Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[hockeyXmom]

Hi everyone! My family and I are new to chickens in MI. We have 4 ida reds (not sure of age maybe 4 weeks). We haven't finished their coop yet been salvaging wood to be cost effective. Any advice for a newbie family?

Thank you

 

[taprock]

Got the last of my tomatoes canned last night,

The Semi truck show is in town for the weekend, so another busy time - last weekend's tractor parade was a huge hit.

Tis the tomato season. I did up 5 pecks on Monday. Thankfully I didn't have to buy them, they came from my parents. My tomatoes aren't great except for a variety I grown for drying. They are doing great and the dehydrator is full.

The truck parade is in our plans tomorrow but it is also the youth hunt. The boy is hunting and I'm happy to skip it if it means they are busy with a deer. I think he has enough liscenses this year to take 4 deer during the two seasons, if he sees them. We've lived on pork for the last year so some venison would be wonderful.

I candled my broody Serema's eggs and they are developing but the air cells look wrong so I'm not sure she's going to be able to hatch any out.

 

[taprock]

Here is my fruit fly trap. A cutting board, old bowl and tomato remains. The bowl is just slightly off the cutting board. When it gets full of flies just slide it over, take it outside and send them on their way.

 

[1muttsfan]

Hi everyone! My family and I are new to chickens in MI. We have 4 ida reds (not sure of age maybe 4 weeks). We haven't finished their coop yet been salvaging wood to be cost effective. Any advice for a newbie family?

Thank you

Welcome to BYC and the Michigan thread

- are you looking for advice on anything in particular?

 

[1muttsfan]

I also go to the Meridian farmer's market, and did a bushel of Romas last Sunday. Sticker shock hit, but it's worth it for us. I'll be there tomorrow morning too. Mary

Wish I could go again, it was every bit as good as the one we go to in Englewood Fl (except no guys making Guacamole).

 

[chickflick]

Make the coop bigger than you think!! Chicken math, you know. Start with 4, then it's 8, and then 12 and before you know it you have a whole lot of chickens!!! Who could resist those fuzzy butts?? And so many beautiful breeds! Oh My!

 

[chickflick]

Well, we closed on our Davison house and now living in Dimondale! It's good to be all done with the selling and buying process! Not fun...
Now have to build a new coop. I'll be legal here! Yipeeee! Exhausted from all the packing, loading, unloading and unpacking. Now in the process of making this house our home. My chickens are staying at a former neighbor until we get this coop done. Can't wait to bring them home..

 

[1muttsfan]

That's great Rose, nice to have the freedom to do what you want.

 

[hockeyXmom]

Welcome to BYC and the Michigan thread   - are you looking for advice on anything in particular?

I guess when will my girls be ready to stay in just their coop? How do I handle winter? We have a roughly 5x5 coop started. We finally moved out of the city so we got a late start this year with the chicks.

 

[ToniTalley]

I only lock up the chickens in the coop if the temperature is below 10 F. Otherwise I do let them out into their little coop run and leave the gate open to the fenced pond yard so they can mess around if they want to. They are free to stay inside but rarely do. The coop run is covered so it usually doesn't have much snow in it. The coop itself is about the same size as yours, and they don't really like being kept inside. i try to have things in it to keep them from being bored if they have to be locked up...like dried corn on the cob, scratch and treats sprinkled in the floor bedding. Last year we only had to do that maybe 4 or 5 days out of the winter.