Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[lbrykowski2011]

Pearl''s picture- taken a few weeks ago-


Pearl finally went in labor today. I saw her by the woods when I got home from work, but even at 400 ft away, I knew something was wrong. I only saw the nose sticking out, not the hooves. Its supposed to be both. I pushed back the head and found both hooves, but the head somehow got flipped back, I tried to get the head righted, but could not, so I called the vet. They came and got the head straightened out, and used the chain to pull out a very beautiful and pure Jersey heifer out, but she was dead. *sob* Pearl is doing very well despite what she had gone through. Milked her out. Got about a gallon. Saved the colostrum for any future babies that would need it. Farming sure does stinks at times, but there is a lot of good and rewarding times in there too. I have to count my many blessings that God had blessed me.

So sorry for your loss, she is a beautiful cow and you have a wonderful personality about it all.

 

[iamfivewire]

PK : Sorry to hear of the loss of Spazzy & FB16 : sorry of the loss of Baby Pearl :- (

 

[aart]

Bows head to the loss of soldiers...and livestock/pets.
My Dad was a WWII vet, so I guess I'm old enough to know what Memorial Day is really about.
All 'holidays' have been skewed by many for many different reasons for 1000's of years.

 

[1muttsfan]

Farmerboy, so sorry to hear about Pearl's calf, I know what a loss a heifer calf is. At least you get to enjoy her rich milk.

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

Can you imagine how shocked you would be if you read that the entire population of Ann Arbor had died? And if the number was four times higher than that can you imagine all the heart ache and sorrow that it caused? If so. you would have an understanding of how many men have died or suffered for our country in Just the last 100 years. Equally sad is that at over 200,000 additional souls perished in service of our country, but were not considered to be combat deaths. Factor in that during that same 100 years almost 1,175,000 have been wounded, then you start to get some idea of expensive the freedoms we enjoy have been.

....in addition to those souls, I think of the wounded, spiritually, physically, and mentally, that return. God Bless the Vets.

 

[RoostersCrow HensDeliver!]

 the Pomeranian is definitely on "chicken" specs as far as weight 7.5 pounds  It is 8.5" per side and 6 ft tall.  The poultry amount recommendations were from the expert at the U of KY, not mine.  I just repeated what they said. Everyone has their own number preference per square feet.

All of my laying birds are free ranged all day and will use it for a cool summer coop for sleeping only.  I have not gotten meaties before, but I do not see a problem with holding up to 50 in that tractor that can be constantly moved to fresh grass for 8 or 9 weeks.  They recommended up to 10 turkeys could be in there too.  

My hoops are a 10'x8' and there is no way 50 6+ week cornishx are going to all fit in there comfortably. They will be stacked on top of each other. I keep a max of 35 in them once the CX get that big and I let them out during the day. As for turkeys, there's hardly any room for 5 full size BBWhite toms in there and I also only locked them up at night.

 

[aart]

Anyone seen this: http://msue.anr.msu.edu/resources/s...lowing_backyard_poultry_by_darren_karcher_sku
you have to dload the pdf to read it, but it's fast.


Surprised (not really) that MSUExt is not more informed.....1sqft per bird?!?!? The 'disease outbreak' paranoia is scary.

 

[Candy442]

My hoops are a 10'x8' and there is no way 50 6+ week cornishx are going to all fit in there comfortably. They will be stacked on top of each other. I keep a max of 35 in them once the CX get that big and I let them out during the day. As for turkeys, there's hardly any room for 5 full size BBWhite toms in there and I also only locked them up at night.

LOL....I guess I should have clarified that my version of "meaties" are not going to be the Cornish X type, but more like Freedom rangers or cull cockerels/pullets from our breeding program.
Thank you all for your concern and input. Either way, we wish to assure all who are reading my post with worry that we will never overcrowd any of our birds....ever.

In Kentucky, it probably is a different story since those numbers in that hoop house were recommended by an expert at the U of KY Ag department.

Birds per sq. ft is a hot topic almost like politics or religion it seems

and for good reason.

 

[1muttsfan]

When you see numbers like that coming from research or government institutions, they are likely intended to be used by commercial producers. There is a certain feeling that commercial production numbers underestimate the needs of birds. Commercial production is intended to reduce costs and increase profitability.

 

[gladahmae]

LOL....I guess I should have clarified that my version of "meaties" are not going to be the Cornish X type, but more like Freedom rangers or cull cockerels/pullets from our breeding program.
Thank you all for your concern and input. Either way, we wish to assure all who are reading my post with worry that we will never overcrowd any of our birds....ever.

In Kentucky, it probably is a different story since those numbers in that hoop house were recommended by an expert at the U of KY Ag department.

Birds per sq. ft are a hot topic almost like politics or religion it seems

and for good reason.

I don't think that anyone here believes that you would intentionally crowd your birds, but we would HATE to have you order 50 birds and ONLY have that hoop house to keep them in, and then be up a creek a month and half later.

Going to crack a few eggs today and see if my new rooster is doing his job yet! I have 3 broody silkies that would LOVE some eggs to sit on!