Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[Juise]

Ron - I have 6 different breeds of hens and my Isa Browns are two of the sweetest. So it could just be Raz and not the chickens. Just sayin'. I have been told that they run into more issues, though. Ours are 2 1/2 and no problems yet, but I keep my fingers crossed.

Keeping chicks indoors - I cannot recommend sand for bedding enough. The dust and the smell were terrible when we were using pine shavings, even when it was clean. And it needs to be cleaned out often, replaced entirely. When we switched to using sand they did not smell anymore, and that horrible, cursed dust of vileness went away. And, one of my favourite parts - It can be cleaned with a kitty litter scoop. It stays much drier, and they don't fill their water with it every two blasted seconds.

So, yeah, I'm not selling sand or anything, I just really like it.

So while we were chatting, a hen started jumping straight up in the air to pluck a raspberry leaf. Within seconds, it was "monkey see, monkey do" and all of the hens were jumping up in the air to pluck a leaf.

I love it when the chickens do this! I tried to get them on video a few times this summer, but they are like the kids, the moment I turn the video camera on, they stop what they are doing and wander off.

Looks like my flock is molting. How long does that typically last?

I know they stop laying for a couple weeks, but I'm not sure how long the whole process takes, I'm sure someone else can tell you though.

 

[RaZ]

Ron - I have 6 different breeds of hens and my Isa Browns are two of the sweetest. So it could just be Raz and not the chickens. Just sayin'. I have been told that they run into more issues, though. Ours are 2 1/2 and no problems yet, but I keep my fingers crossed.

Oh, it is on now, Girl!

I kid because I know she can take my sense of humour. My ISA Browns are wonderful layers but they are no where as cuddly as my BO or BSL hens. I've also read that they can have more issues and are shorter lived than other breeds.

 

[Mom 2em All]

Hi everyone!

Been gone, but not really. Been busy. Now that cold is here, Im really wimpy- Im not ready for winter. And Raz- let that Uggo brood some eggs.

I have FIVE broody hens right now. THey have been at it for weeks. Their eggs are not fertile.
Last week, I took all the eggs and tossed them each out of the coop- and they all ran right back inside. Four d'uccles and my frizzle. They are very determined.

Have a great day everyone!

 

[Opa]

Grab a cup of coffee and the newspaper and enjoy the quiet before the rest of the world wake up. Looks like another good day is headed our way.

 

[RonEstrada]

Okay, it's off to a meeting of the Oxford Planning Commission tonight to make my case for backyard chickens. I already have an advocate on the board. Mike Spisz, who is also running for county commissioner, has put it on the agenda and has a copy of a letter I wrote. This board will make a reccomendation to the zoning board. And their next meeting is October 10th. The newly formed (as of yesterday at my desk) Oxford Homesteaders Association is ready to make it happen! Even if it doesn't, I'm still getting chickens. We'll go underground.

 

[snowflake]

After stacking firewood and doing other chores,

we have rose of sharon's the hens love jumping up for the seeds.....first time I saw it it took me a while to figure out what they were after

Okay, it's off to a meeting of the Oxford Planning Commission tonight to make my case for backyard chickens. I already have an advocate

you ad Raz can compare notes, he is fighting for his hens too!!..good luck

 

[taprock]

not sure what just happened but, I have a chicken question.......one of my BO has a red rash looking area on top of her foot, it is now puffy and has scab,,, could be bumble I guess. so I have treated the foot and bandaged but I am unsure of the dose of antibiotic... I have Tetracycline on hand and I mixed 1 ts in a quart of water, soaked some bread in about 2 ts.. of the mixture. is that enough and how often? 2,3 times a day for how long? 5 days? she does not act sick, has had the redness for a couple of weeks I had put ointment on thinking maybe mites, now it is puffy and scabs posted a pic on the emergency thread. not very good hard to see; can't get it to post tonight

If it was bumble foot you would want to take the scab off after soaking the foot and then put the medicine in the hole, but if it's not I'm not sure if it's a good idea.

Hi everyone. Been awhile since I've posted.
Looks like my flock is molting. How long does that typically last?

Each chicken is different. My Cornish and one EE go entirely bald and are quick to start laying again 3-4 weeks. The polish don't loose all their feathers, just enough to look ratty but they take 4-6 weeks to start laying again. And all the rest seem to be somewhere in the middle. You can tell how their molt is progressing by looking at their wing feathers. I think they lose primaries first starting in the middle and then secondaries staring in the middle but I don't remember for sure the order.

Busy week getting ready for our annual bow shoot. Right now we have 24 shooter coming. We shoot and then eat. The great thing is 9 of them are kids and 3 are teens. Once again I am the only woman. My son and I put out 3-d targets on Tuesday. Yesterday we measured off distance and put out stakes, flags and markers for each of the 12 targets. Last night I took my DH around for opinions and have one change to make for the sake of safety of drivers on the road. One of those better safe than sorry things. Today we have to clean up the yard and I have some prizes to finish up . Tomorrow I start baking. Maybe I can fit in some practice time.

This morning I went out to discover I didn't close the little coop's pop door last night.

A brainless thing that could have cost me some birds but luckily didn't.

 

[gladahmae]

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.

Yes. I know boredom is part of the problem. I have a harness and line set-up for him to pull me on my bike, but haven't found/made time lately to do that between my work schedule and trying to squeeze family stuff in on the nights I don't work. If I trusted him to not go after a cat/squirrel/rabbit/bird I'd hook the bike trailer up and take the little ones with me, but I soooo don't trust him that much yet. He took off on me once and totally wiped me out (I saw him start to lunge and bailed from the bike) and I can't risk my kids' safety until he's more reliable.

x2,,, we had a husky he tried to kill a chick once(grabbed it right out of the brooder when I was changing the water, killed a rooster that was going at another rooster,,,, I never let him alone with the birds after that till he got to old to bother chasing them.... he was good as long as I was in the yard with him.... they are natural hunters and can't be trusted with out a lot of training and even then if you aren't around

he won't be 'too old' for awhile. He's like.......2 or 3? He definately is a hunter! He caught a chipmink/ground squirrel about a month ago that I had to take away from him and shoot because he'd been playing with it, and it was still kind of alive.

An electric wire won't cost much, the biggest expense will be the fencer, Electric fence worked well for my dogs, but you must be careful the chickens don't get at it. The best solution for your dog problems is to have your hubby take him to obedience classes,if they work at it, it makes a huge difference in their behavior and will help them bond as well.

There's a solar powered fencer on CL for $50 near me. DH is completely against running a hot wire though because he thinks it'll be dangerous to the kids.

I'm going to pick up a few tarps today to block the line of sight between the yard and the run and hope that that makes a difference.


Does anyone have a suggestion for something to use to keep the birds from flying out of the run that's inexpensize and lightweight? I was thinking of getting some of the 'wildlife netting' at menards since it's $9 for a 7x100 roll, but I looked at it and it's REALLY light and definately wouldn't hold up to ANY snow getting caught in it. I don't want something that I'll have to take down in a month and a half, but I don't want something that I'll have to put in a bunch of supports for either (like metal fence).

 

[SillyChicken]

not sure that there are too many options really. Can you make your fence taller? (if it's just to keep the dog out?)

 

[tdhenson86]

Good morning everyone! Excited to be getting some more Buff Orpingtons today to add to mine!


Quote: Good luck with that, Ron!

Quote:
Taprock, that sounds fun! I'm not a hunter (don't have the heart to kill anything unless it comes to my survival), but I LOVE shooting targets.