Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[jerabu]

This is the stuff of my dreams, an ecosystem!! Mine will not be nearly like this at all, since i do not have the experience or knowledge to pull it off. Gives me hope though that it can be done! Mold is the big worry. Whoever put the aquascaping pics up earlier in the year gave me much inspiration! But i'm sure they are hard to care for. Someday!

http://www.aquascapingworld.com/threads/pico-plant-terrarium.2884/

http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/

They do a contest every year, and it's always fun to look at those tanks! Purely aquatic, and very pretty.

 

[Stacykins]

Brought two goat kids to see my grandma. The little girl Xena slept on her lap the entire visit! Also, both little goat kids received a blessing from the Catholic priest who was there too for the day's service at the nursing home.

The little goats gave a lot of love to a lot of people! Including some human kids!





I didn't take any other pictures. But those work!

 

[chickwhispers]

Oh such a nice thing to do! Your grandma looks so happy! I miss mine.

 

[aart]

I butchered my first bird today, an 'extra' rooster, it went pretty well...jugular slice was perfect (my biggest worry), homemade cone worked well....other things didn't go so well, but nothing disastrous. It was great learning experience and being one of my most anxiety laden chicken keeping goals, I am very proud of myself to have been able to carry it out successfully. Slow cooked chicken n noodles in a few days!

Not to mention relieved that it is over, easier to do than think about for the first time.
And really relieved that darn rooster is gone, out of the coop partition to make room for the young batch brooding now, and will fill my belly soon.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

 
This is the stuff of my dreams, an ecosystem!!  Mine will not be nearly like this at all, since i do not have the experience or knowledge to pull it off. Gives me hope though that it can be done! Mold is the big worry.  Whoever put the aquascaping pics up earlier in the year gave me much inspiration! But i'm sure they are hard to care for. Someday!

http://www.aquascapingworld.com/threads/pico-plant-terrarium.2884/

http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/


They do a contest every year, and it's always fun to look at those tanks! Purely aquatic, and
very pretty.

Oooooooo! This will occupy me for a while thanks!!!!

 

[jerabu]

does anyone here have only a couple chickens? Planing out my coop, and I can only have 3.

Is it feasible to leave the pop-hole open year round, as long as the run is protected from wind during the cold winter months?

Or would some kind of automated device work for that? My work sometimes keeps me away from home until 11 or midnight, so I won't always be home to close the coop up, but I can watch a weather forecast, and wrap some plastic around the run to cut the wind during the coldest days.

They used to just attach tarps to the tops of the wire panels of the cages at the zoo where I worked. During the cooler months, we simply unrolled them, and used bungee cords to hold them in place. All they really needed to do was cut the wind. When it was warmer, we just rolled them back up until they were needed again. Thinking of doing a similar system for the run.

 

[jlynnet]

Jerabu, since you only can have 3 make the inside large enough to walk in so you can easily clean it and store food in there. I keep my water in a small heated dog bowl inside during the winter. We have tarps up on the sides and the top to keep snow and wind out. They like a snow-free area to roam in. Make the outside as large as you can if they can't free range. Angle the top so you can tarp the roof of the outside without it collapsing. We have our outside runs tall enough to walk in too. We did lock them up when it was below zero. I have enough ventilation up top to do that. The door was open when it was above zero. They did great.

 

[tori8780]

does anyone here have only a couple chickens? Planing out my coop, and I can only have 3.

Is it feasible to leave the pop-hole open year round, as long as the run is protected from wind during the cold winter months?

Or would some kind of automated device work for that? My work sometimes keeps me away from home until 11 or midnight, so I won't always be home to close the coop up, but I can watch a weather forecast, and wrap some plastic around the run to cut the wind during the coldest days.

They used to just attach tarps to the tops of the wire panels of the cages at the zoo where I worked. During the cooler months, we simply unrolled them, and used bungee cords to hold them in place. All they really needed to do was cut the wind. When it was warmer, we just rolled them back up until they were needed again. Thinking of doing a similar system for the run.

My biggest concern would be predators. As long as you make the run enclosed and totally predator proof then leaving the door open should be fine. You'd be surprised what kind of nasty chicken killing animals live in surburbia though, so best to keep them safe even if you dont think its necessary!

 

[tori8780]

I butchered my first bird today, an 'extra' rooster, it went pretty well...jugular slice was perfect (my biggest worry), homemade cone worked well....other things didn't go so well, but nothing disastrous. It was great learning experience and being one of my most anxiety laden chicken keeping goals, I am very proud of myself to have been able to carry it out successfully. Slow cooked chicken n noodles in a few days!

Not to mention relieved that it is over, easier to do than think about for the first time.
And really relieved that darn rooster is gone, out of the coop partition to make room for the young batch brooding now, and will fill my belly soon.

This causes me a lot of anxiety too. DH did our first roo in January while I was at work. But we have about 17 chicks in the brooder, straight run, and will probably have a lot of roosters to cull later this summer Glad it went well for you! Our rooster was one of the most delicious chickens I've ever had. 20ish weeks and not one bit stringy or tough (though I did roast in the crockpot). He was also more dark meat then white, which was a pleasant surprise!

 

[gladahmae]

I leave the pop door open almost year round on my "secure" run and have a timer on my big coop door (which doesn't have a secure run....just a 4ft perimeter fence). It's the addamotor that wasn't made specifically for chicken doors and I just put a counter weight on it. The door just has to slide vertically instead of swinging on hinges.

Make sure you consider snow load for tarping a run. It weighs a lot more than you might think, especially when it melts on sunny days and then more snow falls and repeat.



Spending 16 hours in the car today on the way home from vacation and another 7 tomorrow. My house sitter called to let me know that the birds ate 100# of food while we were gone. Messy pigs! I can only imagine that they spilled a lot. They didn't go through that much when it was -20 out!! Going to set up a breeding pen/separate the hens I want eggs from next week to and FINALLY fire up the incubator!!



So sorry for your loss Opa. I'm dreading the day we have to do the same with our old dog.