Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[SillyChicken]

I hope it works out & the change is made.


Fair this weekend was GOOD, but tiring! DD did very well in the open class competition especially. She entered just 4 chickens in the open. Her Leghorn took 1st place, her Ameraucana took 1st place (plus the judge wanted her in the final round), and her 2 Mille Fleurs took 1st & 2nd place. Couldn't have asked for better. Another thing that was cool, is that one of her friends entered a couple of our old birds. We gave them 5 (3yr old) hens a few months ago & their daughter entered the Barred Rock. The Barred Rock placed 1st as well in that class plus the judge wanted to see her in the final round too.

Some pics of DD & her Ameraucana judging





Of ALL the standard chickens entered, the judge only called back 4 to compete in the final. DD's Ameraucana, the Barred Rock (that incidentally was our chicken until a few months ago), and 2 others. The Barred Rock "Omelet", took Grand Champion. So that was like a win for us too since we raised her from a chick. Very happy for DD's friend to get that win.

Here's a pic of the final 4. Sorry it's not too good, the Barred Rock is in front of the girl in green (DD's friend).



DD didn't enter any chickens in the 4H breed classes but is planning to do more of that next year.

She did well in her showmanship event too. She was 2nd to last to go out of 15-16 kids in her age group. Ugh, talk about a LONG DAY. DD did well but didn't place. All well. Her friend took 3rd which was nice.

Here are some pictures of DD waiting her turn with her showmanship bird "Oliver" that she got from Amy PT. He's such a snuggle bug. He was one of the few well behaved birds there. Most the other kids were chasing down escaped birds, or distracting the show with their wing flapping escape attempts. The showmanship event was a bit um... chaotic, unorganized... ? The poultry show "started" technically at 1pm, but DD's group was the very last to go for the day. ... She didn't get to give her speech until after 6pm. Blech. So the kids had already been sitting around for a long time before their group went up. I can't blame these kids or their birds for becoming restless. Even when their group was finally called up, it took HOURS where those kids just had to sit there & be quiet. After each kid was done with their individual presentation, they were allowed to return their bird to the cage, but as DD was next to last in line to go, she & Oliver had to sit there the whole time. Couldn't have asked for a better bird. He sat on her shoulder for a while, took a nap on her lap, sat on the chair between her legs, perched on her leg, her hand, the back of the chair, or even just sat on the ground in front of her & played in the grass/dirt. He never tried to run away or anything, happy just to sit with her or near her. She didn't have to constantly hold him, or try to keep him under control like other kids did. That was SO nice.















DD didn't place in the market pen either, but we're not surprised by that. We didn't figure she would (though of course we hoped). However, DD had to enter a hen pair and they don't tend to get wins as well as rooster pairs. DD wanted to enter a rooster pair, but couldn't. Of all the meaties we raised, only 1 ended up being male so she had to enter a hen pair. That's ok though... they'll be sold at auction on Wednesday & the rest will go to freezer camp. It's all good.




Also, speaking of freezer camp... hubby has been working hard helping some friends put a new roof on their house. The homemade plucker has been back burnered. Anybody know of someone close to me (Allegan/Wayland area) that we can have our remaining meaties processed cheap? I'd rather just do them ourselves, but time is non existent & I'm done paying to fill their bottomless tummies. If I don't find anybody new, I'll use the same guy we used last year... I just wasn't impressed with his packaging & will repackage them myself.

congratulations to your DD and her friends on their wins!

 

[Opa]

As a son should, I love my mother dearly and try everything possible to make her life as fulfilling and comfortable as possible. All I do for her I do with a willing and happy heart. However, I must admit that I am enjoying the brief respite I am getting with her visiting one of my brothers for the next week or possibly two. Like this morning, I woke, drank a half pot of coffee while working uninterrupted on my daily 3 crossword puzzles. Once they were complete I loaded a few traps and my power washer into the truck and headed for the farm. Normally that would have been delayed with fixing Granny's breakfast, making sure something was ready for her lunch and attending to any other needs she had before I could head out.

Today I needed to set several traps around the barns in an attempt to reduce the woodchuck population. They have been burrowing into the barns and while not causing any damage to equipment themselves their holes do provide egress for other critters that do. For example I found that the door on the combine hadn't been securely fastened and a family of raccoons took up residence thereby destroying the combine's seat. Plus the detris they leave behind tends to make a foul mess.

Once that task was complete my old friend and I set about removing the rock guards from the dozer, lifting the machine off the ground and running the track while power washing the dried concrete like clay that was causing it to run poorly. As we were working a neighbor stopped to visit. He commented on how much better the farm is looking and how even the farmer seems happier and more active since I have started going out at least twice each week. I too have noticed an increase in stamina exhibited by my friend. You certainly wouldn't believe he is working on his 90th year as he crawls in and out of the dozer. By mid afternoon is does start to run out of steam but then so do I.

