

I like the idea of the river sand for the run, and perhaps deep litter for the coop. If I go the river sand method, I will probably build a sandbox-like base for the run.

I keep my metal garbage can w/feed in right outside the run. No rain or animal has ever got in it. If you don't do electricity, you can get the rubber bowls and just put water in milk jugs and carry out. I just flip the bowl over and hit the center w/my heel and the ice pops right out. Sweet PDZ works like the river sand also, whichever is easier to get. I also use a large rabbit poop tray under the roosts w/the PDZ in, so I can easily take it out and clean.

 

[jimmywalt]

I am picking up 22 chicks from John Blehm on Saturday!

I'm gonna have a few extras so if anyone in the GR area would like a few (unsexed) chicks just let me know!

Last year we brooded in our basement but this year I wanted to try it in our garage since I've read a few people saying they've done it successfully even in this cold weather. Well, we set up the brooder last night and put the light in and it's only 47 degrees in there this morning. So I guess that means we'll have to bring it into the basement for a while. Ugh, did not want chickens in the basement again.

Who is John Blehm? How much does he sell them for?

This thread moves SOOO fast. If you could PM me that would be great. Thank you.

 

[jrsckn]

I just got 2 Light Brahma chicks from FFH and they have feathers growing on their feet. I was thinking this would keep them warm in the winter, now I'm worried if it means more of a frostbite potential. They free range in the summer, in the winter they stay right around the run and coop, won't go in the snow (chickens, lol). Is there anything I can do to lower their frostbite potential other than the coop ventilation and normal stuff?

I had a light brahma rooster this winter and he did just fine; I don't use heat or lights either. My hens really wouldn't leave his feet alone though, he was constantly getting pecked, poor guy was too docile for his own good.

 

[snowflake]

What kind of chicks?

I have lots of eggs now, and I would not mind getting them back when they hatch.

Had a major bummer last night. I was incubating 180 eggs in my GQF Sportsman cabinet incubator for some poeple. When I checked the temp last night, it was 149 degrees!!!!

Last time I used it was last summer, and it worked fine, and I did not touch it since. Any idea what went wrong? Had to toss all those eggs to the pigs. The clears of the eggs were starting to turn white, and the yokes was thick. It took me a long time to collect those eggs!

Glad I have you guys to ask all these questions.

Not sure how to keep water from freezing without adding heaters or electricity to the coop somehow. Fish tank and pond heaters are pretty standard .

I take it a poop board is just a wide, flat board that sits under the perch to collect poop, and is periodically removed and cleaned?

I like the idea of the river sand for the run, and perhaps deep litter for the coop. If I go the river sand method, I will probably build a sandbox-like base for the run.

you can get heated waterers, also can make a heater out of an old cookie tin, I have both and both work well,,there should be a --how to --on the cookie tin heater if you search BYC
poop board can be anything that collects poo under the roosts as chickens poo a lot at night. poop boards can be covered with old feed bags for easy cleaning or made of a shower stall type plastic that also scrapes clean easily even in winter,,,poop boards will keep your coop floor MUCH cleaner

CONGRATULATIONS!!


Amy, I am in Belding I also have eggs, Chanticlair, Americaunas, and muts, I have some lavender chanticlairs, very small(bantum sized) eggs should be true to breed they have been separated for 3 weeks now. do not want the chicks back americaunas are silver,and black with a silver roo ther lavender are with lavender roo

Chanticlair(sp) is very winter hardy, developed in Canada, very small comb almost no wattles