Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[NovaAman]

Dust... no it isn't dust. It is an added layer of dirt that seems to never ever get fully cleaned up! AND you have to clean from top to bottom. I'd say cover everything in the basement with plastic sheeting. The thin stuff would work. Better yet, hang plastic sheeting from the ceiling like curtains around the brooder area. LOL.

 

[Wynette]

Good day, and welcome, Ron!

Another thing to consider when choosing your chicken breeds is feed conversion - that is, the amount of feed it takes to make an egg (basically). Orpingtons have a very high conversion ratio. Meaning, they eat a lot of feed to make an egg. I love Orps, always have, just keep it in mind going into it that you'll go through a bit more feed with them.

Australorps are laying fools (I think you mentioned you like them). Nova's right, most hatchery birds are bred for production. If you're simply wanting a ton of eggs, the Isa Brown is a good choice. I have not had the same experience with them being nasty that some folks on here have. In fact, I pick up 3-4 every spring (another thing to remember - chickens will lay best in their first two years) so that I always have a good supply of eggs through winter - I do not use artificial light on any of my flocks, and the Isas are the only breed that will lay continuously through winter for me. My Isas have always been laid back and super friendly - the first one to the gate, the most curious of them all, and their feed conversion ratio is small.

Something to note on high-yield layers is that because they are bred for pumping out the eggs, they are also more prone to laying issues such as prolapse, internal laying, or egg binding. I have only had one that I had issues with, but it's a good thing to keep in mind going in. And as far as raising them in winter - yup, it can be a pain in the butt, but IMO, it's my favorite time to raise them. By EARLY spring, you've got eggs! I use pelleted pine bedding and have never noticed much of an odor from my brooders, although I seldom raise more than 20 at a time.

 

[NovaAman]

How's that pelleted pine in a full grown hen house? I was considering it for the warm months...

 

[kimmie6067]

What talent she has!!!!those are beautiful!!!

what a lovely pair..they are so pretty
They will eat your hostas like a salad bar.... they love the bugs that seem to come around and the leaves. you can use fever few, (small daisy like flower) I don't think they have bothered my iris, they don't bother the tiger or day lilies once they get to a decent size, they do love to dig and scratch around them and will send the roots flying if they aren't lg enough, you may need to protect them till they get a good start. I usually put a small ring of fencing around till established. I also had luck with Anise Hysop (in the mint family). I have some September flowers( small wild daisy) in my run the hens love to hide from the rooster in there
when I had dogs I had no trouble with coons. or hawks

sorry I can't help with your son's problem, if it isn't parasite or cocci, or Mareks it could be something environmental. perhaps something is poisoning them?? maybe a plant or seed, there are some very poisonous plants....don't know if a chicken would eat them

It just is strange its only the Giants that are dying. All the others are right now.

Well so much for being a little worried about the hawk that circled over the field for 4 hours yesterday.

This morning my husky killed one of the chickens. One of 2 things happened, although in both scenarios the dog went over the backyard fence: the chicken got out of the run (4ft fence, no 'lid', so definately possible) and he caught it, OR he climbed (yes, he climbs, he's not a jumper) into the run, caught the chicken, climbed back out and took it into the field to munch on.

I put the dogs out to pee as usual, and when I was getting ready to go make sure the pop door opened I saw the dog running back and forth in FRONT of the run. So he was out at that point. I called him and of course he ran in the opposite direction, went out into the field and layed down and started chewing on something. So I went out and did a chicken count and was 1 barred rock short. Had oldest DS wach the baby so he wouldn't fall off the bed and went out and caught the dog. Once I got up to him he was immediately belly-up, tail between his legs, etc.

*sigh*

DH wants to be done with this dog. He's got seperation issues, has to be kenneled OUTSIDE whenever we go anywhere, even if it's just for a few minutes so it's been a rocky year and a half since we adopted him. 2x before this DH has wanted to re-surrender him, but I've talked him out of it. Had the chicken that got killed this morning been DS's favorite, I'd have no shot at talking him into keeping the dog (who I like, even though he's a PITB).