 

[snowflake]

is
about removing the rock guards from the dozer, lifting the machine off the ground and running the track while power washing

I admire all you do, finding 2 days a week for a friend ontop of all your own garden,canning, and family, It is always nice to have a break , It is also good for others to care for loved ones for a change. We have a 30 yr old son with Down Syndrome, and he so loves getting away from here for a week end with uncle brother and cousins it is his "man-cation"

Stacy those pictures are very cool - you so seldom get to see owls, and they are so majestic.

x2

love the pics of the fair!! that hen is so sweet(so are the girls)

congrats to the winners and those that tried!!

 

[PaisyQ]

A little over 3 weeks ago my amberlink started laying eggs. They started out small, but within a week had moved to medium size, and within 2 weeks she was occasionally laying a large egg as well. That was all fine and dandy with me, and nothing new to speak of, sizewise, until today.



On the left is yesterday's egg, a nicely sized medium. The right is today's. It weighed in at 80 grams, jumping right past extra-large into jumbo territory. Unfortunately, I won't be the one to crack it open and see what's inside. It's going into the box I deliver to my sister-in-law tomorrow. Last week I brought her my wyandotte's first pee-wee sized egg. My nieces and nephews got a kick out of that. Hopefully they'll be just as impressed with the really big egg from my amberlink.

 

[1muttsfan]

Likely that will be a double-yolker

 

[tntchix]

Finger is healing nicely, thank goodness. It was a scary ordeal, but it's good now.

A stray cat adopted me today, why do kitties love me? It's a male and our barn cats already know him so I should find the owner tomorrow.

We think Midnight is now some form of OEGB too, not a Sebright. Maybe a Gold Laced Black OEGB?

Hubs leaves Wed and still didn't get the electric or water run to coop.

Oh and The Roo from H3! !is terrified of the hubs, "Who's your daddy, now, Loudmouth? He doesn't know where to go when he steps up to the coop.

 

[bigmrg74]

A little over 3 weeks ago my amberlink started laying eggs. They started out small, but within a week had moved to medium size, and within 2 weeks she was occasionally laying a large egg as well. That was all fine and dandy with me, and nothing new to speak of, sizewise, until today.



On the left is yesterday's egg, a nicely sized medium. The right is today's. It weighed in at 80 grams, jumping right past extra-large into jumbo territory. Unfortunately, I won't be the one to crack it open and see what's inside. It's going into the box I deliver to my sister-in-law tomorrow. Last week I brought her my wyandotte's first pee-wee sized egg. My nieces and nephews got a kick out of that. Hopefully they'll be just as impressed with the really big egg from my amberlink.

Likely that will be a double-yolker

I had an egg like that this morning from one of my girls. it was just noticeably bigger, and sure enough, when we cracked it open to make scrambled eggs for dinner tonight. there was two yolks in it.

 

[Peep-Chicken]

I usually get the size of the light brown eggs. My RSL has been laying huge eggs lately

 

[uchytil]

Maah, Congrats to your DD, and her helpers, for the outstanding showing at Allegan.

 

[ladyrsanti]

Finger is healing nicely, thank goodness. It was a scary ordeal, but it's good now.

A stray cat adopted me today, why do kitties love me? It's a male and our barn cats already know him so I should find the owner tomorrow.

Glad to hear the finger is doing well! Have you heard of TNR for cats? When we bought our current home, it came with ten barn cats. That was almost a plague so I started to do some research and have learned a lot since then about responsibly controlling cat populations. The old timers, while charming with their burlap sacks, bricks or .22s have it all wrong.


I know I've gotten on this soap box before in this thread but it never hurts to repeat it. I'm not trying to be condescending. It's all about education. I've been seeing so much stray cat talk on the internet lately (not just here) so it's time for refresher. Best way to make sure they don't keep turning up is to get them fixed before turning them loose on the world. Cats and kittens should NEVER be given away for free. They should be sold with full round of shots but at the very least spayed/neutered. It's the only way you can possibly know for sure that YOU won't be part of the problem. You don't know what the person who takes them in is going to do with them and you could end up with their offspring back in your yard next year or the kittens being used for snake snacks if that bothers you. The statistics are sobering. FACT: Two cats can equal 11,000 cats in 5 years. There are a couple really good organizations in MI that do the spay/neuter on strays. They guide you through the process and even let you borrow equipment to do it. I use Carol's Ferals in W. MI. If you can't pay the vet fees, they can help or do it for free but they're non-profit so they need all the donations they can get. Consider paying the vet bill in full. I think it's around $45 per female cat (males are cheaper). TNR (trap/neuter/return) is the best way to control the stray population -not shooting them, as some folks in this thread might have you believe. Removing cats from your property only makes way for more to move in which just perpetuates the problem.

[/public service announcement]