Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[aart]

Anyone else getting lightning with the snow?

Just saw a couple of neat-o flashes.

Hmmmm....very early this morning I saw a couple flashes, no other explanation for them.

 

[1muttsfan]

If you use a cover over your pen, it is crucial to have supports under it to prevent it from sagging to the ground, and sturdy enough to prevent side panel collapse - birds can be trapped under collapsed covering and smother.

 

[ChickenLady2014]

aart, what do you use to knock the snow off your Aviary nets? This will be our first year with one up & I'm curious to see how it will hold up to our Michigan winters.

I use aviary netting and came home today with it wet and heavy touching the ground in my run. It held up and never broke, but the weight of the snow on it bent one of my dog panels and somewhat caved in.
I use either a big leaf rake or big plastic grain shovel to smack snow off the netting. It works really good and dose not damage the netting.
When it warms up in a few days, ill reinforce my panels and add one more post to hold up the netting.

We have 2 huge clothes line poles holding up the centers of our net. Plus a rope that is I-bolted to both coops running down the runs. Hoping with knocking off the snow that this will be enough.

 

[aart]

I would think that a fabric type netting would absorb water and hold onto snow/ice 'better' than metal netting or fencing.

 

[ChickenLady2014]

I would think that a fabric type netting would absorb water and hold onto snow/ice 'better' than metal netting or fencing.

I'm sure it will, that is why I will have to be very diligent about keeping the snow & ice knocked off of it

 

[bigmrg74]

Got a very loud chorus of nopes this morning when I opened up the coop to see if anybody wanted out. Only mealworms got them out of the door for any length of time and it wasn't long after they were eaten that they were all back in the coop without any prodding from Belle or myself. Don't think there will be any takers tomorrow either.

 

[aart]

Quote: When folks say 'poultry netting'... I'm never sure if they mean fabric/rope/string type netting or the metal hex chicken wire, which I've seen called poultry netting.

I'm going to have to put some props up under my other run, off the coop partition, it doesn't get used in winter and it's hard for me to get to it if the snow gets deep. I kinda forgot about it yesterday, even tho it was fully visible when clearing the main run<rolleyes>, until I went to clear a section of saggy perimeter fence ...it was about caved in but held, got a little bent tho which will make it more susceptible next time. My first 2 winters were mostly very cold and dry and only had to clear it a few times as most the copious amounts of snow we had went right thru the 14ga 2x4 welded wire. This wet stuff stinks, glad I had some experience before it hit.

 

[mindylee]

If you use a cover over your pen, it is crucial to have supports under it to prevent it from sagging to the ground, and sturdy enough to prevent side panel collapse - birds can be trapped under collapsed covering and smother.

Lol, i do and thats whats scary. I have several wooden posts all over holding up the netting, but part of my run is under a huge maple tree, so the tree's collection of snow falls on it too adding more heavy snow.
Thats y im gonna have to add a few more supports now that it has happened and i see the weak parts.

 

[gladahmae]

Apparently we got over a foot of snow at home last night. This will cut short the weekend trip to deer camp as we have a few things that won't hold up to a lot of snow weight (mainly our patio table and trampoline). More snow is yet to come and then it's supposed to be 50 by Thursday. What a mess that'll make. Glad I locked everyone in their coops for the weekend and turned on the lights to keep the waterers defrosted. I copped everyone initially because I found a headless hen in the run and figured a coon had finally gotten gutsy enough to come that close. Since we were leaving i figured they would be safest locked up. Now it's a happy coincidence that I did that with all the snow.

 

[1muttsfan]

String-type netting such as this, although I have also seen chicken wire called poultry netting