So my question is, does anyone have any inexpensive ways to modify/repair/fix what we've got going on right now? Being that the dog is a 'climber' and not a jumper, I'm wondering about running a strand of hot wire around the top of the run and possibly the fenced [dog] yard. But I don't know how much that would cost. If it's over $100, there's no way DH will be OK with that. We've already spent, literally, hundreds of dollars trying to find ways to contain this dog. DH is certain that the dog will just continue to kill the birds, and wants me to choose one or the other. My pointing out that the only reason our (his) lab hasn't killed a bird yet is because he won't jump over the fence in the backyard didn't make a difference.

I can take pics of our set-up if that would help. I just need some suggestions quickly.


ETA: ALL the feathers I found were OUTSIDE the run. All of them. And I couldn't see where it looked like he'd chased the birds around INSIDE the run, so

How about a shock collar for the dog? I got one for my cattle dog and believe me she listens to collar. You can give the dog a shock each and everytime he is looking at the chickens wrong, then when it knows all about the shock you can use just the sound button and if he still is going after the chickens use the shock but of course make sure the chickens are safe.

 

[NovaAman]

Gotta post some of Rogers chicks. These are the last ones I will ever have from him. They are the off spring of him and one of the pretty girls I got from Mom at chickenstock. And the buff polish from chickstock too.



The black one is starting to look like Roger! I hope it is a boy... I need another Roger...






Robin's future boy. He crows like a rooo ra rooo ra rooooo! So cute! BUT, see his poor crest? That rotten rear serema...

 

[kimmie6067]

Just something to think about, we have the chicks in our garage, a 3 stall and it stinks, like really stinks, I can't imagine them being in the house other than a visit.

I know lots of people brood them indoors, but maybe they don't have 40 like I do, LOL

I had 28 in the house they didn't stink at all but they sure were dusty!! I miss them really, they are so funny.

 

[Wynette]

How's that pelleted pine in a full grown hen house? I was considering it for the warm months...

I use it for almost all of my pens. The only ones I don't use it in are the ones where the roost is 4' high, as the pelleted bedding is round and sort of....rolly for lack of a better word(?) don't want anyone hopping down on it & then slipping due to the pellets rolling. It's fantastic in my duck coop, too. SO absorbent.

 

[RaZ]

I'm a fan of the step-in stakes and plastic mesh fencing for defining portable runs and keeping my dogs separate from the hens and the hens separate from the flower beds. I can move a run in a matter of minutes and the hens seem to like exploring the new areas. Just a word of caution...it is not in any way secure from predators and may not work if you have raccoon, skunk, or determined dogs. But it works well for me in the burbs.

It is also inexpensive.

 

[Scifisarah]

Dust... no it isn't dust. It is an added layer of dirt that seems to never ever get fully cleaned up! AND you have to clean from top to bottom. I'd say cover everything in the basement with plastic sheeting. The thin stuff would work. Better yet, hang plastic sheeting from the ceiling like curtains around the brooder area. LOL.

Haha so true. Our air purifier has an "auto" mode that moniters how dirty the air is. When the chicks start romping around or doing some serious rolling around in the wood shavings, it kicks into high gear pretty quick! Probably not that great to be breathing all that in...

 

[SillyChicken]

Yep. Containment is going to be the key. And getting DH on board for it is also going to be a factor. It just seems like when he (the dog) has finally settled down, hasn't done any destructive things for awhile and we start to relax he does SOMETHING he's not supposed to, be it chewing up a sandal, shoe laces, getting into the trash, etc.

I'm picking up some netting for over the run on my way to work tonight. I'm also going to put a few pallets up to block line-of-sight between the yard and the run to see if that helps. Out-of-sight, out-of-mind a little hopefully.

it sounds like....... you have an active working/sport/prey driven type dog that is incredibly BORED. Bored dogs get into trouble. He needs daily exercises or a job. He needs to be TIRED out....... then you should start doing some obedience training with him, basics at first, even if he knows them, it helps to get them to focus. Then move on to specifics... he needs trained to leave the birds alone. It takes time and work, if you want to keep the dog, you're going to need to invest some time in him... maybe 15 min or so a day, it's doesn't need to be a lot, but a little every day.